On Sat, 18 Jul 2009 09:41:18 -0700, Andrea Hughett <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>--- On Sat, 7/18/09, Paleo Phil <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> It's true that it's a New World food, and New World foods
>> have come under
>> increasing suspicion....
>
>Nightshades are bad.
>Nightshades are a New World food.
>New World foods are bad.
>
>I'm sorry, I missed a point in that syllogism.  

That's because I didn't make that claim. I said that New World foods are
"under increasing suspicion," not that they are "bad." Whether a food is New
World or Old is just one factor to consider as we try to figure out what
Paleo people actually ate and what is healthy, not a proof one way or another. 

> Moreover, nightshades (such as eggplant) also hail from the Eastern 
> Hemisphere.  Are Old World foods bad for you as well?

Some are, yes. I believe the fava bean and pea are Old World, right? As I
said, whether something is New World or Old is just one thing to look at for
further clues, not the sole determinant of what to eat. 

You're right about eggplants--I had learned that they are an Old World
(India) food before and forgot--sorry. However, the common variety is
somewhat bitter when eaten raw and it is usually cooked, marinated or salted
to reduce the bitterness and tenderize it. Plus, eggplants have been
hybridized over the years to make them less bitter, which also reduces their
lectin levels. Thus, people likely ate less of them in the past.

>Given Cordain's stance on canola oil and saturated fats, I am a bit wary of
his research on nightshades as well, but can you point me to the studies?
>
>Andrea

I also disagree with Cordain on canola oil and saturated fats, but I don't
automatically dismiss all research that he and his international team does,
and I commend you for also not doing so, as it would throw out most of the
research in the field of Paleolithic nutrition (though we would still have
the work of Stephen Phinney and others). I hope that the positive
experiences of Paleo dieters like you and me on higher levels of saturated
fats than he recommends may some day persuade Cordain, Eaton, Lindeberg and
others to reconsider them.

Also, Cordain is not as anti-saturated fat as some think, for he wrote in
his newsletter: "population-wide recommendations to lower dietary saturated
fats below 10% to reduce the risk of CAD have little or no evolutionary
foundation in pre-agricultural Homo sapiens...." The stories about what he
believes tend to get exaggerated further with each retelling.

Bear in mind also that Cordain recommended some nightshades in his books, so
with his latest reports he's actually admitting he was somewhat wrong about
them--which increases his credibility by showing that he publicly makes
significant corrections (and he also retracted his suggestion to use
flaxseed oil in cooking). This is rather rare among diet gurus.

I actually think that Cordain doesn't go far enough in cautioning about
nightshades since he still says that they should be OK for people who don't
have autoimmune illnesses. I think we are wiser to only recommend those
foods that we have very little or no suspicion about, and leave the rest up
to the individual, since we know that people (like the Inuit and Stefansson,
Lex Rooker, etc.) can thrive on little beyond meats, fish, animal fats, eggs
and water. 

In the following lecture and elsewhere Cordain discusses the recent findings
connecting adjuvants like tomato lectin and alpha tomatine to increased gut
permeability and autoimmune diseases like MS and rheumatoid arthritis:
http://www.thepaleodiet.com/ms_treatment.shtml . This coincides with lots of
anecdotal reports that people with gouty arthritis and other problems do
better when they eliminate nightshades from the diet, as well as the view
that was held for centuries by Europeans that nightshades were bad for the
health (until recently this view was laughed at, but increasing numbers of
scientists are starting to take it seriously).

Note: I don't mean to be rude, but Dr. Cordain clears his throat a lot in
this presentation and interviews of him I have heard, which makes me wonder
whether he is eating too much carbs that are creating excess phlegm and/or
post-nasal drip. Maybe Wiley or someone can address that.