Hi Ron.

>>With anecdotal reports, assuming they are accurate, we have a single observation

And that's the real crux, isn't it? We have to "assume" the reports are accurate, or at least non-biased. If - and that's a *big* if - you have enough similar anecdotal reports from enough reliable people, then you have something to go on. But, how often does that happen - especially in a market-driven society (example: whatever the "the latest nutritional supplement miracle" is)?

I can recall (long ago :) when I was a teenager I attended a meeting of our church's youth group. There were maybe 15 of us in attendence. The instructor whispered a story (not long - maybe a couple of paragraphs total) to one individual. We each in turn whispered the story to the person next to us. By the time the story reached the last person it was nearly unrecognizable by the first person. I'm sure others have done similar exercises.

Unfortunately, the other crux is that real clinical trials comparing true paleo eating to any other form of eating will likely never happen. When the generally accepted "truth" is that an all-meat or grain-free diet is automatically unhealthy, who among the establishment would even participate? (Hmmmm, perhaps we could get the "30 Days" guy to give it a try? :)