Todd:

> I understand, but here is my problem.  What makes proteins
> "alien" is the supposed fact that we have not had time to adapt
> to them.  If simply soaking beans makes them edible, then it
> would seem that we *have* had time to adapt to them, since
> soaking can be accomplished at paleolithic technology levels.

OK, I understand your point. Perhaps the consumption of beans occurred later in
human evolution than meat; perhaps beans haven't been consumed in enough amounts
to exert a significant selection pressure. Birds' nests have certainly been
robbed well before the regular use of fire, and yet egg allergy is common,
perhaps due to the fact that egg consumption was only occasional (like bee
pollen, by the way).

> I agree that pemmican is probably not toxic, although I'm not at
> all sure how edible raw suet is.

Why would would raw suet be toxic? Basically, I think that almost all parts of
an animal are edible (except a few obvious ones, like bones, hair...)

> Not to quibble about the
> meaning of toxicity, I think we can agree that there are factors
> other that alien proteins that can make foods problematic.  As
> John Pavao and others have mentioned, modern cultivated fruits
> have been bred for higher sugar content than their wild
> counterparts, and this unnatural *concentration* of sugar can
> cause problems unrelated to alien proteins.
>
> If the sugar is unnaturally concentrated in a supermarket apple,
> then surely so is the rendered fat in pemmican.

That's true. Paleo-humans probably consumed a fair amount of carbohydrates
(except perhaps the Eskimos), but the carbohydrate sources were much more
fibrous, less concentrated, and with a lower glycemic index. Modern meat, as we
have seen, has an abnormally high percentage of saturated fat and low n3/n6
ratio (unless we consume wild game). Evidently, unless we hunt and gather by
ourselves, it's impossible to eat exactly like a caveperson, but I don't think
that perfection is necessary. Diets among hunter-gatherer vary considerably:
probably humans has a great potential of adaptability.

As for the pemmican stuff, it is known that concentrated sugar causes an excess
of insulin release. But I don't know of any harmful effect of eating
concentrated fat. Contrary to sugar, concentrated fat exists in nature: mongongo
nuts (the major staple of the !Kung Bushmen), contains 600 calories per 100
grams; bone marrow is pretty concentrated. In general, fatty tissues are
concentrated since fat can be stored without being combined with water (I agree
however that, except bone marrow, wild animals tissues are pretty lean).

Best wishes,

Jean-Louis
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