On Mon, 30 Jul 2001, Todd Reed wrote:

> The author of "The Origin Diet" makes the point that paleo-era wild
> animals were so lean that they had little saturated fat on their
> bodies, and she advocates eating a low-saturated fat diet. That means
> cutting out beef, pork, and lamb, all meats with high saturated fat
> content, and eating fish, shellfish, turkey, eggs and white chicken
> meat instead.

This is a perennially disputed point.  First, you have to realize
that the reason why people seek reasons to minimize saturated fat
consumption is usually that they believe the theory that it
contributes to heart disease.  If it weren't for that theory,
saturated fats would not be regarded with such suspicion.  There
are many, however, who question the theory.  See, for example,
http://www.nursingceu.com/NCEU/courses/diet/ And especially see
http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm

Anyway, getting back to your actual question, it is true that the
muscle meat of wild animals (then and now) tends to be very lean.
If, however, you look at total carcass fat, the situation is more
variable, since fat is found in marrow, around the intestines and
kidneys, beneath the skin, and in the organs, and much of it is
saturated.  This fat content varies widely according to season.
Still, there is no question that wild animals in general, with
certain notable exceptions, tend to have less total (and
saturated) fat than domesticated ones.  This is because
domesticated animals are (a) overfed, and (b) bred to gain fat
easily.  In other words, they are "genetically obese".

The leanness of wild game, in paleolithic terms, indicates two
possibilities: Either much of the muscle meat was wasted (Because
of the limit to how much lean protein one can tolerate) or it was
accompanied by liberal amounts of carbohydrate.  In my opinion,
*both* of these strategies were probably followed, depending on
climate, season, and so forth.  The answer to the question "How
much saturated fat did paleolithic hunter-gatherers eat" is
probably "As much as they could."  And that would depend upon
luck and many other variables.

Todd Moody
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