On Thu, 18 Jun 1998, Mary wrote:

> Is it possible to buy other sources of fat, such as bear fat, whale blubber,
> etc.

It's probably possible, but I imagine it would be quite difficult
and expensive.  I don't know whether it is legal to hunt bears,
but I suspect it is not.

> Some say that the same food over and over causes allergies. Is this true?  I
> need my son to get another allergy, like I need a hole in the head!

I don't see why this should be true.  On the face of it, it
sounds absurd.  It may be true that if a food is going to cause
an allergic reaction, it make require repeated exposure to do so,
but it's a simple logical fallacy to infer that repeated exposure
to *any* food causes allergies.  But that's not an expert opinion
(except about the logic, which I have some training in).

> Most of the allergies (dairy, wheat, beef) he developed while having very
> toxic intestines (from antibiotics).
>
> I am hoping since the intestines are healing (we hope!) that he would be
> less likely to develop more allergies? After all, doesn't Ray eat the same
> thing (pork bacon) frequently, for years, with no allergies?

Perhaps you should look into specific therapeutic programs for
healing the intestines, in addition to the paleo diet.  Some
people use aloe vera juice, for example, for this purpose, and
natural licorice.

> Regarding beef, some have kindly suggested that a person would not be
> allergic to the beef tallow. However, after being sensitive to gluten
> myself, and knowing how traces can set off a reaction, I am not optimistic
> about beef tallow as a source of fat. When I get my suet, it has traces of
> red meat (protein) on the edges, and sometimes through it. I think (perhaps
> wrongly) that it would be hard to get suet with no traces of beef protein in it.

Well, the suet certainly has traces of beef protein.  The
rendered fat from the suet would have less, but I don't think
there's any way to guarantee that it has none at all.

> Also, can you eat too much fat? In the STONE AGE DIET book he mentions 80%
> fat by calories. What if you are getting 90% by calories? It is hard for me
> to estimate what percent I am getting of fat vs protein. I try therefore to
> err on the side of too much fat, as he mentions that too much proteins or
> carbs are not good.

I think the important thing is that a person gets *enough*
protein, which depends upon lean body mass activity levels and
carb intake.  A zero-carb diet would increase the protein need a
bit since some of that protein has to be converted to glucose.  A
good rule of thumb for "adequate" protein is Barry Sears' "zone
eyeballing" method for estimating portion sizes.  A meal-sized
"serving" of lean protein should be about the size of the palm of
one's hand.

> Also, how would a HG get 80% fat off a lean animal such as a moose?

They wouldn't.  With the exception of extreme cases such as the
Inuit, I don't think there's any good reason to think that a
"typical" HG diet would be 80% fat.  You are doing a zero-carb
diet with your son, which is something different from a typical
paleo or HG diet.  Hunter-gatherers *gather* and what they gather
includes carbs.

> BTW, does anyone know if in the "old days" bacon was cured with sugar? Or,
> is this a "modern"  and "cilvilized" development?

I believe sugar has been used for curing for centuries.

Todd Moody
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