> > Did HGs have diabetes? I wrote on a discussion list that they did not
and
> > now someone is challenging me.
> >
> > But from reading CANCER DISEASE OF CIVILIZATION it seems to me there was
no
> > auto immune disease in HG communities.
>
> More to the point, does this person cite any evidence that HGs
> *did* (or do) have diabetes?  And is it proven that diabetes is
> an autoimmune disease?  The last thing I remember reading about
> this is that juvenile onset diabetes mellitus is associated with
> a mutation on chromosome 18, but I have no idea whether there is
> an autoimmune aspect to it.
>
Middle aged diabetes is due to obesity and lack of exercise. HG's had no
such problem, and do not get this type of diabetes. eg Australian
Aboriginals have high rates of diabetes mellitus (DM) on Western diets. A
study where  they returned to the bush and the HG diet showed their weight
to go down and their DM to resolve (So I'm reliably informed- this is fairly
oft quoted by reliable sources). I regard middle aged diabetes as very
definitely a metabolic disease, not an autommune disease, but I know Ray
sees it as autoimmune in Neanderthin.

"Adolescent" diabetes is a different illness, and is due to autoimmune or
viral destruction of pancreatic beta cells (these produce insulin).
Association with a mutation is not necessarily causative. I prefer Loren
Cordain's model of this being caused by an autoimmune response to a virus
that resemble some protein on beta cells, induced by immune control being
affected by lectins (toxins) from wheat etc. I don't know the incidence of
this type DM in HG's but suspect it would be low.

Ben Balzer