On Sun, 16 Jun 2002 17:26:22 -0700, David Karas <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>I am proposing a trial solution. We will allow some lifestyle
>discussion but with some restrictions. Toiletries are simply non paleo as
>are most supplements. Herbs have been used by Hunter/Gathers so could be
>ok. Sources of omega -3 fatty acid such as fish oil capsules would be
>reasonable also. H/G's did not lead our sedimentary lives so some
>discussion of exercise could be ok. We also don't want the list to get into
>farming and animal husbandry. By definition that isn't paleo, but
>Neolithic. Get the idea? Use good judgement, I have faith in you. Be
>considerate to your other list members and try to not extra work for Don
>and I

I feel responsible for the rumpus here of late and would just like to say I
didn’t mean to break the rules or annoy anyone by asking the toiletries
question. (And thanks to everyone who replied.) I have really enjoyed
reading and participating on the list for the last few months and am very
grateful to the listowners for the work they do in keeping it going. But
surely plenty of messages is a sign of a healthy and vigorous list –
compared to the paleo recipe and paleo research lists, which seem to be
dead. Can’t those who find the volume too high subscribe to the digest, or
browse the archives?

The trial solution sounds good, except: it’s not immediately obvious to me
why toiletries should be dismissed as non-paleo – and indeed part of my
original question was - what do /did hunter gatherers do to keep clean. I
accept that wasn't a diet question.

More generally, we are people living in a modern world trying to harness
the benefits of a paleo diet to improve our health. But the environment in
which we live has changed enormously. So if paleolithic people did x to
achieve result y, it doesn’t automatically follow that we should do the
modern equivalent of x to achieve result y. An example is the omega 3/6
balance which we discuss a lot on this list. Cordain argues that wild
animals of the sort eaten by paleolithic hunter gatherers contained a lot
of omega 3. Almost all the meat eaten today doesn’t. So strictly speaking,
eating farmed meat isn’t paleo and doesn’t necessarily produce the same
effect as eating wild meat – but does that mean we can’t discuss it on the
list?

Similarly, I think there is a toiletries/food connection which I didn’t
spell out properly. For example, the main source of vitamin D is sunlight,
and it seems likely that paleolithic people spent a lot of time in the sun.
But these days we have a hole in the ozone layer and it seems that under
these new circumstances the sun does harm as well as good. If we believe
the warnings and wear sunscreens, it may be necessary to take extra vitamin
D as a supplement to get back to the same level as the paleolithic people.
So the things we put on our bodies may affect our nutritional requirements.

Jo