Don't know whether you've seen this -- similar reasoning that Wiley and 
Formby give in Lights Out concerning evolutionary advantage of insulin 
resistance. Will have to get the whole article.

Eur J Clin Nutr 2002 Mar;56 Suppl 1:S30-5   Related Articles,  Links 
  
The 'carnivore connection'--evolutionary aspects of insulin resistance.

Colagiuri S, Brand Miller J.

Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Prince of Wales 
Hospital, Sydney, Australia. [log in to unmask]

Insulin resistance is common and is determined by physiological (aging, 
physical fitness), pathological (obesity) and genetic factors. The metabolic 
compensatory response to insulin resistance is hyperinsulinaemia, the primary 
purpose of which is to maintain normal glucose tolerance. The 'carnivore 
connection' postulates a critical role for the quantity of dietary protein 
and carbohydrate and the change in the glycaemic index of dietary 
carbohydrate in the evolution of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia. 
Insulin resistance offered survival and reproductive advantages during the 
Ice Ages which dominated human evolution, during which a high-protein 
low-carbohydrate diet was consumed. Following the end of the last Ice Age and 
the advent of agriculture, dietary carbohydrate increased. Although this 
resulted in a sharp increase in the quantity of carbohydrate consumed, these 
traditional carbohydrate foods had a low glycaemic index and produced only 
modest increases in plasma insulin. The industrial revolution changed the 
quality of dietary carbohydrate. The milling of cereals made starch more 
digestible and postprandial glycaemic and insulin responses increased 2-3 
fold compared with coarsely ground flour or whole grains. This combination of 
insulin resistance and hyperinsulinaemia is a common feature of many modern 
day diseases. Over the last 50 y the explosion of convenience and takeaway 
'fast foods' has exposed most populations to caloric intakes far in excess of 
daily energy requirements and the resulting obesity has been a major factor 
in increasing the prevalence of insulin resistance.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_u

ids=11965520&dopt=Abstract



Namaste, Liz
<A HREF="http://www.csun.edu/~ecm59556/Healthycarb/index.html">
http://www.csun.edu/~ecm59556/Healthycarb/index.html</A>