I can't really claim to speak for other people, but here I go anyway:
I think the choices are that we evolved over a period of a couple of million
year (our ancestors being a creature that doesn't exist anymore but would
look to us more like a monkey or ape than like a person) or that we were
designed by some higher power (be it God or some intelligent designer). If
there's a third option please enlighten me.
*If* we evolved then we would be biologically well adapted to eat what our
ancestors ate before agriculture - any of our ancestors with genes that made
them, for example, unable to thrive on meat and fat would have died in the
millions of years before agriculture, then not passed on their genes, so we
wouldn't resemble them.  Agriculture is so recent (biologically speaking)
that it is entirely possible that we don't really thrive on farmed foods -
the only reason most people eat farmed foods is that agriculture allows a
society to support a much denser population, giving them an advantage over
hunter gatherer neighbors as a group even if it is to their individual
detriment, healthwise.
*If*, on the other hand, we were created, then the argument falls apart.
Were we created to thrive on a hunter gatherer diet?  Well, that would be
kind of a cruel trick on God's part, wouldn't it?  I mean, knowing that we
were going to spend a LONG period of time living in an agricultural society,
don't you think He could have designed us with a little less tendency
towards celiac disease and milk-based leaky gut syndrome?
I AM NOT saying that our current biology in any way proves that God doesn't
exist or that He didn't design us. I'm saying that if we are designed, there
is no particular reason to believe that we would have been designed to
thrive as hunter gatherers as opposed to being designed to thrive as plant
eating farmers.  If anything, I would think that a benevolent God would have
leaned towards the latter.  So a creationist might argue from biological
evidence (the number of people who are intolerant of grains and dairy) to
say that we should eat a paleo diet, but they can't argue that we MUST be
adapted to a hunter gatherer diet the way a believer in evolution can (the
thing that appeals to me most about paleo diet in a way is the fact that
it's convincing even without any research - I can convince any believer in
evolution that we must be adapted to eating meat and vegetables and not
grains and dairy just from basic evolutionary theory and a tiny knowledge of
history).

On Fri, May 22, 2009 at 5:02 AM, Brenda Young <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

> OK, it's late, and I am just gonna answer this succinctly, at least in my
> mind.  You say you have your religion, but you don't believe in it.  That is
> very strange to me.  On another note, MY CHRISTIANITY has NOTHING to do with
> what we should eat or not eat, so I don't get the point AT ALL.  My
> questions are all pertaining to what the Bible talks about, which I wasn't
> going to get into here, but now I guess I have to.  And they did indeed cook
> the "fatted calf", although who knows if it was rare or well-done, lol.
> There is NOTHING that I am not allowed to eat with my "religion", but when I
> read this I wonder why about some stuff, is all.  I don't think that is a
> reason to bite my head off.  I actually probably believe more like you do,
> but not for your reasons.  I just am not convinced that eating raw meat is
> better, even though I DO believe that for my dogs, which is a totally
> different subject, and they are all contentedly sleeping after a
>  wonderful meal of raw chicken legs, yep.  I just have questions, and I
> don't think it's fair for you to attack people on their religious beliefs,
> especially when my "religion" has no FOOD RULES, sigh.
>
> Love,
> Bren, just trying to figure stuff out...
>
>
> Brenda Young wrote:
> > I just have one question.  Not intended to fight with anyone.
> But...Paleo is based on the fact that we are still the same creatures with
> the same nutritional needs as we were thousands and thousands of years ago,
> correct???  So, um, how does evolution fit in here???  If we have really
> "evolved", then that doesn't make sense.  Again, I am not on a religious
> agenda here...I am completely comfortable and happy with my religious stance
> and will not be convinced otherwise, but again,  how do the two of those
> mesh with your theory???  I am in the middle of the road, so to speak, with
> my Paleo thinking and the other stuff.  I, by NO MEANS, think we evolved,
> boy it's hard to not continue on this, lol, at least as far as nutritonal
> needs are concerned, so again, how do you equate firmly believing in
> evolution AND Paleo???  Doesn't make sense to me at all.   And just so you
> know, I don't think man has evolved from ANYTHING, and neither has his
>  nutritional needs.  You have to pick one side of the fence...or not, I
> guess.  But the fence part does not make sense to me AT ALL.  Pick one or
> the other, I guess I would say.
> > Love,
> > Bren
>
> Evolution is not a fast process (and not one directional) and evolutionary
> modern man is between 100,000 and 200,000 years old depending on how/where
> one defines the changes.  In other words, our ancestors 100,000 years ago
> are essentially the same as we are today and both groups could likely
> interbreed (assuming appropriate time machine technology).  How far one can
> go back in time before one then and now would be able to interbreed is not
> known, but there is a point.
>
> Introduction of agriculture has occurred in roughly the past 10,000 years.
> Our genes have not had near enough time to adapt to these changes including
> husbandry (milk).  However, adaption is ongoing and lactose intolerance is
> less prevalent in the western world and gluten intolerance is widespread but
> not in everyone.  There are other foods that have achieved some adaption but
> perhaps another 50,000+ years are needed to adapt to the changes agriculture
> and husbandry brought to diets.  Hence, the paleo diet is still the best
> diet and one most like to proved to greatest health benefits, even though
> this "diet" is different depending on food available and seasonal issues
> depending on location and latitude.
>
> For me, evolution explains WHY the paleo diet is ideal and genetic changes
> over time provide more than sufficient evidence that any version of religion
> is bound to fail as a viable explanation.  Evolution is full of flaws, flaws
> that identify a "perfect" god as not a possible explanation for existence.
> Evolution has viable explanations for diseases, beneficial bacteria,
> predators, flawed attributes (blind spot in the human eye), and many other
> things ancient religions failed to consider and place in their creation and
> god myths.
>
> As the saying goes "phylogeny recapitulates ontogeny" (while not exactly
> true, is eye-opening none-the-less).
>
> Scan down to:
> Modern observations
> and
> Modern theory
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recapitulation_theory
>
> My religious roots are in Mormonism and they have a "Word of Wisdom"
> revelation on diet which states to eat meat sparingly and only in winter and
> to get plenty of wheat("All grain is ordained for the use of man and of
> beasts"D&C 89:4 <http://scriptures.lds.org/dc/89>).  How wrong is that!
> I've yet to read any religious doctrine on nutrition that comes close to a
> rational paleo diet - usually they are into the neolithic diet additions.  I
> place modern religious roots clearly in the neolithic era due to respective
> dietary recommendations even though paleo man likely had his/her
> superstitions.  Judaism and Christianity are neolithic religions based on
> diet and Jericho was a thriving city thousands of years before the neolithic
> Adam myth had him exiting from the garden as the first man.
>
> The benefits of the paleo diet can be explained by evolution while
> religious explanations on diet are way off in the weeds (or wheat).
>
> --
> Steve - [log in to unmask]
>
> "The Problem with Socialism is that eventually you
> run out of Other People's Money." --Margaret Thatcher
>
> "Mistrust of Government is the Bedrock of American Patriotism"
>
> Take World's Smallest Political Quiz at
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>
>
>
>
>


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