Hi Wally, 

>>With anecdotal reports, assuming they are accurate, we have a single
observation

>And that's the real crux, isn't it? 
[Ron] It is, as you say, a big "if," but I have experienced things that
persuade me so deeply that I accept them as fact, even though to someone
else they would be mere supposition. I know, for instance, that gluten has
an enormous impact on my psyche. I can't point you to any tests to support
this. I just know it from a series of experiences and observations. 

Scientific claims, such as the notion that an all meat diet will cause bone
depletion, are much less reliable than that. I'm also, perhaps naively, more
willing to listen to someone's anecdote than listen to claims that are
contradicted by observations that I consider trustworthy.   


>Unfortunately, the other crux is that real clinical trials comparing true
paleo eating to any other form of eating will  >likely never happen. When
the generally accepted "truth" is that an all-meat or grain-free diet is
automatically 
>unhealthy, who among the establishment would even participate? (Hmmmm,
perhaps we could get the "30 Days" guy to >give it a try? :)=

[Ron] I'd love to do some research like that. Unfortunately, I'm not
qualified to do so. I don't have a position at a university, and I'd need
ethical approval before I could conduct a study and get the results
published. 

It would be pretty expensive too. We'd need a densitometer and a technician
to run it, some volunteers who would follow the diet strictly, another lab
tech to do urinary ketone testing, and, and, and, it wouldn't be cheap. :-)
A used densitometer alone would run about $5,000. 

What a cool idea though. 

Best Wishes, 
Ron