On Mon, 4 Feb 2002, S C wrote:

> Complex carbs (di- and polysaccarides, but especially the polysaccarides)
> have been found to be the chief culprit in both inflammatory bowel disease
> (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) by quite a few independent
> researchers and sufferers.

It's far from clear, however, that complex carbs cause these
problems.

> Also, polysaccarides
> are generally not paleo.

This is simply not believable.  We secrete alpha-amylase in our
saliva, the sole purpose of which is to initiate the digestion of
starch.  You would be hard pressed to find any modern
hunter-gatherers who do not make substantial use of root
vegetables, rhizomes, or tubers.  The sole exception would be the
Inuit, and there is no reason to regard them as a model of
typical paleo diets.

> Cordain says in his paleo diet book to avoid
> starchy tubers and eat only honey as a sweetener.

It's true that he says this, but unfortunately he offers no
plausible paleo-based justification for the restriction.

> That leaves monosaccarides
> almost exclusively (but not entirely because, for example, beets contain
> sucrose, a disaccaride).

And virtually all fruits contain sucrose as well, often more of
it than fructose.

Todd Moody
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