From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Apr 14 2003 - 18:07:42 MDT
Damien Sullivan wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 14, 2003 at 04:24:24PM -0400, gts wrote:
>
>> We haven't discussed fish much in this thread, but cold-water ocean
>> fish is probably among the best foods available.
>
> This is something I've wondered about. How could deep-water
> ocean fish have been part of the Paleo diet?
Excellent question. I suppose you're right that ocean fish were not readily
accessible to prehistoric humans who lived inland, at least not in
comparison to fresh-water fish. Perhaps it would have been better for me to
have stated simply that fish in general are excellent foods, and that it
turns out that cold-water fatty ocean fish are especially rich in omega-3
fatty acids, which are among the nutrients in which we are typically most
deficient.
It is the *ratio* of omega-3 to omega-6 oils that is of most concern in the
typical American diet, more so than the absolute amounts of either. Relative
to our paleolithic ancestors we tend to over-consume omega-6 relative to
omega-3. This imbalance happened in part as a result of the wide-spread use
of various high omega-6 vegetable oils used in cooking, and in part because
modern farm-fed animal food sources are raised on high omega-6 diets. For
example the way-too-fatty farm-fed beef that you buy in your local
supermarket is raised mostly on corn, a non-paleolithic high omega-6 grain.
Another factor leading to this imbalance is that modern humans no longer eat
the high omega-3 brains and bone marrow of their prey. (In another thread
someone has advocated an interesting mate-selection theory as to why the
human brain has grown so large, but according to paleodiet theory it
happened at least in part because our paleolithic ancestors consumed a diet
rich in DHA from animal brains and marrow. DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid
integral to brain development.)
The omega-3 from cold-water ocean fish helps to offset the modern imbalance
of omega-3 and omega-6.
-gts
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