From: gts (gts_2000@yahoo.com)
Date: Tue Apr 15 2003 - 22:10:18 MDT
Damien Sullivan wrote:
>>> If they [studied HG cultures] seem to eat a lot of meat,
>>> it might be because of a scarcity of plants.
[gts wrote:]
>> I'm skeptical because I don't see how it is possible for wild game to
>> exist in habitats where plants are scarce.
>
> Well, the Eskimos would be an obvious actual example.
Agreed, though the Eskimo environment is certainly a special case. If
Eskimos could reach beneath the ice to eat sea plants then they would
certainly do so.
The high percentage of animal calories in the Eskimo diet is actually strong
evidence that humans are well adapted to paleolithic diets rich in animal
fats and animal proteins. I recall reading about two anglo scientists who
lived with the Eskimos (or with some other people near the northern polar
cap) for more than a year. They subsisted entirely on meat. Surprisingly,
they were in perfect health upon their return home. One might think they
would have at least shown evidence of vitamin C deficiency (scurvy), but
such was not the case.
-gts
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