Hi Sunny, excerpts from your posts and replies below.

@@@@  I think epidemiology gives us the best evidence, also studies
of very large
cohorts like the Nurses Study.  @@@@

That's a cohort of Americans eating the processed junk food of the
late 20th century.  Pretty hard to get a lot of useful conclusions
about optimal diets from that kind of study.   Major issues with data
interpretation, which is a pretty serious understatement...   Also,
most scientists consider epidemiology to be one of the weaker forms
of evidence.   The only thing you can reliably conclude is that
certains things are innocent (like meat, milk, saturated fat, etc) if
a population exists that consumes them heavily and is free from a
given affliction.  In other words, you can refute causality, but you
can never prove it with epidemiology.   Useful, but limited.


@@@@  also studies of very large
cohorts like the Nurses Study. Ancel Keys' longitudinal Seven
Countries study showed that the countries with the greatest
consumption of meat and dairy (Finland, USA) had the highest
morbidity.  @@@@

Or so a naive reader would think.   You'll find a crushing
deconstruction of that study in Ravnskov's book "The Cholesterol
Myths".   That study is a joke and Keys has wrought more evil on
humanity than Hitler, Stalin, and Trotsky combined.  Also consult the
links Bruce gave, especially
<http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/oiling.html> and
<http://www.westonaprice.org/know_your_fats/skinny.html>.


@@@@ Also, high protein intake leaches calcium from bones and
this increases osteoporosis. @@@@

Sorry, not true, more junk science and myths from pop-veg sites.  The
human body is just not that simple.


@@@@ *Most Indians have been lacto-vegetarians for millennia. Ditto
Buddhists (vegan)  @@@@

"millennia", as in 3 or 4?  I had referred to "countless millennia"
which is more accurately about 2000 millennia.  (It's hard to count
that high.)   I get the feeling you'd rather not know what Tibetan
Buddhists really eat.  Um, vegan?  Hehehehehe....  Maybe you're
referring to American teenage Buddhists?


@@@@ No way, these are pets and the sea ones are in danger of
extinction. @@@@

They're only pets until they hit the dinner table.   I don't know all
the facts about endangered sea animals, but obviously not all of them
are problematic.  I would certainly like to know if oysters are in
that category.  That is a very frustrating category of food to deal
with idealistically...   I have a lot to learn in this area...


@@@@ waterbugs,
*You're joking? @@@@

No, I wasn't joking.


@@@@ guinea pigs,
*Also pets. @@@@

And apparently among the most delicious of all pets!  Ask Peruvians
how they feel about all those "pets"...


@@@@ > If I were in that position, I'd probably consider kombucha
(which
is
> a SCOBY
*Another unknown abbreviation
ferment like kefir) @@@@

"Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast".  That's what kefir grains
and kombucha "mushrooms" are.

@@@@ or the emerging category of
EM
*Ditto  @@@@

You'll note the weblink I provided if you wanted clarification.


@@@@> Wow, such a diet will soon be considered countercultural! It's
> surreal to read of someone going this path in today's nutritional
> milieu!
*Well, looking at the obesity, cholesterol levels, heart attack and
cancer rates in the western world where the 'nutritional' milieu is
processed, packaged, chemical-laden or GMO 'food', perhaps it is
safer to be countercultural.  @@@@

I think you missed the point :)    The foods you're choosing and the
rest of the educated public are rejecting (grains, starches) are
among the ones responsible for these disease epidemics...


@@@@  a Japanese
fishing village with 7% of calories from fat (yes, that's a single
digit) most of which from fish obviously;  @@@@

Are you in the market for any bridges?  I've got a great deal for you
on one near Brooklyn.


@@@@  A vegan diet uses lots of nuts which are a good source of omega-
3 fats,  @@@@

Correction: that would be omega-6 fats, the ones we need to avoid.
Go to <http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/cgi-bin/nut_search.pl> and look
at the omega-6/3 ratios in nuts.


@@@@  The ongoing Cornell China study shows so far that people in the
provinces whose traditional diets have the lowest fat intakes have
better overall health than those where the traditional diet is higher
in animal products. @@@@

Uh... not quite.
<http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional_diets/food_in_china.html>


Good luck Sunny!!

Mike Parker
SE Pennsylvania