Well, Rusty, I can see that you are no uninformed "dieter." You know your stuff...maybe much better than I do. This is great! I love a good discussion and a challenge to my tired brain. I love to see ways that others are meeting the challenge of their weight/health problems. I also agree that most of the world population would be dead, if it weren't for agriculture. And, many more species of larger animals would be extinct...but not necessarily the smaller ones as agriculture is probably responsible for the extinction of more species than just about any other source, ie. pesticides, land clearing, destruction of forests, getting rid of "pest" animals, etc. This is one of the arguments I use with militant Vegans who don't believe in eating animals because its "cruel." Vegetarians are responsible for more animal deaths, by far...but, that's another discussion which I'm sure could get quite heated.

You're right, again about lectins! However, there are "good" lectins and "bad" lectins. Grains, dairy, nightshades, and tubers have good and bad lectins...a few more bad than good. Also, grains are loaded with phytates that are very bad for us. Now, again, not all phytates are bad. The ones in leafy green veggies are not harmful. However, the ones in grains deplete our bodies of calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and many other nutrients absolutely essential to growth, good health, and longevity. Lectins in milk products (not all) are very harmful to humans...unless we are talking about the lectins in human milk. However, adult humans are not designed to have the lectins in milk. Mother's milk is for kids, silly rabbit!

I disagree that the bad lectins and phytates don't cause much harm. It is cumulative. That is why so many autoimmune disorders don't show up until later in life...like many older people's lactose intolerance, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, etc. Others, like lupus and MS, attack the system much earlier. Of course, not everybody will get these diseases. Some are more resistant than others. However, even weight gain and obesity are now thought to possibly be autoimmune disorders by some researchers. I've read D'Adamo's book on blood type diets. In fact, I follow it to make sure I stay within the bounds of my blood type's optimum foods (incidentally, I am a type O, which is well-suited for LC).

Recent studies on Irish and Italians seems to indicate that there might be a problem with their diet that causes such a high incidence of a number of autoimmune disorders...could it be potatoes and nightshades? The jury is still out, but it is thought that maybe this is the case. One fo the "healthy herbal teas" that people drink is made from the little black fruit of the gimson weed...a deadly datura, used by Don Juan in Carlos Castenada's books to bring on some very interesting hallucinations, in combination with peyote cactus buttons.

One of the things that happened almost as soon as people got into agriculture is that the average life expectancy for adults went down by about a third. Autoimmune disorders came into being. Women began having babies about once/year instead of about once every three years. The population exploded. More people were being born and cities diveloped, then nations, and warfare came along...to keep the population under control (if you look at it from a purely "scientific point of view"). This is, of course, very simplistic. But, there were now, more people being born, more people on the earth, but with a lower life expectency. Some scientists are now postulating that the actual "addictive" qualities of grains, milk, and some other agricultural foods, such as beer and alcohol-containing grain drinks was another reason for their continued use, even though they are ultimately detrimental to our health. These foods give a very small "high" when consumed, much like cigarettes, only milder, that cause us to "crave" them over time. I love this discussion. Awaiting your repliy (ies)