Query: What do you think of Dr. Jenkins' take on paleolithic diets?

Relevant passages:
Evolution of dietary antioxidants. <=SEP=> Oxygen is vital for most organisms but, paradoxically, damages key biological sites. Oxygenic threat is met by antioxidants that evolved in parallel with our oxygenic atmosphere. Plants employ antioxidants to defend their structures against reactive oxygen species (ROS; oxidants) produced during photosynthesis. The human body is exposed to these same oxidants, and we have also evolved an effective antioxidant system. However, this is not infallible. ROS breach defences, oxidative damage ensues, accumulates with age, and causes a variety of pathological changes. Plant-based, antioxidant-rich foods traditionally formed the major part of the human diet, and plant-based dietary antioxidants are hypothesized to have an important role in maintaining human health. This hypothesis is logical in evolutionary terms, especially when we consider the relatively hypoxic environment in which humans may have evolved. In this paper, the human diet is discussed briefly in terms of its evolutionary development, different strategies of antioxidant defence are outlined, and evolution of dietary antioxidants is discussed from the perspectives of plant need and our current dietary requirements. Finally, possibilities in regard to dietary antioxidants, evolution, and human health are presented, and an evolutionary cost-benefit analysis is presented in relation to why we lost the ability to make ascorbic acid (vitamin C) although we retained an absolute requirement for it.

Evolution of the human diet: linking our ancestral diet to modern functional foods as a means of chronic disease prevention. <=SEP=> The evolution of the human diet over the past 10,000 years from a Paleolithic diet to our current modern pattern of intake has resulted in profound changes in feeding behavior. Shifts have occurred from diets high in fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and seafood to processed foods high in sodium and hydrogenated fats and low in fiber. These dietary changes have adversely affected dietary parameters known to be related to health, resulting in an increase in obesity and chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and cancer. Some intervention trials using Paleolithic dietary patterns have shown promising results with favorable changes in CVD and diabetes risk factors. However, such benefits may be offset by disadvantages of the Paleolithic diet, which is low in vitamin D and calcium and high in fish potentially containing environmental toxins. More advantageous would be promotion of foods and food ingredients from our ancestral era that have been shown to possess health benefits in the form of functional foods. Many studies have investigated the health benefits of various functional food ingredients, including omega-3 fatty acids, polyphenols, fiber, and plant sterols. These bioactive compounds may help to prevent and reduce incidence of chronic diseases, which in turn could lead to health cost savings ranging from $2 to $3 billion per year as estimated by case studies using omega-3 and plant sterols as examples. Thus, public health benefits should result from promotion of the positive components of Paleolithic diets as functional foods.

Chemical safety of meat and meat products. <=SEP=> Since the Second World War the consumer behaviour in developed countries changed drastically. Primarily there existed the demand for sufficient food after a period of starvation, afterwards the desire for higher quality was arising, whereas today most people ask for safe and healthy food with high quality. Therefore a united approach comprising consistent standards, sound science and robust controls is required to ensure consumers' health and to maintain consumers' confidence and satisfaction. Chemical analysis along the whole food chain downstream (tracking) from primary production to the consumer and upstream (tracing) from the consumer to primary production is an important prerequisite to ensure food safety and quality. In this frame the focus of the following paper is the "chemical safety of meat and meat products" taking into account inorganic as well as organic residues and contaminants, the use of nitrite in meat products, the incidence of veterinary drugs, as well as a Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) system assessing (prioritizing) vulnerable food chain steps to decrease or eliminate vulnerability.

Vegetarian diets and public health: biomarker and redox connections. <=SEP=> Vegetarian diets are rich in antioxidant phytochemicals. However, they may not act as antioxidants in vivo, and yet still have important signaling and regulatory functions. Some may act as pro-oxidants, modulating cellular redox tone and oxidizing redox sensitive sites. In this review, evidence for health benefits of vegetarian diets is presented from different perspectives: epidemiological, biomarker, evolutionary, and public health, as well as antioxidant. From the perspective of molecular connections between diet and health, evidence of a role for plasma ascorbic acid as a biomarker for future disease risk is presented. Basic concepts of redox-based cell signaling are presented, and effects of antioxidant phytochemicals on signaling, especially via redox tone, sulfur switches and the Antioxidant Response Element (ARE), are explored. Sufficient scientific evidence exists for public health policy to promote a plant-rich diet for health promotion. This does not need to wait for science to provide all the answers as to why and how. However, action and interplay of dietary antioxidants in the nonequilibrium systems that control redox balance, cell signaling, and cell function provide rich ground for research to advance understanding of orthomolecular nutrition and provide science-based evidence to advance public health in our aging population.

Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: Not for patients at risk of vascular disease <=SEP=> A widespread misconception has been developing among the Canadian public and among physicians. It is increasingly believed that consumption of dietary cholesterol and egg yolks is harmless. There are good reasons for long-standing recommendations that dietary cholesterol should be limited to less than 200 mg/day; a single large egg yolk contains approximately 275 mg of cholesterol (more than a day’s worth of cholesterol). Although some studies showed no harm from consumption of eggs in healthy people, this outcome may have been due to lack of power to detect clinically relevant increases in a low-risk population. Moreover, the same studies showed that among participants who became diabetic during observation, consumption of one egg a day doubled their risk compared with less than one egg a week. Diet is not just about fasting cholesterol; it is mainly about the postprandial effects of cholesterol, saturated fats, oxidative stress and inflammation. A misplaced focus on fasting lipids obscures three key issues. Dietary cholesterol increases the susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein to oxidation, increases postprandial lipemia and potentiates the adverse effects of dietary saturated fat. Dietary cholesterol, including egg yolks, is harmful to the arteries. Patients at risk of cardiovascular disease should limit their intake of cholesterol. Stopping the consumption of egg yolks after a stroke or myocardial infarction would be like quitting smoking after a diagnosis of lung cancer: a necessary action, but late. The evidence presented in the current review suggests that the widespread perception among the public and health care professionals that dietary cholesterol is benign is misplaced, and that improved education is needed to correct this misconception. Résumé Une idée fausse et généralisée se répand au sein du public canadien et des médecins, qui pensent de plus en plus que la consommation de cholestérol alimentaire et de jaunes d’œuf est inoffensive. Les recommandations de longue date qui préconisent de limiter le cholestérol alimentaire à moins de 200 mg/jour reposent sur de bonnes raisons. Un seul gros jaune d’œuf contient environ 275 mg de cholestérol (plus que la portion quotidienne de cholestérol). Même si certaines études ont démontré que la consommation d’œufs n’est pas nuisible chez les personnes en santé, ce résultat peut découler de l’absence de capacité à déceler des augmentations pertinentes sur le plan clinique au sein d’une population à faible risque. De plus, les mêmes études ont révélé que chez les participants devenus diabétiques pendant la période d’observation, la consommation d’un œuf par jour doublait leur risque par rapport à la consommation de moins d’un œuf par semaine. Le régime ne vise pas à éviter le cholestérol, mais surtout les effets postprandiaux du cholestérol, des gras saturés, du stress oxydant et de l’inflammation. Le fait de se concentrer à tort sur les lipides à jeun occulte trois enjeux. Le cholestérol alimentaire accroît la susceptibilité des lipoprotéines à faible densité à l’oxydation, accroît la lipémie postprandiale et potentialise les effets secondaires des graisses saturées alimentaires. Le cholestérol alimentaire, y compris les jaunes d’œuf, est nuisible pour les artères. Les patients vulnérables aux maladies cardiovasculaires devraient limiter leur consommation de cholestérol. Le fait d’arrêter de consommer des jaunes d’œuf après un accident vasculaire cérébral ou un infarctus du myocarde s’apparenterait à arrêter de fumer après un diagnostic de cancer du poumon : c’est un geste nécessaire, mais entrepris tardivement. D’après les données probantes présentées dans la présente analyse, la perception généralisée du public et des professionnels de la santé selon laquelle le cholestérol alimentaire est un mal bénin est une idée fausse, et une meilleure information s’impose pour la corriger.