Would Stone Age Diet Keep Us Healthier?
sxc.hu | author: John Evans
The 2 million – year – old hunter-gatherer diet is healthier than the Mediterranean diet, according to a new study.
Staffan Lindeberg’s research team from Lund University in Sweden, have noted a remarkable absence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes among the traditional population of Kitava, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea, where modern agrarian-based food is unavailable.
Before the advent of agriculture, during 2.5 million years of human evolution, our ancestors were consuming fruit, vegetables, nuts, lean meat and fish. They did not have access to processed foods high in carbohydrates. In contrast, cereals, dairy products, refined fat and sugar, which now provide most of the calories for modern humans, have been staple foods for a relatively short time.
In a clinical study in Sweden, the research group compared 14 patients who were advised to consume an ‘ancient’ (Paleolithic, ‘Old stone Age’) diet for three months with 15 patients who were recommended to follow a Mediterranean-like prudent diet with whole-grain cereals, low-fat dairy products, fruit, vegetables and refined fats generally considered healthy. All patients had pre-diabetes, and most of them had overt diabetes type 2. In addition, all had been diagnosed with coronary heart disease. Patients in the Paleolithic group were recommended to eat lean meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, root vegetables and nuts, and to avoid grains, dairy foods and salt.
The main difference between the groups was a much lower intake of grains and dairy products and a higher fruit intake in the Paleolithic group. Substances in grains and dairy products have been shown to interfere with the metabolism of carbohydrates and fat in various studies.
Patients who ate lean meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, yogurt and pasta for three months saw their blood sugar levels improve 7 percent, the study found. Those who adopted that regimen and excluded dairy and grains, what the researchers called the Stone Age diet, fared even better. They had a sugar improvement of 26 percent.
The results of the study maybe applicable to healthy people as well, since people with diabetes are advised to go on the same kind of diet as a non-diabetic.
This is the first controlled study of a Paleolithic diet in humans. And it demonstrates that diet low in processed foods has a positive impact on how the food is used for energy in human body.
The study will be published later this year in the European Association for the Study of Diabetes’s journal “Diabetologia”.
Earlier this year, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. First thing eliminated from my diet was chocolate bars and I started to exercise. The result was only a minimal drop in my blood sugar readings. My doctor put me on medication which resulted in acceptable readings but with unpleasant side effects. I was determined to get off medication and an old friend told me that one of his hiking friends had managed to get off insulin by following the Paleo diet. After only a couple of months being on the diet, all of my medical results are very positive. Fasting and 3 month blood sugar readings are in the fives, weight loss almost 40 pounds (down from 200), substantially lower cholesterol readings, increased energy level (which is a great experience for a 64 year old), and all other medical testing shows improvement. I can’t say enough about the merits of this diet.
I want to congratulate the visitor of healthy-family.org with excellent results in treatment of his diabetes. He is a living proof that lifestyle modifications work remarkably in treatment of early diabetes. Exercise alone typically produces results gradually: 6-12 months of regular exercise 150 minutes per week has been shown to improve glucose control, lipid profile, results in reduction of fat mass and improvement in fitness. Typically exercise related improvements have to include dietary modifications as well.
The reason that paleo diet works is because it suggests to exclude processed foods and main sources of carbohydrate (sugars, caloric drinks and grains as well as legumes) and limits fat. Unfortunately not everyone can stick to this diet. We would love the reader share his experience about staying on this diet. As many diets result in impressive improvements in a short term, the challenge is to maintain these excellent results achieved. We wish the reader success in maintaining his health benefits, and encourage to continue healthy lifestyle, which is the mainstay of treatment for diabetes, prediabetes and related conditions.
In addition, I would encourage to review with dietitian the calcium consumption. Dairy products tend to be the main source of dietary calcium, which is far superior to “pill” calcium. Sufficient calcium consumption is important for maintenance of bone health. I want to emphasize that men are as susceptible to osteoporosis as women.
Of course, if a diabetic, or anyone else for that matter, starts cutting out carbohydrates — particularly the refined variety — he or she may likely experience an improvement. But it is a serious error to state that the ‘Paleo Diet’, as actually practiced by neolithic peoples, was low in fat — it wasn’t.
Throughout the world, primitive peoples sought out and consumed fat from fish and shellfish, water fowl, sea mammals, land birds, insects, reptiles, rodents, bears, dogs, pigs, cattle, sheep, goats, game, eggs, nuts and milk products.
Google this book review: The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain – The Weston A. Price Foundation