Tag Archives: paleolithic diet

January 24, 2013 · 7:16 AM

How About the Paleo Diet for Diabetes?

Not Dr. Frassetto

Dr. Lynda Frassetto is a Professor of Medicine and Nephrology at the University of California San Francisco.  She and her colleagues have completed a study of the Paleolithic diet as a treatment for diabetes (type 2, I think).  As far as I know, details have not yet been published in the medical literature.

Dr. Frassetto spoke at the Ancestral Health Symposium-2012 earlier this year.  You can view the 35-minute video here.

She is convinced that a paleo diet, compared to a Mediterranean-style diet, is better at controlling blood sugars and “reducing insulin” in diabetics (presumably type 2s).  Insulin sensitivity is improved, particularly in those with insulin resistance to start with.  The paleo diet group saw an average drop of fasting glucose by 23 mg/dl (1.3 mmol/l).  One slide you’ll see in the video indicates the paleo diet reduced absolute hemoglobin A1c by 0.3%, compared to 0.2% with the “Mediterranean” diet.  (Let me know if I got the numbers wrong.)

Color me underwhelmed so far.

Questions raised by the video include:

  • what is the UCSF version of the paleo diet?
  • how many participants were in her study?
  • how long did her study last?
  • did she study only type 2 diabetics?
  • what exactly was the control diet?
  • how severe were the cases of diabetes studied?

For answers, we await publication of the formal report.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: I’m quite interested in the paleo diet as a treatment for diabetes.  I explore the concept at the Paleo Diabetic blog.

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January 4, 2013 · 12:29 AM

My Paleo Diet Trial

For the last year, I’ve been pondering whether the paleo diet has anything to offer folks with diabetes or prediabetes.  The paleo diet, by the way, is also called the Paleolithic, Stone Age, Old Stone Age, hunter-gatherer, or caveman diet.  It definitely has some potential as a diabetes management approach.  I’ve been eating paleo-style for the last three months.

Why am I trying it?

  • Direct experience with implementation obstacles
  • Potential health benefits

My first Parker Paleo Diet meal: sautéed mixed veggies and pan-fried chicken breast

My current version of paleo is not designed for someone with diabetes or prediabetes.  That may come in the future.  By “current version,” I mean I’ll quite likely tweak it over the coming months.

Here’s what I’ve been eating (or not) on the Parker Paleo Diet:

FORBIDDEN FOODS: Grains (e.g., corn, wheat, rice), Dairy, Legumes (peanuts, beans, peas, green beans), Industrial Vegetable Oils (soybean, corn, safflower, etc.), Alcohol, Refined Sugars.

PROTEINS: Meat, fish/seafood, eggs, poultry, and wild game.  Bacon OK; minimize other processed meats.

NUTS & SEEDS: Especially walnuts, macadamia, cachews, almonds.  Limit to 1-2 oz/day.

FRUITS: Limit 2 pieces/day?

VEGETABLES:

Lower-Carb: Greens (lettuce, spinach, chard, collard, mustard geen, kale), radicchio, endive, bok choy, herbs, celery, radishes, mushrooms, cabbage, jicama, avocado, asparagus, okra, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, summer squash, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, green onions, tomatoes, eggplant, tomatillos, eggplant, artichokes, turnips, rutabagas, spaghetti squash, carrots, onions, leeks, water chestnuts (small serving).  This list generally starts with the lower carb items and gradually increases to higher carb grams.  All these have 5 or fewer carbs per serving; most are  much less.

Starchy, Higher-Carb: Beets (6 g, GI 64), winter squashes (acorn, butternut), water chestnuts, parsnips (9 g, GI 97), potatoes (35 g, GI 87), sweet potatoes, (20 g, GI 61), cassava (37 g), taro (21 g), plantains.  Some categorize carrots as starchy.

HERBS & SPICES: Cilantro, parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme, etc.  Salt (minimal), pepper, vinegar.

OILS: Extra virgin olive, canola, flax, avocado.

CONDIMENTS: Olive oil vinaigrettes, mayonnaise from olive oil & egg yolk, and ?

LIQUIDS: H2O, coffee, tea

After two months of paleo eating, I summarized my experience at Paleo Diabetic.

By the way, I don’t have diabetes or prediabetes.  The paleo diet has some potential benefit for those conditions, particularly as compared to the standard American diet.  Ideally, I’d like to see more clinical studies before recommending it.  Dr. Frassetto and colleagues at the University of California-San Francisco should be publishing their results soon.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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May 25, 2012 · 7:37 PM

Science in Support of the Paleo Diet

Stockholm Palace

Investigators at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden found diminished weight, body mass index, blood pressure, and waist circumference in 14 healthy medical students eating a paleo diet for three weeks.  

I reviewed this research report in my effort to determine if the paleo diet—aka Old Stone Age, caveman, ancestral, or Paleolithic diet—has anything to offer diabetics.

Published in 2008, this seems to be one of the seminal scientific studies of the paleo diet in modern Europeans.

Their version of the paleo diet:

  • Allowed ad lib: All fresh or frozen fruits, berries and vegetables except legumes, canned tomatoes w/o additives, fresh or frozen unsalted fish and seafood, fresh or frozen unsalted lean meats and minced meat, unsalted nuts (except peanuts – a legume), fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice (as dressing), flaxseed or rapeseed oil (as dressing), coffee and tea (w/o sugar, milk, honey, or cream), all salt-free spices.
  • Allowed but with major restrictions: dried fruit, salted seafood, fat meat, potatoes (two medium-sized per day), honey, cured meats
  • Prohibited: all milk and dairy products, all grain products (including corn and rice), all legumes, canned food except tomatoes, candy, ice cream, soft drinks, juices, syrups, alcohol, sugar, and salt

What Did They Find After Three Weeks?

  • Average weight dropped from 65.2 kg (144 lb) to 62.9 (139 lb)
  • Average body mass index fell from 22.2 to 21.4
  • Average waist circumference decreased from 74.3 cm (29.25″) to 72.6 cm (28.58″)
  • Average systolic blood pressure fell from 110 to 104 mmHg
  • plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 decreased from 5.0 kIE/l to 2.8 kIE/l
  • All of these changes were statistically significant

The researchers looked at a number of other blood tests and didn’t find any significant differences.

Five men and three women completed the study. Of the 20 who originally signed up, one could not fulfill the diet, three became ill (no details), two failed to show up.

So What?

That’s a remarkable weight loss over just three weeks for slender people eating ad lib.

The study authors concluded that these paleo diet-induced changes could reduce risk for cardiovascular disease. They called for a larger study with a control group. (If it’s been done, I haven’t found it yet.)

Sounds reasonable.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: You’d think they would have said more about the three participants who got sick, rather than leave us wondering if the diet made them ill.

Reference: Österdahl, M; Kocturk, T; Koochek, A;Wändell, PE. Effects of a short-term intervention with a paleolithic diet in healthy volunteers. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 62 (2008): 682-685.

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May 16, 2012 · 2:00 AM

Random Thoughts On Paleo Eating for People With Diabetes

Not really pertinent, but I like buffalo

I was interviewed a couple months ago by Amy Stockwell Mercer, author of Smart Woman’s Guide to Diabetes. All I knew beforehand was that she was interested in my thoughts on the paleo diet as applied to diabetes.  I think she had run across my PaleoDiabetic blog.

In preparation, I collected some random thoughts and did a little research.

What’s the paleo diet?

Fresh, minimally processed food. Meat (lean or not? supermarket vs yuppiefied?), poultry, eggs, fish, leafy greens and other vegetables, nuts, berries, fruit, and probably tubers.

Non-paleo: highly processed, grains, refined sugars, industrial plant/seed oils, legumes, milk, cheese, yogurt.

The paleo diet is also called Old Stone Age, caveman, ancestral, hunter-gatherer, and Paleolithic diet.

Is the paleo diet deficient in any nutrients?

A quick scan of Loren Cordain’s website found mention of possible calcium and vitamin D deficits. Paleoistas will get vitamin D via sun exposure and fish (especially cold-water fatty fish). Obtain calcium from broccoli, kale, sardines, almonds, collards. (I wonder if the Recommended Dietary Allowance for calcium is set too high.)

What About Carbohydrates and Diabetes and the Paleo Diet?

Diabetes is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism. In a way, it’s an intolerance of carbohydrates. In type 1 diabetes, there’s a total or near-total lack of insulin production on an autoimmune basis. In type 2 diabetes, the body’s insulin just isn’t working adequately; insulin production can be high, normal or low. In both cases, ingested carboydrates can’t be processed in a normal healthy way, so they stack up in the bloodstream as high blood sugars. If not addressed adequately, high blood glucose levels sooner or later will poison body tissues . Sooner in type 1, later in type 2. (Yes, this is a gross over-simplification.)

Gluten-rich Neolithic food

If you’re intolerant of lactose or gluten, you avoid those. If you’re intolerant of carbohydrates, you could avoid eating them, or take drugs to help you overcome your intolerance. Type 1 diabetics must take insulin. Insulin’s more optional for type 2’s. We have 11 classes of drugs to treat type 2 diabetes; we don’t know the potential adverse effects of most of these drugs. Already, three diabetes drugs have been taken off the U.S. market or severely restricted due to unacceptable toxicity: phenformin, troglitazone, and rosiglitazone.

Humans need two “essential fatty acids” and nine “essential” amino acids derived from proteins. “Essential” means we can’t be healthy and live long without them. Our bodies can’t synthesize them. On the other hand, there are no essential carbohydrates. Our bodies can make all the carbohydrate (mainly glucose) we need.

Since there are no essential carbohydrates, and we know little about the long-term adverse side effects of many of the diabetes drugs, I favor carbohydrate restriction for people with carboydrate intolerance. (To be clear, insulin is safe, indeed life-saving, for those with type 1 diabetes.)

That being said, let’s think about the Standard American Diet (SAD) eaten by an adult. It provides an average of 2673 calories a day. Added sugars provide 459 of those calories, or 17% o the total. Grains provide 625 calories, or 23% of the total. And most of those sugars and grains are in processed, commercial foods. So added sugars and grains provide 40% of the total calories in the SAD. (Figures are from an April 5, 2011, infographic at Civil Eats.)

Anyone going from the SAD to pure Paleo eating will be drastically reducing intake of added sugars and grains, our current major sources of carbohydrate. Question is, what will they replace those calories with?

That’s why I gave a thumbnail sketch of the paleo diet above. Take a gander and you’ll see lots of low-carb and no-carb options, along with some carb options. For folks with carbohydrate intolerance, I’d favor lower-carb veggies and judicious amounts of fruits, berries, and higher-carb veggies and

Will these cause bladder cancer? Pancreatitis?

tubers. “Judicious” depends on the individual, considering factors such as degree of residual insulin production, insulin sensitivity, the need to lose excess weight, and desire to avoid diabetes drugs.

Compared to the standard “diabetic diet” (what’s that?) and the Standard American Diet, switching to paleo should lower the glycemic index and glycemic load of the diet. Theoretically, that should help with blood sugar control.

A well-designed low-carb paleo diet would likely have at least twice as much fiber as the typical American diet, which would also tend to limit high blood sugar excursions.

In general, I favor a carbohydrate-restricted paleo diet for those with diabetes who have already decided to “go paleo.” I’m not endorsing any paleo diet for anyone with diabetes at this point—I’m still doing my research. But if you’re going to do it, I’d keep it lower-carb.  E.g., under 100 g of digestible carb daily. It has a lot of potential.

Are There Any Immediate Dangers for a Person With Diabetes Switching to the Paleo Diet?

It depends on three things: 1) current diet, and 2) current drug therapy, and 3) the particular version of paleo diet followed.

Remember, the Standard American Diet provides 40% of total calories as added sugars and grains (nearly all highly refined). Switching from SAD to a low-carb paleo diet will cut carb intake and glycemic load substantially, raising the risk of hypoglycemia if the person is taking certain drugs.

Drugs with potential to cause hypoglycemia include insulin, sulfonylureas, meglitinides, pramlintide, and perhaps thiazolidinediones.

Who knows about carb content of the standard “diabetic diet”? Contrary to poplular belief, there is no monolithic “diabetic diet.” There is no ADA diet (American Diabetes Association). My impression, however, is that the ADA favors relatively high carbohydrate consumption, perhaps 45-60% of total calories. Switching to low-carb paleo could definitely cause hypoglycemia in those taking the aforementioned drugs.

One way to avoid diet-induced hypoglycemia is to reduce the diabetic drug dose.

A type 2 overweight diabetic eating a Standard American Diet—and I know there are many out there—would tend to see lower glucose levels by switching to probably any of the popular paleo diets. Be ready for hypoglycemia if you take those drugs.

Paleo diets are not necessarily low-carb. Konner and Eaton estimate that ancestral hunter-gatherers obtained 35 to 40% of total calories from carbohydrates. I’ve seen other estimates as low as 22%. Reality likely falls between 22 and 65%. When pressed for a brief answer as to how many carbohydrate calories are in the paleo diet, I say “about a third of the total.” By comparison, the typical U.S. diet provides 50% of calories from carbohydrate.

Someone could end up with a high-carb paleo diet easily, by emphasizing tubers (e.g., potatoes), higher-carb vegetables, fruits, berries, and nuts (especially cashews). Compared with the SAD, this could cause higher or lower blood sugars, or no net change.

A diabetic on a Bernstein-style diet or Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet (both very-low-carb) but switching to paleo or low-carb paleo (50-150 g?) would see elevated blood sugars. Perhaps dangerously high glucoses.

Any person with diabetes making a change in diet should do it in consultation with a personal physician or other qualified healthcare professional familiar with their case.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Fun Facts!

  • A typical carbonated soda contain the equivalent of 10 tsp (50 ml) of sugar.
  • The typical U.S. adult eats 30 tsp (150 ml) daily of added sweeteners and sugars.
  • U.S total grain product consumption was at record lows in the 1970s, at 138 pounds per person. By 2000, grain consumption was up by 45%, to 200 pounds per person.
  • Total caloric sweetener consumption (by dry weight) was 110 pounds per person in the 1950s. By 2000, it was up 39% to 150 pounds.
  • Between 1970 and 2003, consumption of added fats and oils rose by 63%, from 53 to 85 pounds. [How tasty would that be without starches and sugars? Not very.]
  • In 2008, “added fat” calories in the U.S. adult diet were 641 (24% of total calories).

Fun Facts provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

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September 27, 2011 · 2:38 PM

Introducing Paleo Diabetic, a New Blog

A few of my patients have asked me if the paleo diet and lifestyle would be good for their diabetes.  I’m not sure.  A few pilot studies suggest it would be.  I expect much more published scientific research over the coming decade, in addition to self-experimentation reports by patients.  I’ll be looking into the matter at Paleo Diabetic.

The paleo diet in modern times began gathering steam in 2008.  It’s still not widely known or followed, but the trend is definitely upwards. 

The idea behind the paleo diet—also referred to as the Stone Age or caveman diet—is that optimal health depends on adherence to dietary and lifestyle factors to which we’re genetically adapted.  Our current mix of genes overwhelmingly reflects the Paleolithic era of human cultural development, starting anywhere from 750,000 to 2.5 million years ago, and ending around 10,000 years ago.  It’s also called the Stone Age.

The paleo diet pattern isn’t set in stone.  In general, it includes nuts, vegetables, fruits, fish, meat, and poultry.  It excludes or limits grains, dairy, legumes, sugars other than fruit or honey, industrial seed oils (e.g., from soybean and corn), and modern processed, highly refined foods.  Fresh, natural, and “organic” are preferred.

I’ve already got a few posts up and plan on new ones once or twice weekly.  If you’re interested, please join me at Paleo Diabetic.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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March 13, 2011 · 7:46 AM

Pilot Study: Paleo Diet Is More Satiating Than Mediterranean-Style

Swedish researchers reported recently that a Paleolithic diet was more satiating than a Mediterranean-style diet, when compared on a calorie-for-calorie basis in heart patients.  Both groups of study subjects reported equal degrees of satiety, but the paleo dieters ended up eating 24% fewer calories over the 12-week study.

The main differences in the diets were that the paleo dieters had much lower consumption of cereals (grains) and dairy products, and more fruit and nuts.  The paleos derived 40% of total calories from carbohydrate compared to 52% among the Mediterraneans.

Even though it wasn’t a weight-loss study, both groups lost weight.  The paleo dieters lost a bit more than the Mediterraneans: 5 kg vs 3.8 kg (11 lb vs 8.4 lb).  That’s fantastic weight loss for people not even trying.  Average starting weight of these 29 ischemic heart patients was 93 kg (205 lb).  Each intervention group had only 13 or 14 patients (I’ll let you figure out what happened to to the other two patients).

I blogged about this study population before.  Participants supposedly had diabetes or prediabetes, although certainly very mild cases (average hemoglobin A1c of 4.7% and none were taking diabetic drugs)

As I slogged through the research report, I had to keep reminding myself that this is a very small, pilot study.  So I’ll not bore you with all the details.

Bottom Line

This study suggests that the paleo diet may be particularly helpful for weight loss in heart patients.  No one knows how results would compare a year or two after starting the diet.  The typical weight-loss pattern is to start gaining the weight back at six months, with return to baseline at one or two years out.

Greek investigators found a link between the Mediterranean diet and better clinical outcomes in known ischemic heart disease patients.  On the other hand, researchers at the Heart Institute of Spokane found the Mediterranean diet equivalent to a low-fat diet in heart patients, again in terms of clinical outcomes.  U.S. investigators in 2007 found a positive link between the Mediterranean diet and lower rates of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. 

We don’t yet have these kinds of studies looking at the potential benefits of the paleo diet.  I’m talking about hard clinical endpoints such as heart attacks, heart failure, cardiac deaths, and overall deaths.  The paleo diet definitely shows some promise.

I also note the Swedish investigators didn’t point out that weight loss in overweight heart patients may be detrimental.  This is the “obesity paradox,” called “reverse epidemiology” at Wikipedia.  That’s a whole ‘nother can o’ worms.

Keep your eye on the paleo diet.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference: Jonsson, Tommy, et al.  A paleolithic diet is more satiating per calorie than a mediterranean-like diet in individuals with ischemic heart disease.  Nutrition and Metabolism, 2010, 7:85.

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November 16, 2010 · 5:17 AM

Paleo Diet Revival Story

I had written recently of my ignorance regarding the modern version of the Paleolithic diet and lifestyle, thinking that Loren Cordain devised it around year 2000.  Then I found a medical journal article from 1988 outlining it, co-written by S. Boyd Eaton, M.D. 

Mat Lalonde, Ph.D., in an interview with Jimmy Moore instead suggested that Cordain would credit S. Boyd Eaton, M.D., with the trend.

The Paleolithic Prescription: A Program of Diet and Exercise and a Design for Living was published in 1988 by Harper & Row (New York).  The authors are S. Boyd Eaton, M. Shostak, and M. Konner. 

Eaton and Konner are also the authors of “Paleolithic nutrition: A consideration of its nature and current implications.”  in New England Journal of Medicine, 312 (1985): 283-289.

If you have evidence that the “modern paleo” diet goes back further than this, please leave a comment.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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October 11, 2010 · 7:18 AM

Paleo Diet for Heart Patients With Diabetes and Prediabetes

A Paleolithic diet lowered blood sugar levels better than a control diet in coronary heart disease patients with elevated blood sugars, according to Swedish researchers reporting in 2007.

About half of patients with coronary heart disease have abnormal glucose (blood sugar) metabolism.  Lindeberg and associates wondered if a Paleolithic diet (aka “Old Stone Age,” “caveman,” or ancestral human diet) would lead to improved blood sugar levels in heart patients, compared to healthy, Mediterranean-style, Western diet.

Methodology

Investigators at the University of Lund found enrolled 38 male heart patients—average age 61—patients and randomized them to either a paleo diet or a “consensus” (Mediterranean-like) diet to be followed for 12 weeks.  Average weight was 94 kg.  Nine participants dropped out before completing the study, so results are based on 29 participants.  All subjects had either prediabetes or type 2 diabetes (the majority) but none were taking medications to lower blood sugar.  Baseline hemoglobin A1c’s were around 4.8%.  Average fasting blood sugar was 125 mg/dl (6.9 mmol/l); average sugar two hours after 75 g of oral glucose was 160 mg/dl (8.9 mmol/l).

The paleo diet was based on lean meat, fish, fruits, leafy and cruciferous vegetables, root vegetables (potatoes limited to two or fewer medium-sized per day), eggs, and nuts (no grains, rice, dairy products, salt, or refined fats and sugar). 

The Mediterranean-like diet focused on low-fat dairy, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, potatoes, fatty fish, oils and margarines rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and alpha-linolenic acid. 

Both groups were allowed up to one glass of wine daily.

No effort was made to restrict total caloric intake with a goal of weight loss.

Results

Absolute carbohydrate consumption was 43% lower in the paleo group (134 g versus 231 g), and 23% lower in terms of total calorie consumption (40% versus 52%).  Glycemic load was 47% lower in the paleo group (65 versus 122), mostly reflecting lack of cereal grains.

The paleo group ate significantly more nuts, fruit, and vegetables.  The Mediterranean group ate significantly more cereal grains,oil, margarine, and dairy products.

Glucose control improved by 26% in the paleo group compared to 7% in the consensus group.  The improvement was statisically significant only in the paleo group.  The researchers believe the improvement was independent of energy consumption, glycemic load, and dietary carb/protein/fat percentages.

High fruit consumption inthe paleo group (493 g versus 252 g daily) didn’t seem to impair glucose tolerance. 

Hemoglobin A1c’s did not change or differ significantly between the groups.

Neither group showed a change in insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IR method).

Comments

The authors’ bottom line:

In conclusion, we found marked improvement of glucose tolerance in ischemic heart disease patients with increased blood glucose or diabetes after advice to follow a Palaeolithic [sic] diet compared with a healthy Western diet.  The larger improvement of glucose tolerance in the Palaeolithic group was independent of energy intake and macronutrient composition, which suggests that avoiding Western foods is more important than counting calories, fat, carbohydrate or protein.  The study adds to the notion that healthy diets based on whole-grain cereals and low-fat dairy products are only the second best choice in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

This was a small study; I consider it a promising pilot.  Results apply to men only, and perhaps only to Swedish men.  I have no reason to think they wouldn’t apply to women, too.  Who knows about other ethnic groups?

This study and the one I mention below are the only two studies I’ve seen that look at the paleo diet as applied to human diabetics.  If you know of others, please mention in the Comments section. 

The higher fruit consumption of the paleo group didn’t adversely affect glucose control, which is surprising.  Fruit is supposed to raise blood sugar.  At 493 grams a day, men in the paleo group ate almost seven times the average fruit intake of Swedish men (75 g/day).  Perhaps lack of adverse effect on glucose control here reflects that these diabetics and prediabetics were mild cases early in the course of the condition—diabetes tends to worsen over time.

ResearchBlogging.orgPresent day paleo and low-carb advocates share a degree of simpatico, mostly because of carbohydrate restriction—at least to some degree—by paleo dieters.  Both groups favor natural, relatively unprocessed foods.  Note that the average American eats 250-300 g of carbohydrates a day.  Total carb intake in the paleo group was 134 g (40% of calories) versus 231 g (55% of calories) in the Mediterranean-style diet.  Other versions of the paleo diet will yield different numbers, as will individual choices for various fruits and vegetables.  Forty percent of total energy consumption from carbs barely qualifies as low-carb. 

Study participants were mild, diet-controlled diabetics or prediabetics, not representative of the overall diabetic population, most of whom take drugs for it and have much higher hemoglobin A1c’s.

Lindeberg and associates in 2009 published results of a paleo diet versus standard diabetic diet trial in 13 diabetics.  Although a small trial (13 subjects, crossover design), it suggested advantages to the paleo diet in terms of heart disease risk factors and improved hemoglobin A1c.  Most participants were on glucose lowering drugs; none were on insulin.  Glucose levels were under fairly good control at the outset.  Compared to the standard diabetic diet, the Paleo diet yielded lower hemoglobin A1c’s (0.4% lower—absolute difference), lower trigylcerides, lower diastolic blood pressure, lower weight, lower body mass index, lower waist circumference, lower total energy (caloric) intake, and higher HDL cholesterol.  Glucose tolerance was the same for both diets.  Fasting blood sugars tended to decrease more on the Paleo diet, but did not reach statistical significance (p=0.08).

The paleo diet shows promise as a treatment or preventative for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.  Only time will tell if it’s better than a low-carb Mediterranean diet or other low-carb diets. 

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference: Lindeberg, S., Jönsson, T., Granfeldt, Y., Borgstrand, E., Soffman, J., Sjöström, K., & Ahrén, B. (2007). A Palaeolithic diet improves glucose tolerance more than a Mediterranean-like diet in individuals with ischaemic heart disease Diabetologia, 50 (9), 1795-1807 DOI: 10.1007/s00125-007-0716-y

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July 28, 2010 · 9:32 AM

Paleo Diet and Diabetes: Improved Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Compared to a standard diabetic diet, a Paleolithic diet improves cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetics, according to investigators at Lund University in Sweden.

Researchers compared the effects of a Paleo and a modern diabetic diet in 13 type 2 diabetic adults (10 men) with average hemoglobin A1c’s of 6.6% (under good control, then).  Most were on diabetic pills; none were on insulin.  So this was a small, exploratory, pilot study.  Each of the diabetics followed both diets for three months.

How Did the Diets Differ?

ResearchBlogging.orgCompared to the diabetic diet, the Paleo diet was mainly lower in cereals and dairy products, higher in fruits and vegetables, meat, and eggs.  The Paleo diet was lower in carbohydrates, glycemic load, and glycemic index.  Paleo vegetables were primarily leafy and cruciferous.  Root vegetables were allowed; up to 1 medium potato daily.  The Paleo diet also featured lean meats [why lean?], fish, eggs, and nuts, while forbidding refined fats, sugars, and beans.  Up to one glass of wine daily was allowed.

See the actual report for details of the diabetic diet, which seems to me to be similar to the diabetic diet recommended by most U.S. dietitians.

What Did the Researchers Find?

Compared to the diabetic diet, the Paleo diet yielded lower hemoglobin A1c’s (0.4% lower—absolute difference), lower trigylcerides, lower diastolic blood pressure, lower weight, lower body mass index, lower waist circumference, lower total energy (caloric) intake, and higher HDL cholesterol.  Glucose tolerance was the same for both diets.  Fasting blood sugars tended to decrease more on the Paleo diet, but did not reach statistical significance (p=0.08).

So What?

The greater improvement in multiple cardiovascular risk factors seen here suggests that the Paleo diet has potential to reduce the higher cardiovascular disease rates we see in diabetics.  Larger studies—more participants—are needed for confirmation.  Ultimately, we need data on hard clinical endpoints such as heart attacks, strokes, and death.

These diabetics had their blood sugars under fairly good control at baseline.  I wouldn’t be surprised if diabetics under poor control—hemoglobin A1c of 9%, for example—would see even greater improvements in risk factors as well as glucose levels while eating Paleo.

I see a fair amount of overlap between this version of the Paleo diet and Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution diet and the Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet. 

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference:  Jönsson, T., Granfeldt, Y., Ahrén, B., Branell, U., Pålsson, G., Hansson, A., Söderström, M., & Lindeberg, S. (2009). Beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes: a randomized cross-over pilot study Cardiovascular Diabetology, 8 (1) DOI: 10.1186/1475-2840-8-35

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November 27, 2009 · 2:00 AM

What About the Paleo Diet?

Paleo diets have been increasingly popular over the last few years.  The idea is that, for optimal health, we should be eating the things that we are evolutionarily adapted to eat.  Those foods pre-date the onset of large-scale agriculture 10-12,000 years ago.  So grains and modern fruits and vegetables play little or no role in someone who has “gone paleo.”

My recollection from college courses years ago is that average lifespan in paleolithic times was perhaps 25-30 years, or less.  If you’re going to die at 25, it may not matter if you eat a lot of  wooly mammath, berries, insects, cholesterol, saturated fats, Doritos, Ding Dongs, or Cheetos.  The diseases of civilization we worry about today—coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, dementia, type 2 diabetes, etc.—don’t usually appear until after age 30.  Paleolithic Man worried more about starvation.

Jenny Ruhl, at her Diabetes Update blog, recently put much more critical thought than I into the concept of paleo diets.  Recommended reading.    

Steve Parker, M.D. 

Extra credit: 

For purposes of discussion, let’s assume that human evolution actually occurred over millions, or at least hundreds of thousands, of years.  In other words, assume that God didn’t make Adam and Eve in human form in one day.

The theory of evolution proposes that genes that allow an animal to live and reproduce more vigorously in a particular environment will be passed on to the animal’s offspring.  Nature will select those genes to spread through the animal population over time, assuming the environment doesn’t change.  The offspring with those genes will be able to compete with other animals more successfully for food, shelter, and mates.  Factors that promote the persistence and inheritance of specific genes are called “selection pressure.”

Here’s an example of selection pressure.  Remember when you were in grade school on the playground, some people could naturally run faster than others?  Were you one of the fast ones?  If you’ve never seen it for yourself, take my word for it: Some people are naturally gifted with athletic genes.

Let’s say you and I are outside collecting berries and nuts in paleolithic times.  A saber-toothed tiger spots us and charges, hungry for a meal.  You don’t have to outrun the tiger: you just have to outrun me.  I’m slower than you, and get eaten.   I can no longer pass on my slow-running genes to the next generation.  You live another day and pass on your fast-running genes to your children. 

Viola!  Natural selection, via selection pressure, has promoted your genes over mine.

[The tiger also passes on her genes since she was fast and smart enough to catch me, preventing starvation of her and her offspring.] 

[I’m 99% sure I wrote the preceeding few paragraphs originally about a year ago.  My notes, however, hint that they may have been written by Dr. J., a regular contributor at CalorieLab.  Dr. J., let me know if I’ve plagiarized you and I’ll give you full credit and delete my writing.]

The paleo diet rationale seems to be based on an evolutionary argument: Certain foods were available to us during 99% of our evolution, so our bodies are adapted to work optimally with them.  For example, humans/humanoids/higher primates who were not suited to the available food did not survive and reproduce, so their genes were not passed on to us.

For most of human existence, maximum lifespan was probably 25-30 years, on average. If that’s as long as you’re going to live, it may not matter much what you eat. Eat paleo, vegetarian, McDonald’s, Atkins, or Mediterranean. Most diet-related conditions except overweight and under-nutrition are not going to be an issue before age 30. 

[The modern paleos argue that infant and childhood mortality were extremely high in paleolithic times.  If you survived childhood, you could easily live to be 50+.]

But now we live to be 80, long enough for diet-related diseases to appear. We have cancer, heart attacks, and strokes that paleo man never saw because he died of trauma or infection or starvation. We even see the expression of genes that were not subjected to survival or selection pressure: Alzheimers disease, Huntingtons chorea, some breast cancers, etc.  People with genes for these diseases reproduce before the genes do their damage.

In other words, we carry genes that don’t matter if you die at age 30. If you live longer, they express themselves, and I believe we can modify their expression through diet and lifestyle. And not necessarily the paleo diet.

I’m still thinking it through.

For the other side of the argument, visit Mark’s Daily Apple, At Darwin’s Table, or read Dr. Loren Cordain’s The Paleo Diet.

-Steve

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