Paleolithic-type diet may help reduce future risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease

April, 2016

For two years, 70 obese postmenopausal women with normal fasting plasma glucose levels ate either a Paleolithic-type diet or a “prudent” diet. The Paleolithic-type diet was based on lean meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts and berries, with rapeseed, olive oils and avocado as additional fat sources. The diet excluded dairy products, cereals, added salt and refined fats and sugar. 30% of the calories were supposed to come from protein, 30% from carbohydrates, and 40% from fats with high unsaturated fatty acid content. The prudent control diet had a markedly different target: 15% in protein, 30% in fat, and 55% in carbohydrates.

Both groups took part in 12 group sessions led by a dietitian, and kept ongoing records of their food intake.

Both groups lost significant body weight and had significantly less abdominal obesity, but the women eating the Paleolithic-type diet also had significantly lower levels of specific fatty acids associated with insulin resistance, compared with those on the prudent control diet. Presumably this reflects the marked change in the types of fats eaten. At the end of the two years, the women eating the Paleolithic-type diet reported that their intake of saturated fatty acids decreased by 19%, while monounsaturated fatty acids increased by 47% and polyunsaturated fatty acids by 71%.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/tes-apd040116.php

Related News

Following on from the evidence that Alzheimer’s brains show higher levels of metals such as iron, copper, and zinc, a mouse study has found that amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s-like brains with significant neurodegeneration have about 25% more copper than those with little neurodegeneration.

Data from the very large U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), involving 23,168 people, has found a significant association between low dietary fiber intake and risk of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular inflammation, and obesity.

A study involving 12 rhesus macaques, of whom some were given access to alcohol, has found that those who drank moderately showed enhanced responses to a smallpox vaccine (compared with the control group of monkeys who drank sugar water), indicating a bolstered immune system, while heavy drinker

A mouse study suggests that resveratrol—a compound abundant in red wine—may moderate some of a high-fat diet’s negative effects on the immune system.

http://www.futurity.org/can-resveratrol-balance-fatty-diet/

A study involving 74 older adults (70+), of whom 3 had mild dementia, 33 were cognitively normal and 38 had mild cognitive impairment, has found that high levels of "good" cholesterol and low levels of "bad" cholesterol correlated with lower levels of the amyloid-beta plaques in the brain (a hal

A review of research from 1957 to the present has concluded that a whole diet approach, and specifically Mediterranean-style diets, has more evidence for reducing cardiovascular risk than strategies that focus exclusively on reduced dietary fat.

A Swedish study has found that those who ate poor breakfasts as year 9 students had a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome 27 years later, compared with those who ate more substantial breakfasts.

A study involving 39 young adult men and women of normal weight, who ate 750 extra calories in the form of muffins every day for seven weeks, found that those whose muffins were made with palm oil built significantly more fat and less muscle than those whose muffins were made with sunflower oil.

A study in which 23 healthy volunteers ate half a kilo of strawberries every day for a month has found that their levels of bad cholesterol and triglycerides reduced significantly.

"Sprouted" garlic — old garlic bulbs with bright green shoots emerging from the cloves — have been found to have even more heart-healthy antioxidant activity than fresh garlic.

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news
Error | About memory

Error

The website encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later.