5 replies to this topic

[ta5]

The abstract is lacking details. I wonder what their definition of paleo is? It bothers me when people use the term like it tells you everything about the diet. 

 

 

Nutr Res. 2015 May 14. pii: S0271-5317(15)00097-4.

Paleolithic nutrition improves plasma lipid concentrations of hypercholesterolemic adults to a greater extent than traditional heart-healthy dietary recommendations

Pastore RL1, Brooks JT1, Carbone JW2.

School of Health Sciences, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI.

Recent research suggests that traditional grain-based heart-healthy diet recommendations, which replace dietary saturated fat with carbohydrate and reduce total fat intake, may result in unfavorable plasma lipid ratios, with reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and an elevation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triacylglycerols (TG). The current study tested the hypothesis that a grain-free Paleolithic diet would induce weight loss and improve plasma total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, and TG concentrations in nondiabetic adults with hyperlipidemia to a greater extent than a grain-based heart-healthy diet, based on the recommendations of the American Heart Association. 

Twenty volunteers (10 male and 10 female) aged 40 to 62 years were selected based on diagnosis of hypercholesterolemia. Volunteers were not taking any cholesterol-lowering medications and adhered to a traditional heart-healthy diet for 4 months, followed by a Paleolithic diet for 4 months. Regression analysis was used to determine whether change in body weight contributed to observed changes in plasma lipid concentrations. Differences in dietary intakes and plasma lipid measures were assessed using repeated-measures analysis of variance. Four months of Paleolithic nutrition significantly lowered (P < .001) mean total cholesterol, LDL, and TG and increased (P < .001) HDL, independent of changes in body weight, relative to both baseline and the traditional heart-healthy diet. 

Paleolithic nutrition offers promising potential for nutritional management of hyperlipidemia in adults whose lipid profiles have not improved after following more traditional heart-healthy dietary recommendations.

PMID: 26003334

[Darryl]

The study participants all lost significant (as in 11%) weight in the Paleo phase, but not in the AHA phase (2%, duh, high protein suppresses appetite), so the results aren't terribly meaningful for maintenance diets.

 

We know what happens during longer term maintenance of high protein, low-carb diets (higher cardiovascular and cancer mortality), though to be fair there are no studies whatsoever on long term outcomes of specifically paleo type diets.

 

They told the paleo participants what not to eat, but just gave AHA guidelines which are practically meaningless for most, so I'd expect compliance was rather poor for the AHA phase. The authors state compliance was monitored from food journals, but don't report on it otherwise.

 

Phase One: American Heart Association

•  < 7% daily energy derived from saturated fats
•  < 1% daily energy derived from trans fats
•  < 300mg dietary cholesterol per day
•  < 2400mg sodium per day

 

Phase Two: Paleolithic

•  abstain from all dairy, grains, and legumes
•  no more than ½ cup of potato per day
•  no more than 1 ounce of dried fruit per day
•  no more than 4 ounces of wine per day
•  no limit on egg consumption

I'm not suggesting paleo is bad - for most people consuming the standard American diet, the paleo prescription to avoid processed foods will offer marked improvements. I just don't think its optimal, compared to whole-plant based diets, focused on whole grains and legumes. Fiber is the healthiest appetite suppressant.

 

I think many looking for optimal diets will agree that the AHA guidelines leave much to be desired.

 

 

 

Edited by Darryl, 25 May 2015 - 07:17 PM.

[ta5]

Thanks Darryl. I was worried they were using Paleo to also imply high-protein. Which to me, it need not be high protein. It sounds like it probably wasn't if they only told them what not to eat.

[mikeinnaples]

We know what happens during longer term maintenance of high protein, low-carb diets (higher cardiovascular and cancer mortality), though to be fair there are no studies whatsoever on long term outcomes of specifically paleo type diets.

 

 

The very problem with most low carb diets is that they are also high protein. From my way of thinking, this is kind of defeating the purpose of going low carb to begin with due to what happens to the excess protein above and beyond what is needed for maintenance and repair. A paleo-keto diet mix seems extremely optimal to me, in such a way that you keep your carbs low AND protein low enough to stay in ketosis while generally eating paleo acceptable foods (with a few exceptions).

 

 

Here is a daily example for me straight out of my cron log:

 

Breakfast

Avocado

3 Eggs (cooked in OO)

tbsp wild blueberries

 

Lunch

Spinach/Collards salad w/cheese,cucumber, EVO, Alfalfa sprouts, Cherry tomato, celery, radish, flax seed

Small Chicken Breast (cooked in OO)

Raw Pecan halves

 

Dinner

Wild Caught Salmon (cooked in OO)

Spinach drizzled with EVO

Portabella Slices

 

 

2600 calories

19 grams net carbs

124 grams protein

221 grams fat

 

Only nutritional shortages (on cron)

 

Sodium (57%)

Potassium (92%)

 

To combat that (especially given my sweat factor from the gym+cardio), I add potassium and iodized salt to my green tea, as well as lightly sprinkling salt on my food.

 

 

 

So yeah not completely paleo .....but mostly, while keeping myself in Ketosis.

[misterE]

One word for you: Ornish.

[Matman32]

Paleo diet can mean alot of things. I think the stereotypical low carb paleo can be rather hard to sustain long term as it lacks fiber and can have too much proteins. It still does wonder for the health coming from a standard diet.

 

I have been eating more or less paleo for 2 and half year now (I still eat rice, chocolate, yogurt and emmentaler cheese). It solved big digestion issues I had with Crohn's disease. At some point I had problem when I reduced carbs too much (losing weight, low energy and constipation). Ketosis feels good, but I'm skeptical about its long term effects. I think that's why it makes a good short term intervention, but long term, you have to concentrate on a good source of carbs like sweet potatoes, rice or quinoa if you want to have an optimal microbiome. Good intake of prebiotics fiber and resistant starch is very important. A paleo diet must be high in quality fiber and this is often neglected.

 

I'm guessing I'm in the 50-100g of fiber/day range nowaday (I'm adding inulin and potato starch). This is the opposite of what is recommended to me by medical professionnals, as they push for a low fiber diet which pretty much garanties chronic diarrhea and metabolic issues long term. My CRP is 0, blood sugar and tension as low as they can be.