Paleolithic Diet: What is so different? Is it healthy?

 Facebook Dr. Anil        Home page        AutismItsGutStupid 

By Anil Minocha MD, author of Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Health benefits of paleolithic diet

Modern day diseases like atherosclerosis, obesity, metabolic syndrome etc were extremely rare among ancient populations just as they continue to be among tribal people in remote areas unaffected by modern influences and continuing paleolithic lifestyle including diet just as their predecessors in early times of evolution.

 

Of note, studies from Italy have documented that food processing, and possibly the production of flour, was a common practice, widespread across Europe from at least ~30,000 y ago.

According to the Evolutionary Discordance Hypothesis, deviations from diet, exercise and lifestyle patterns our hunter-gatherer ancestors are responsible in large measure for many of chronic medical ailments that characterise our Western society.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

• Drs. Konner and Eaton from the Emory University state that anthropological evidence continues to indicate that ancestral human diets prevalent during our evolution were characterized by "much lower levels of refined carbohydrates and sodium, much higher levels of fiber and protein, and comparable levels of fat (primarily unsaturated fat) and cholesterol. Physical activity levels were also much higher than current levels, resulting in higher energy throughput".
• Jonsson and colleagues from Lund University have shown that paleolithic diet is superior to diabetic diet in improving glycemic control cardiovascular risk factors in patients with diabetes.

Paleolithic diet versus mediterrranean diet

Comparison of paleolithic diet and mediterranean diet shows that the old stone age diet is superior to commonly practiced mediterranean diet for improving glucose tolerance as well as  producing more satiety per calorie in patients with ischemic heart disease.

 

Why is paleolithic diet healthy despite its "seemingly nonhealthy" components?

Perhaps we are looking at wrong concept. Instead of looking at what is included in paleolithic diet, clues for absence of modern day diseases might lie in what was absent in old stone age paleolithic diet.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

What were components of ancient human diet

The diet was essentially what was available.

• Fruit and berries
• Plant shoots, leaves and flowers
• Meats including organ meats
• Fish
• Insects
• Eggs

* The relative proportion of different components of food in paleolithic diet is debatable. Nevertheless, paleolithic diet components currently provide only about 25% of modern calorie intake.

**Studies by Kuipers et al published in British Journal of Nutrition have documented a much higher levels of long chain PUFA and lower levels of lenoleic acid.

**Note the conspicuous absence of grains in the ancient diet.

 

Fruit in paleolithic diet and concern about high fructose consumption

Fruit comprised a large component of paleolithic diet contributing for atleast 50 million years with some changes occuring about 5 million years ago. In addition to studies in hunter-gatherers, diet of non-human primates may provide clues. For example, fruits comprise as much as 40-75% by weight of diet among chimpanzees.

 

Fructose in fruits comprises as much as 20-40% of the carbohydrate content. While high fructose ingestion has been linked albeit with weak evidence to rising obesity and metabolic syndrome in modern society, consumption of less than 60g of fructose per day appears to be safe.

There may also be differences in metabolic processes and outcome when fruit as a whole is consumed along with other plant components. Most of the fructose in modern world is derived from non-natural sources such as refined sugars and high-fructose corn syrup. 

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

High starch content of paleolithic diet and health concerns

Starchy foods became part of staple diet about 1-2 million years ago. Just as in case of fructose, high starch content has been implicated in pathogenesis of obesity and cardiovascular disease. Role of high starch diet as a causative factor on its own is debatable.

Studies by Lindeberg and Lundh on people from the island of Kitava in Africa still consuming paleolithic diet including high starch unaffected by modern influences, contradicts this hypothesis since no cases of cerebrovascular accidents or angina pectoris were seen in the population.

High meat content of paleolithic diet and health concerns

Meat was consumed in substantial amounts early during evolution. Studies on different hunter gatherer populations revealed that majority of them consumed meat, fish and shell fish for 26-68% of their energy needs. Adult chimpanzees consume about 65g meat per day.

It is intriguing that although high meat consumption in the modern society has been linked (although not proven as a cause) to high cholesterol, hypertension and atherosclerosis, such disorders are uncommon among hunter gatherers.

High fish content of paleolithic diet may in part explain beneficial effects on cholesterol and atherosclerosis. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish appear to shift lipid profile towards healthy proprtions and prevent coronary artery disease. However, seafood availability early in evolution as at best sporadic and consistent access to seafood for ancient humans occured only after they left Africa.

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Another potential explanation may lie in the fact that wild meat has low fat and high omega-3 fatty acid content as compared to farmed animal meat. Same is true for wild fish as compared to farmed fish and most of fish consumed these days is farmed fish.

Even more intriguing than the diffrences in type of meat and fish might is the possibility that modern day ailments are more so related to the foods that were absent early in the course of evolution.

 

High insect and larvae content of paleolithic diet and health concerns

The fact that insects and larvae were significant proportion of paleolithic diet in most early humans is not disputed. They continue to be a significant part of non-human primate diet. They are a rich source of proteins and calories. There is paucity of data on implications for health.

 

High consumption of nuts early in evolution and health concerns

Nuts are a rich source of nutrition including proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Overall consumption of nuts has been associated with lower risk of heart disease.

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

High consumption of seeds early in evolution and health concerns  

Wild seeds were part of paleolithic diet but were not derived from the same family as wheat, rice etc. In addition, a large variety of seeds was consumed especially no single seed type on a daily basis. Seeds also formed a small component of paleolithic energy needs.

 

This is in contrast to the past, current consumption of few varieties of grains wheat, rice etc form a substantial portion of energy needs on a daily basis. The modern grain consumption as such may allow any toxic components to be bombarding the gut on a daily basis and seek and gain access into the body to assert harmful effects in an otherwise predisposed subject. 

Wall Street Journal Best Seller Dr. M's Seven-X Plan for Digestive Health

Current human diet

• Grains
• Milk and milk products
• Refined fats
• Sugar products
• Beans and pulses

Contrasting paleolithic diet and current human diet

As much as 75% of the current diet is derived from foods like wheat and other grains, dairy products, refined fats especially trans-type, refined sugar in addition to high sodium intake. Such foods were practically absent from paleolithic diet.

 

Perhaps as Dr. Knight of University of Adelaide in Australia said it best as a an explanation of rising tide of obesity, "Most people are simply not designed to eat pasta."

Source: Lindberg S:  American J Hum Biol 2012 

Is It Leaky Gut or Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Facebook Dr. Anil        Home page        AutismItsGutStupid