Grain-free paleolithic diet improves cholesterol levels better than traditional “heart healthy diet”

Posted on September 29, 2016 | Comments Off on Grain-free paleolithic diet improves cholesterol levels better than traditional “heart healthy diet”
See modern man walking off that cliff?

See modern man walking off that cliff?

I haven’t read the full text of this new study, but here’s the abstract in case you’re interested:

“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.”

 

Source: Paleolithic nutrition improves plasma lipid concentrations of hypercholesterolemic adults to a greater extent than traditional heart-healthy dietar… – PubMed – NCBI

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Posted in Grains, Heart Disease, Paleo Diet

Meta-Analysis: Paleolithic Nutrition for Metabolic Syndrome

Posted on September 28, 2016 | Comments Off on Meta-Analysis: Paleolithic Nutrition for Metabolic Syndrome

From the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2015:

“Paleolithic nutrition, which has attracted substantial public attention lately because of its putative health benefits, differs radically from dietary patterns currently recommended in guidelines, particularly in terms of its recommendation to exclude grains, dairy, and nutritional products of industry.

Conclusions: The Paleolithic diet resulted in greater short-term improvements on metabolic syndrome components than did guideline-based control diets. The available data warrant additional evaluations of the health benefits of Paleolithic nutrition.”

Source: Paleolithic nutrition for metabolic syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis

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DietDoctor Shares More Practical Tips for Fasting 

Posted on September 27, 2016 | Comments Off on DietDoctor Shares More Practical Tips for Fasting 
This guy had long spans of time between meals, perhaps days

This guy had long spans of time between meals, perhaps days

Yet another good post from DietDoctor! Why fast? Among many reasons is that fasting turns on autophagy, which helps clear the debris of daily living out of your cells, probably leading to longer life.

Click here for P.D. Mangan’s post on fasting and autophagy.

Dr. Fung at DietDoctor also warns about the danger of hypoglycemia for certain folks with diabetes. Read that part carefully.

Anyway, here are Dr. Fung’s top eight tips:

“Drink water: Start each morning with a full eight-ounce glass of water.

Stay busy: It’ll keep your mind off food. It often helps to choose a busy day at work for a fast day.

Drink coffee: Coffee is a mild appetite suppressant. Green tea, black tea, and bone broth may also help.Ride the waves: Hunger comes in waves; it is not continuous. When it hits, slowly drink a glass of water or a hot cup of coffee. Often by the time you’ve finished, your hunger will have passed.

Don’t tell anybody you are fasting: Most people will try to discourage you, as they do not understand the benefits. A close-knit support group is often beneficial, but telling everybody you know is not a good idea.

Give yourself one month: It takes time for your body to get used to fasting. The first few times you fast may be difficult, so be prepared. Don’t be discouraged. It will get easier.

Follow a nutritious diet on non-fast days: Intermittent fasting is not an excuse to eat whatever you like. During non-fasting days, stick to a nutritious diet low in sugars and refined carbohydrates.

Don’t’ binge: After fasting, pretend it never happened. Eat normally, as if you had never fasted.”

Source: More Practical Tips for Fasting – Diet Doctor

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: I don’t feature fasting in any of my books, but I’ve gradually come around to seeing the potential benefits.

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Posted in Longevity

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Paleolithic and Mediterranean Diet Patterns Reduce Markers of Inflammation

Posted on September 26, 2016 | Comments Off on Paleolithic and Mediterranean Diet Patterns Reduce Markers of Inflammation

shutterstock_46067602

Many chronic medical conditions are though to be caused by chronic inflammation in our bodies. Sample conditions include high blood pressure, coronary artery disease (heart attacks), metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and perhaps some cancers.

Taking the association further: could we prevent or alleviate these conditions by reducing inflammation? If so, diet is one way to do it.

Here’s an abstract from a scientific article I found:

Background: Chronic inflammation and oxidative balance are associated with poor diet quality and risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. A diet–inflammation/oxidative balance association may relate to evolutionary discordance.

“Objective: We investigated associations between 2 diet pattern scores, the Paleolithic and the Mediterranean, and circulating concentrations of 2 related biomarkers, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), an acute inflammatory protein, and F2-isoprostane, a reliable marker of in vivo lipid peroxidation.

Methods: In a pooled cross-sectional study of 30- to 74-y-old men and women in an elective outpatient colonoscopy population (n = 646), we created diet scores from responses on Willett food-frequency questionnaires and measured plasma hsCRP and F2-isoprostane concentrations by ELISA and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, respectively. Both diet scores were calculated and categorized into quintiles, and their associations with biomarker concentrations were estimated with the use of general linear models to calculate and compare adjusted geometric means, and via unconditional ordinal logistic regression.

Results: There were statistically significant trends for decreasing geometric mean plasma hsCRP and F2-isoprostane concentrations with increasing quintiles of the Paleolithic and Mediterranean diet scores. The multivariable-adjusted ORs comparing those in the highest with those in the lowest quintiles of the Paleolithic and Mediterranean diet scores were 0.61 (95% CI: 0.36, 1.05; P-trend = 0.06) and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.42, 1.20; P-trend = 0.01), respectively, for a higher hsCRP concentration, and 0.51 (95% CI: 0.27, 0.95; P-trend 0.01) and 0.39 (95% CI: 0.21, 0.73; P-trend = 0.01), respectively, for a higher F2-isoprostane concentration.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that diets that are more Paleolithic- or Mediterranean-like may be associated with lower levels of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress in humans.”

Source: Paleolithic and Mediterranean Diet Pattern Scores Are Inversely Associated with Biomarkers of Inflammation and Oxidative Balance in Adults

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Posted in Paleo Diet, Paleo Theory

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Which Costs More?: Mediterranean Diet, a Modified Paleo Diet, or Intermittent Fasting

Posted on September 25, 2016 | Comments Off on Which Costs More?: Mediterranean Diet, a Modified Paleo Diet, or Intermittent Fasting

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Click the link at bottom for details. From the study abstract:

“Background: Obesity, and resulting health problems, is a growing issue facing today’s society. Weight-loss diets are popular worldwide but have shown mixed health outcomes. Current research has shown that the Mediterranean (MED) and Paleolithic (Paleo) diets as well as Intermittent Fasting (IF) have positive health outcomes. However, there is very little research surrounding the cost of all three popular diets. One factor that may influence long- term adherence is the cost of the dietary regime.

Conclusion: Although these differences in costs were not significant, the analysis suggests the Paleo diet is a slightly more expensive plan, while the IF plan has emerged as a potentially cheaper weight-loss intervention. Small sample sizes in the Paleo diet plan limits the potential for comparison.”

Source: A Cost Analysis of Three Popular Diets: the Mediterranean Diet, a Modified Paleo Diet and Intermittent Fasting

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Optimal Insulin Injection Guidelines from FITTER

Posted on September 24, 2016 | Comments Off on Optimal Insulin Injection Guidelines from FITTER
Going in at a 45 degree angle with a 6 mm needle

Going in at a 45 degree angle with a 6 mm needle

“Many primary care professionals manage injection or infusion therapies in patients with diabetes. Few published guidelines have been available to help such professionals and their patients manage these therapies. Herein, we present new, practical, and comprehensive recommendations for diabetes injections and infusions. These recommendations were informed by a large international survey of current practice and were written and vetted by 183 diabetes experts from 54 countries at the Forum for Injection Technique and Therapy: Expert Recommendations (FITTER) workshop held in Rome, Italy, in 2015.”

Source: New Insulin Delivery Recommendations – Mayo Clinic Proceedings

Here are some bullet points that most insulin users need to know:

  • Average skin thickness is 2 to 2.5 mm, with 90% of people under 3.25 mm.
  • Use the shortest needles: 6 mm for syringes, 4 mm for pen injectors. The short needles help you avoid injections into muscle. Injection into muscle increases risk of hypoglycemia and wide blood glucose excursions.
  • Acceptable injection sites: abdomen, thighs, buttocks, upper arms (usually on the back of the arm).
  • If an arm site is chosen with a 6 mm needle, inject into a lifted skin fold (otherwise you might hit muscle).
  • When using the 6 mm needle, inject into a lifted skinfold if you are a child or normal-weight adult. Alternatively, insert the needle at a 45 degree angle.
  • The preferred site for regular insulin (soluble human insulin) is the abdomen, for faster absorption.
  • Use needles only once. (Admittedly, many get away with multiple uses without much trouble.)
  • Don’t inject into lipohypertrophy areas. Lipohypertrophy eventually is an issue in half of insulin users. It is a localized area of swelling or lumpiness at the site of prior injections. It’s often easier to feel than to see. Injection into these areas causes erratic absorption of insulin, with potential widely fluctuating and unpredictable blood sugar levels.
  • Rotate injection sites to avoid lipohypertrophy.
  • If using cloudy insulins (e.g., NPH and some pre-mixed insulins), gently roll and tip the vial or pen until the solution is milk white.

Click here to read about…

  • How to roll and tip a vial to make cloudy insulin milk white.
  • Proper needle disposal.
  • Insulin infusion sets for continuous subcutaneous insulin injection via pumps.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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diaTribe Presents Expert Advice On Pregnancy and Diabetes From Dr. Lois Jovanovič 

Posted on September 23, 2016 | Comments Off on diaTribe Presents Expert Advice On Pregnancy and Diabetes From Dr. Lois Jovanovič 

Diabetes types 1 and 2 along with gestational diabetes are addressed in this diaTribe interview. For example:

“According to Dr. Jovanovič, it is important to make sure family members understand the importance of reducing carb intake for blood sugar management during pregnancy. She said that grandmas in particular “often think a pregnant lady needs to eat all the time and not only eat all the time, but eat tortillas and rice and pasta. The grandma often cooks and thickens food with starch, puts a lot of noodles in it, etc. Then of course the young woman doesn’t want to disappoint her grandma, and it can be a difficult situation.” Clear communication can help a supportive family provide medically sound support, in line with the mutually desired outcome – a healthy mom and baby!”

Source: Diabetes and Pregnancy: Expert Advice from Pregnancy Guru Dr. Lois Jovanovič | diaTribe

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Impact of meat and Lower Palaeolithic food processing techniques on chewing in humans 

Posted on September 23, 2016 | Comments Off on Impact of meat and Lower Palaeolithic food processing techniques on chewing in humans 
Gotcha!

Gotcha!

Catherine Zink and Daniel Lieberman have a research paper you science nerds might be interested in. A teaser:

“Yet Homo erectus differs from earlier hominins in having relatively smaller teeth, reduced chewing muscles, weaker maximum bite force capabilities, and a relatively smaller gut. This paradoxical combination of increased energy demands along with decreased masticatory and digestive capacities is hypothesized to have been made possible by adding meat to the diet, by mechanically processing food using stone tools, or by cooking. Cooking, however, was apparently uncommon until 500,000 years ago.

Source: Impact of meat and Lower Palaeolithic food processing techniques on chewing in humans : Nature : Nature Publishing Group

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Posted in Paleo Theory

How to Pick a Church

Posted on September 22, 2016 | 5 comments

Nativity Scene

I know most of you paleo dieters are godless heathens. But not all of you…

Let’s say you’re not happy with the ideology of your current church or you quit going to church years ago and are thinking about returning. Do you want a liberal or a conservative church? How would you find a church where you fit in?

One starting point would be to review a neat graphic put together by Tobin Grant. (Sorry, non-Americans, this is mostly about American churches. But there are data points for atheists and agnostics, too.)

Based on surveys of churchgoers, Mr. Grant classifies churches by where they stand on size of government and “protection of morality.” I’m not saying this is the best way to choose a church; it’s one way to get started.

Happy hunting!

Steve Parker, M.D.

5 Comments

Posted in Religion

Paleolithic Diet Beat Standard Healthy Diet in Overweight Australian Women

Posted on September 20, 2016 | Comments Off on Paleolithic Diet Beat Standard Healthy Diet in Overweight Australian Women
She doesn't need to lose weight

She doesn’t need to lose weight

By “beat the other diet,” I mean it in terms of weight loss. Over four weeks, the paleo dieters lost an extra 2 kg (4.4 lb) compared to the other group. Click the link at bottom for full text of the study. Here’s the abstract:

Background: The Paleolithic diet is popular in Australia, however, limited literature surrounds the dietary pattern. Our primary aim was to compare the Paleolithic diet with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGHE) in terms of anthropometric, metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors, with a secondary aim to examine the macro and micronutrient composition of both dietary patterns.

Methods: 39 healthy women (mean ± SD age 47 ± 13 years, BMI 27 ± 4 kg/m2) were randomised to either the Paleolithic (n = 22) or AGHE diet (n = 17) for four weeks. Three-day weighed food records, body composition and biochemistry data were collected pre and post intervention.

Results: Significantly greater weight loss occurred in the Paleolithic group (−1.99 kg, 95% CI −2.9, −1.0), p < 0.001). There were no differences in cardiovascular and metabolic markers between groups. The Paleolithic group had lower intakes of carbohydrate (−14.63% of energy (E), 95% CI −19.5, −9.7), sodium (−1055 mg/day, 95% CI −1593, −518), calcium (−292 mg/day 95% CI −486.0, −99.0) and iodine (−47.9 μg/day, 95% CI −79.2, −16.5) and higher intakes of fat (9.39% of E, 95% CI 3.7, 15.1) and β-carotene (6777 μg/day 95% CI 2144, 11410) (all p < 0.01).

Conclusions: The Paleolithic diet induced greater changes in body composition over the short-term intervention, however, larger studies are recommended to assess the impact of the Paleolithic vs. AGHE diets on metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors in healthy populations.

Source: Nutrients | Free Full-Text | Cardiovascular, Metabolic Effects and Dietary Composition of Ad-Libitum Paleolithic vs. Australian Guide to Healthy Eating Diets: A 4-Week Randomised Trial | HTML

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Posted in Weight Loss