original human diet good for diabetes

Article from Staffan Lindeberg

The original human diet is good for people with diabetes

Lindeberg, S, Jönsson, T, Granfeldt, Y, Borgstrand, E, Soffman, J, Sjöström, K, and Ahrén, B. A Palaeolithic diet improves glucose tolerance more than a Mediterranean-like diet in individuals with ischaemic heart disease. Diabetologia, 2007; In press: http://www.springerlink.com/content/h7628r66r0552222

In a clinical study, we compared 14 patients who were advised to consume an ‘ancient’ (Paleolithic, ‘Old stone Age’) diet for three months with 15 patients who were recommended to follow a Mediterranean-like prudent diet with whole-grain cereals, low-fat dairy products, fruit, vegetables and refined fats generally considered healthy. All patients had increased blood sugar after carbohydrate intake (glucose intolerance), and most of them had overt diabetes type 2. In addition, all had been diagnosed with coronary heart disease. Patients in the Paleolithic group were recommended to eat lean meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, root vegetables and nuts, and to avoid grains, dairy foods and salt.

The main result was that the blood sugar rise in response to carbohydrate intake was markedly lower after 12 weeks in the Paleolithic group (–26%), while it barely changed in the Mediterranean group (–7%). At the end of the study, all patients in the Paleolithic group had normal blood glucose.

The improved glucose tolerance in the Paleolithic group was unrelated to changes in weight or waist circumference, although waist decreased slightly more in that group. Hence, the research group concludes that something more than caloric intake and weight loss was responsible for the improved handling of dietary carbohydrate. The main difference between the groups was a much lower intake of grains and dairy products and a higher fruit intake in the Paleolithic group. Bioactive substances in grains (e.g. wheat lectin) and dairy products (e.g. casein) have been shown to interfere with the metabolism of carbohydrates and fat in various studies.

If you want to prevent or treat diabetes type 2, it may be more efficient to avoid some of our modern foods than to count calories or carbohydrate >>.

This is the first controlled study of a Paleolithic diet in humans.

Comment in Science: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/vol317/issue5835/r-samples.dtl#317/5835/175c

See also http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070627225459.htm

Paleo Diet Newsletter// Acne // Lectins etc

May be of interest

Begin forwarded message:

The latest version of The Paleo Diet Newsletter is now available at www.thepaleodiet.com/newsletter/back_issues.shtml.  In this issue, we celebrate the release of the paperback version of The Dietary Cure for Acne with an interview with Dr. Cordain about just that topic. We also cover lectins and food poisoning, and address a question about Paleolithic man’s consumption of legumes, grains, and tubers.

We are proud to announce the available of two new resources. The first is the paperback version of The Dietary Cure for Acne. If you have not yet read this because you did not want to download and print out an ebook, now is your chance to obtain the book in paperback form. Whether you have acne or not, if you are interested in optimum health and nutrition you should read this book and have it on your bookshelf.

Also newly available is the DVD Acne Vulgaris: A Disease of Western Civilization; Understanding The Dietary Cure for Acne. This recording is of a talk given last year at the Boulderfest nutrition conference. It comes complete with 70 footnoted slides, and gives a clear explanation of the evidence supporting the relationship between diet and acne.

Both the book and DVD are available at www.DietaryAcneCure.com. The book retails for $24.95, and the DVD is priced at $19.95

PS What I like about this stuff from Prof Cordain is that it is backed up by references (many of which he has authored) in reputable peer-reviewed scientific journals, and that his reputation as an academic at a well-regarded university (Colorado State) is on the line 

 …….    as opposed to half-baked theories/theoreticians/diet gurus you often see on ‘the net’.

Recent studies on Diet and Acne

Acne is not an issue for me, but it is for many. Also, the acne story is part of a bigger, fascinating story on the relationship between diet and health, more specifically, the modern western diet and “the Paleolithic diet”.

The following is from a recent newsletter from Prof Cordain and colleagues. For more, go to ‘the PaleoDiet website’.

“Recent studies on Diet and Acne

In May of 2006, Harvard researchers published a study titled Milk consumption and acne in adolescent girls. That study included 6,094 girls, aged 9-15 years, who reported dietary intake on up to three food frequency questionnaires for three years. The researchers found a positive association between intake of milk and acne.

Now just one year later, a new study is now about to be published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology: The effect of a high-protein, low glycemic-load diet on biochemical parameters associated with acne vulgaris: A randomized, investigator-masked, controlled trial. In this study, 43 male patients completed a 12-week dietary intervention study, eating a “low glycemic load” diet, also higher in protein. Dramatic before and after pictures illustrate the conclusions of the study suggesting that nutrition-related factors do play a role in acne pathogenesis.

Not only was total acne lesion count significantly reduced, but circulating androgen levels were reduced and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) was increased. As you know from page 41 of The Dietary Cure for Acne, increased androgen levels directly stimulate overproduction of oil from the sebaceous gland.

IBFBP-1 binds IGF-1, making it less available, a good thing. On page 49 we discuss how increased IGF-1 may stimulate overproduction of skin cells, ultimately leading to pore blockage.

So this is the first modern study to show that diet underlies acne. The participants in the above study ate a diet with a higher protein level and a lower glycemic load, and showed significant improvement. They did however eat dairy, pasta, and other foods that likely had a negative effect. It will be very interesting to see how these results may improve in future studies that incorporate all of the recommendations from The Dietary Cure for Acne.

Dietary Implications for the Development of Acne: A Shifting Paradigm

The dermatology textbooks still teach that diet and acne are unrelated, but that myth will soon be dissolving. Dr. Cordain recently wrote a paper in U.S. Dermatology Review (available at http://www.ThePaleoDiet.com/published_research/), Dietary Implications for the Development of Acne: A Shifting Paradigm, which discusses the recent studies and new findings.”

The dermatology textbooks still teach that diet and acne are unrelated, but that myth will soon be dissolving. Dr. Cordain recently wrote a paper in U.S. Dermatology Review (available at http://www.ThePaleoDiet.com/published_research/), Dietary Implications for the Development of Acne: A Shifting Paradigm, which discusses the recent studies and new findings.