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Caveman Diet

Was the Caveman Fat? Paleo Diet Meal Plan Wins Again

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The Paleo diet, formerly known as the caveman diet, seems to be a better match for our genetic makeup.

I’ve written before on my thoughts of the Paleo diet (which can be found by clicking here).  I do feel that this an overall good approach to healthy eating.  However, this is with the caveat that our cavemen ancestors likely had a far more varied source of animal proteins.  Here in the civilized world pork, chicken and beef dominate.  In the truly Paleo, animal protein sources would’ve included insects and small mammals like mice and squirrels.  I’m pretty sure we weren’t pulling down a boar or antelope every day for dinner.  In case you don’t believe me, grab a spear for yourself and try to feed your family.

This particular study takes a very scientific view of the diet to see how it performs physiologically.  Here are the details of the diet used in the study:

  • The diet had a relatively high content of protein (30%) and unsaturated fat [40%–mainly monounsaturated fatty acids like olive oil and nuts] but limited carbohydrates (30%) and saturated fat.
  • The group was small, consisting of 10 overweight, postmenopausal females, on the diet for 5 weeks.

The results were pretty impressive for a mere 5 weeks of what is likely a very palatable and livable diet:

  1. Overall caloric intake decreased by 25%.
  2. Average weight loss was just shy of 10 pounds (9.9).
  3. BMI, waist and hip circumference,  waist/hip ratio and abdominal sagittal diameter also dropped.
  4. Diastolic blood pressure dropped 7 points.
  5. Drops in fasting glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL/HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1), urinary C-peptide (a sign of insulin release) all dropped.
  6. Liver triglyceride levels plummeted by 49%.

Basically, in just a little over a month, the women in this study turned around their diabetic trajectory.  Makes it hard to believe that well over half our country is either diabetic or on their way to diabetes when it can be so readily controlled with dietary choices.

Should You Try the Paleo Diet Meal Plan? 5 Reasons to Start

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Pretty much everyone has heard of the Paleo diet meal plan by now.  It has gone through many name changes over the years (I first heard it referenced as the Caveman Diet), but it’s basically the same.

The premise?  You’re a hunter gatherer and you should act like one.  To put things into perspective, remember that our genetics change very, very, very slowly, over the course of thousands of generations.  With this in mind, know that we have spent:

  • 2 generations in the digital age
  • 7 generations in the industrial age
  • 350 generations in the agricultural age
  • A whopping 84,000 generations as hunter gatherers

Kind of puts it into perspective, huh?  Merely a blink since we left the hunter-gatherer lifestyle.

So what is the general idea of a Paleo lifestyle?  If a hunter gatherer didn’t eat it, neither should you.  That means that Twinkies and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos are off the list.  It means you are eating unprocessed foods as close to organic as possible (Roundup didn’t come along until, well…”today” as far as “generations” are concerned).

Here’s where almost every Paleo guy gets it wrong.  You know the “hunter” part?  If I gave you a spear and sent you out to get your animal protein, I’m pretty sure most of us aren’t coming back in an hour dragging a boar or elk.

Let’s face it.  You’d be lucky to nab a squirrel or an injured bird.  Seriously.  Have you ever tried to catch a mouse empty handed?

And don’t forget bugs.  Another likely source of protein for our hunter-gatherer ancestors.

Still interested?

Regardless of whether or not you can hunt, a back to basics lifestyle with unprocessed foods is not a bad idea.  But what happens when you put a small group of obese postmenopausal females on a Paleo diet consisting of 30% protein, 40% fat and 30% carbohydrates?

We get a chance to find out in this particular study.  Here’s what the researchers found after just 5 short weeks:

  1. Energy intake dropped by 25%.
  2. BMI as well as waist/hip ratio decreased.
  3. Diastolic blood pressure dropped an average of 7 mmHg.
  4. Other markers that dropped were fasting glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL/HDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B (ApoB) and apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1).
  5. The amount of triglycerides in the liver decreased by 49%.

Not too shabby overall for a mere months’ worth of dietary change.  This just shows had bad for us our heavily processed, everything-out-of-a-box-or-can lifestyle is for us.

Have you “gone Paleo?”  If so, what were your hardest challenges?