A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition acknowledged that the contemporary American diet fuels numerous chronic diseases. The study then compared the results of participants eating their usual diet with the effects of changing to a paleolithic diet. The paleolithic diet provided metabolic and physiologic improvements in a matter of days.

How participants changed their diet

Nine sedentary, but not obese, healthy volunteers joined a metabolically-controlled study as outpatients. Their weight was checked daily to ensure there was no weight loss.

The participants first ate as usual for 3 days. Then, for 7 days, they consumed three ramp-up diets that increased potassium and fiber. They finished the study by eating a paleolithic diet of lean meats, fruits, vegetables and nuts for 10 days.

What the study measured

In all of the following measured variables, either eight or all nine participants had identical directional responses when eating a paleolithic diet. The study looked at:

• Arterial blood pressure (BP)
  
  
• 24-hour urine sodium and potassium excretion
  
  
• Plasma glucose and insulin areas under the curve (AUC) during a two-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). The glycemic index of a food is defined as the area under the two-hour blood glucose response curve (AUC) following the ingestion of a fixed portion of carbohydrate (usually 50 g).
  
  
• Insulin sensitivity, which generally shows the risk for heart problems
  
  
• Plasma lipid concentrations, which are also used to determine the risk of coronary heart disease, and
  
  
• Brachial artery (the major blood vessel of the upper arm) reactivity in response to ischemia (a restriction in blood supply)

• Our resident Paleo expert on using the Paleo Diet in Ironman competitions will be competing Saturday, Oct 10, at 7 AM Hawaii time! Both Nell and her husband Chris will be competing. You can follow them at www.ironmanlive.com by going to the “Athlete Tracker” function and following Stephenson.
  
  
• Changes are coming! It is our goal to continue to put out the very best, most scientifically valid, cutting edge publication dedicated toward exploring the connection between diet and health (and disease). We have content improvements planned, and some exciting topics coming. In the mean time, please send me any suggestions you have for what you would like to see – I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments!
  
  
• Fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds provide antioxidants: The Journal of Nutrition published a cross-sectional analysis of African American men and women participating in a study of diet and physical activity. The researchers recommended increasing consumption of fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds to increase total antioxidant capacity. The Paleo Diet is very high in these foods, and thus very nutritionally dense.
  
  
• High-protein diets have been shown to increase energy expenditure: A study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition analyzed a high-protein, carbohydrate-free diet. Researchers concluded that 42 percent of the increase in energy expenditure after the high-protein, carbohydrate-free diet was explained by an increase in gluconeogenesis (one of two main mechanisms the body uses to keep blood glucose levels from dropping too low).
  
  
• Dr. Loren Cordain will speak in Berlin, Germany: On October 13th and14th, Dr. Cordain will present “Human Nutritional Evolution” at the Workshop on Evolution and Diseases of Civilization. This will be held at Humboldt Graduate School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt University, Luisenstrasse 56, Berlin, Germany.
  
  

• Wondering where to start to improve your health? In our Paleo Diet Implementation Program, you’ll get a step-by-step guide on what to eat. This will help you overcome the challenge of what to eat for breakfast, how to grocery shop, and how to prep meals easily and quickly. With easy-to-follow recipes, dining out suggestions, and tips for healthy eating while traveling, you’ll get six consecutive weeks of live teleconference coaching and Q&A support to help you put your new eating habits into practice.
  
  With readily available modern foods, the Paleo Diet Implementation Program mimics the types of foods every single person on the planet ate prior to the Agricultural Revolution (that’s 99.9% of our genetic history). When people eat the diet we evolved to need, intractable health problems often disappear, excess body fat melts away, the complexion clears, digestion improves, we have more energy, and aches and pains often subside with the body’s natural response to a diet that optimizes functioning and metabolism.
  
  Here’s one of the reports we’ve received from those who have implemented the program:

  “I had my 70th birthday last April, which brought me to think about my general condition. Although I was eating the same diet as my husband, while he was skinny, I was overweight, suffering from asthma, high blood pressure, a hiatus hernia and high cholesterol. Whatever I did, I could not get rid of the large tummy, and I seemed destined to take steroids and statins for the rest of my life.
  
  I started the diet. By the end of August, my exercise asthma (which I have had all my life) had gone.
  
  By October, my blood pressure was coming down and now, one year later, I take no medication for it and have a constant blood pressure that is low to normal. My cholesterol is excellent with very low ‘bad’ cholesterol, so I have given up statins, although my bemused doctor had told me I would have to be on them for life! In fact, from having taken a multitude of pills and potions everyday, I now take none and feel fantastic!
  
  I have, of course, lost the excess weight and am now stabilized at exactly the same weight as my husband, 63 kilos.
  
  My hiatus hernia has not given a murmur, and apart from when I indulge in peppers, I have no signs of even the mildest indigestion. I have bags of energy and my muscle strength has improved enormously, I can open jars I could not manage a year ago, and I find ten mile walks up and down steep hills and gorges, no problem! My energy level is fairly constant and I no longer have ‘troughs and highs’ during a day.
  
  I have found other side effects to the diet: notably my hair (which was getting thinner and starting to grow gray) is now getting thicker and longer and getting darker again. My fingernails are much stronger and smoother and seem to grow faster. My concentration is much improved and my problem solving ability is excellent. Where before I found myself mentally alert at different times of the day, I now find this is constant. I have the feeling that my memory has improved - I don't find names and words escaping me in conversation.
  
  People who meet me all comment on how well I look and ask me what I am on! Certainly, I do not feel my age and I am more active and fitter than I was 20 years ago.
  
  Thank you so much for sharing this diet and lifestyle. It really has transformed my life.”
  

  Hilary R.

• What’s in milk that increases your risk of inflammation (an underlying factor in most disease)? Here’s our research into what links milk with a host of diseases from The Paleo Diet Update archive:

  “Constantly consuming milk from any of these species (or any dairy product with a concomitantly high lactose and protein content) will cause a chronic state of hyperinsulinemia. This can cause insulin resistance^13-15, (the primary metabolic defect underlying the metabolic syndrome¹), obesity^16-18, polycystic ovary syndrome¹, increased inflammation¹⁹, and can chronically elevate the IGF-1/IGFBP-3 ratio¹, which is implicated in various epithelial cell cancers, acne, juvenile myopia, and other diseases.¹”
  

  This research (available in Vol. 4 Issue 20 “Milk and Hyperinsulinemia”), and the entire Paleo Diet Update archive are available online at www.ThePaleoDiet.com/store.shtml.