Against the grain, caveman diet gains traction - The Daily Star
WASHINGTON: Could Paleolithic man hold the key to solving today's nutrition problems?
A growing number of adherents to the so-called "caveman" diet contend that a return to the hunter-gatherer foods of the Stone Age – heavy on meats, devoid of most grains – could alleviate problems like obesity, type 2 diabetes and many coronary problems.
The Paleo diet movement is backed by some academics and fitness gurus, and has gained some praise in medical research in the U.S. and elsewhere even though it goes against recommendations of most mainstream nutritionists and government guidelines.
Loren Cordain, a professor of health and exercise science at Colorado State University, said he believes millions in the United States and elsewhere are following the Paleo diet movement, based on sales of books such as his own and Internet trends.
"It was an obscure idea 10 years ago, and in the last two to three years it has become known worldwide," said Cordain, one the leading academics backing the Paleo diet.
The underlying basis for the Stone Age diet is a belief that homo sapiens evolved into modern humans with a hunter-gatherer diet that promoted brain function and overall health. Backers say the human genome is essentially unchanged from the end of the Paleolithic era 10,000 years ago after evolving over millions of years.
"It's intuitive," Cordain said. "Obviously you can't feed meat to a horse, you can't feed hay to a cat. The reason for that is that their genes were shaped in different ecological niches."
He said peer-reviewed research has shown the Paleo diet better than the Mediterranean diet, U.S. government recommendations and diets aimed at controlling adult diabetes.
One study published in the Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology showed a Paleolithic diet "improved glycemic control and several cardiovascular risk factors compared to a diabetes diet."
A Swedish study published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism found that a Stone Age diet is "more satiating per calorie than a Mediterranean-like diet," making it something to be considered in fighting obesity.
Some aspects of the Paleo diet are widely accepted, such as shunning many refined and processed starches and sugars in favor of fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables. But the controversy stems from its elimination of most cereals, legumes and dairy products, relying instead on high-protein meats, fish and eggs.
But a U.S. News survey of nutritionists ranked the Paleo diet last among 20 possible options, far below the Mediterranean, vegan or Weight Watchers diets.
It noted that the Paleo diet gets 23 percent of calories from carbohydrates compared to 45 to 65 percent in U.S. government recommendations, and that the Stone Age regime is higher than recommended for protein and fat.
"While its focus on veggies and lean meat is admirable, experts couldn't get past the fact that entire food groups, like dairy and grains, are excluded on Paleo diets," U.S. News said.
Cordain acknowledges that because of the way society has evolved, it is impractical to feed the world with Paleo diets because many societies have become dependent on cereals.
But he says it can be successfully used in many Western countries.
17 Sep, 2011--
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