Paleo Diet, also known as the caveman diet, has long been touted as a healthy lifestyle choice by its proponents. But a new study by the University of Melbourne says otherwise.
Before getting into the details of the study, here's a brief on the Paleo Diet for the uninitiated readers.
The Paleo Diet is based on the concept that following food patterns of prehistoric humans will help to avoid diseases associated with our modern diet - say obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and most autoimmune diseases. Meats, fish/seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, nuts and seeds, and oils from olive, walnut, flaxseed, macadamia, avocado and coconut find a place in the Paleo Diet plan. But cereal grains, legumes, dairy products, refined sugar, potatoes, processed foods, salt and refined vegetable oils are a "strict no" if you are adopting the Paleo Diet.
Now, let's get back to the University of Melbourne study...
A version of the Paleo diet - low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet - for just eight weeks can lead to rapid weight gain and health complications, particularly in people who are already overweight and lead sedentary lifestyles, suggests the study.
As part of the study, overweight mice with pre-diabetes symptoms were selected and divided into two groups. One group was put on low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet - where the mice were switched from a 3% fat diet to a 60% cent fat diet with their carbs being reduced to only 20%. The other group of mice was given normal diet.
After eight weeks, here's what the researchers found...
The group on the LCHF gained more weight, their glucose intolerance worsened, and their insulin levels rose. The mice on Paleo Diet gained 15% of their body weight and their fat mass doubled from 2% to almost 4%. Put into perspective, for a 100 kilogram person, that's the equivalent of 15 kilograms in two months, which is an extreme weight gain, says Sof Andrikopoulos, lead author of the study.
As you may be well aware, an extreme weight gain causes the blood pressure to shoot up, increases the risk of anxiety and depression and is also associated with bone issues and arthritis. For people who are already overweight, the Paleo Diet would merely aggravate the problem as it further increase blood sugar and insulin levels and could actually pre-dispose them to diabetes, say the researchers.
The study is published in Nature journal Nutrition and Diabetes.
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