EVALUATION OF A DIET.
18/4/2021
Michael Whelan, 20954546.
Paleo fad diet.
Otherwise referred to as the ‘caveman diet’ the paleo diet has become a common fad diet often
endorsed by celebrities and sports people, this dietary trend is based upon the estimated diet of
mankind in the pre agricultural era with an ethos similar to “if you can’t kill it or scavenge it you
don’t eat it”.
Promoting the consumption of what you could catch, find or kill; game animals, fish and wild
vegetation, the paleo diet attempts to re-create the natural conditions of the hunter gatherer style
diet, abstaining from dairy, grains, processed foods and sugars and also avoiding some energy dense
fruits such as bananas.
Whilst generally paleo devotees are not adventurous enough to include eating insects and blood, the
paleo diet also involves consumption of organ meat and fungi, although not accounting for seasonal
variability this is likely as close as is practically possible in a modern third world society to represent
the intended ancestral dietary conditions desired to replicate.
Low in carbohydrate but high in saturated fat and protein the paleo diet’s aversion to processed
foods is often touted as “a wholesome, anti-inflammatory way of eating”, also including promoting
exercise and a sustainable way of living.
There are a number of limiting factors associated with the paleo diet including:
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Often there is confusion as to what is or is not considered paleo, such as grain fed meats.
This diet is not portion, calorie or macronutrient controlled.
Supplementation is required.
Ease of availability of foods, most require preparation rather than eaten off the shelf.
The negative effects of this diet can include:
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Will likely induce undesired side effects such as ‘keto-flu’, calcium deficiency and vitamin D
deficiency.
The over consumption of saturated fats can lead to health issues such as high LDL
cholesterol and heart disease.
Low blood sugar levels.
Overconsumption of protein, causing the kidneys to work harder to remove waste products.
This is an exclusionary, low carbohydrate diet which can often lead to cravings and societal
pressures to break.
In a 2009 study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition titled Metabolic and physiologic
improvements from consuming a paleolithic, hunter-gatherer type diet by Frassetto, et al.
Nine healthy individuals consumed a strict kilojoule controlled paleolithic diet for 10 days,
appropriate allocations were taken to ensure they did not lose any mass.
Results were drastic yet unsustainable at this rate, Researchers found that the participants:
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Total cholesterol: went down by 16%
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LDL (bad) cholesterol: went down by 22%
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Triglycerides: went down by 35%
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Insulin AUC: went down by 39%
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Diastolic blood pressure: went down by 3.4 mmHg
These extreme changes over such a short period particularly in LDL cholesterol levels is a marker for
significant health improvements for some individuals where these factors may contribute to heart
disease.
The paleo diet, whist showing some potential benefits would not be considered a good diet by the
standards of the Australian Dietary Guidelines:
As this is a largely exclusionary diet there are entire food groups avoided that can lead to
deficiencies, largely calcium, notably stated a 2008 study by Osterdahl, et al. which showed that the
calcium intake of the Paleo diet was about 50% of the recommended dietary intake according to the
Australian dietary guidelines.
The below table reflects the shortcomings of the paleo diet in comparison to the Australian dietary
guidelines.
Attribution: RACGP - Cutting through the Paleo hype: The evidence for the Palaeolithic diet
Some recommendations to adjust this diet to meet the Australian dietary guidelines before the
paleo lifestyle could be considered a long term healthy choice should include the addition of some
dairy products even if only to cover the daily calcium requirements. The addition of correct portion
sizes of grain and carbohydrate sources and the introduction of controlled portion sizes to cover
appropriate macronutrient and micronutrient requirements over all food groups.
References:
Frassetto, L., Schloetter, M., Mietus-Synder, M., Morris, R., & Sebastian, A. (2015). Erratum:
Metabolic and physiologic improvements from consuming a paleolithic, hunter-gatherer type
diet. European Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, 69(12), 1376-1376. https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.193
Österdahl, M., Kocturk, T., Koochek, A., & Wändell, P. (2007). Effects of a short-term intervention with
a paleolithic diet in healthy volunteers. European Journal Of Clinical Nutrition, 62(5), 682-685.
https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602790
Surprising Things You Can't Eat on a Paleo Diet. STACK. (2021). Retrieved 18 April
2021, from https://www.stack.com/a/cant-eat-paleo-diet.
Attributions:
Practitioners, T. (2021). RACGP - Cutting through the Paleo hype: The evidence for the Palaeolithic
diet. Racgp.org.au. Retrieved 18 April 2021, from
https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2016/januaryfebruary/cutting-through-the-paleo-hype-the-evidence-forthe-palaeolithic-diet/.