Stone Age Diet Good For People With Diabetes Type II

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Main Category: Diabetes
Also Included In: Nutrition / Diet;  Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness;  Public Health
Article Date: 01 Jul 2007 - 18:00 PDT

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If you suffer from Diabetes Type II you might consider following the diet of Stone Age humans, according to scientists from Lund University, Sweden. In a human trial, researchers found the people with type II diabetes who followed an Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) diet for three months managed their carbohydrate consumption much better.

Early humans did not consume cereals, dairy products, refined fat or sugar - agricultural products. There was no agriculture at that time - agriculture has only been around for a relatively short period of time. Until not that many thousands of years ago, we had been consuming fish and lean meat, nuts, vegetables and fruit - the sustenance of the 'hunter gatherer'.

In a human study, Staffan Lindeberg and team compared two groups of volunteers - they all had diabetes type two. All of them suffered from glucose intolerance, i.e. they experienced raised blood sugar after consuming carbohydrates. They all suffered from coronary heart disease. One group of 14 consumed a Paleolithic (Old Stone Age) diet, while the other group of 15 consumed a Mediterranean diet - both groups for three months. The Mediterranean diet included whole-grain cereals, diary products (low fat), fruit, healthy refined fats, salt and vegetables.

After three months this is how the two groups compared:

Paleolithic Group
-- Rise in blood sugar after consuming carbohydrate was significantly lower.
-- All the participants had normal blood glucose.

Mediterranean Group
-- Rise in blood sugar after consuming carbohydrates remained pretty much the same.

The researchers said the Paleolithic group's better glucose tolerance was not linked to changes in waist size or body weight. They are convinced that their improved handling of carbohydrate intake was due to their diet, rather than total calories consumed or whether or not they lost weight.

The Paleolithic group consumed more fruit and no grains or dairy. The researchers suggested that perhaps, rather than looking at calorie intake, we should consider avoiding some of the foods that have entered our diet in the latter part of our evolution - this includes many of our modern foods.

Some geneticists have said it takes about one million years for genes to change so that an animal can adapt to its environment completely - agriculture has not been around for that long.

Lund University, Sweden

Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
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