Paleo Diet and Diabetes: What Are the Benefits and Risks?

Cooksey isn’t alone. In recent years, the popularity of the so-called caveman diet has skyrocketed, with many of its proponents touting paleo for its health benefits — namely, as an effective way to improve health and lose weight.

A study published in April 2015 in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that people with type 2 diabetes who followed a “caveman diet” were able to help lower their blood pressure, stabilize their blood sugar levels, and reduce their cholesterol by significant amounts in only two weeks. Other study participants who followed a traditional diet recommended by the American Diabetes Association saw little to no improvement. Study authors gave participants enough food to prevent them from losing weight, eliminating the possibility that the health improvements came simply from shedding pounds. (1)

Researchers aren’t sure why the paleo-diet followers had better health outcomes, but it’s possible that paleo-friendly foods might be better suited for a type 2 diabetes diet than other foods, says Lynda Frassetto, MD, a nephrologist and the lead researcher on the study. “We believe there are multiple factors involved, including more fiber leading to decreased uptake of sugar from the intestines, more micronutrients and antioxidants, and potentially a healthier impact on gut microflora,” says Dr. Frassetto.

Dr. Frassetto adds that these findings suggest that not all carbs are created equal. Carbs from fruit and vegetables come packaged with antioxidants and micronutrients, making them better for you than carbs from the grain in wheat bread or cereals, she explains.

The same ECJN study mentioned above also found that eating lean cuts of meat and other foods found in the paleo diet, such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts, in the short-term improved insulin sensitivity and lipid levels in people with type 2 diabetes. (1)

People with type 2 diabetes who follow a paleo diet may find that it helps them better control their blood sugar, says Melissa Joy Dobbins, RD, CDE, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “You’re eating hardly anything that would raise your blood sugar,” Dobbins notes. “You’re really restricting carbs, and that can keep your blood sugar down.” (2)

The diet also encourages whole, unprocessed foods, which is a healthy approach, she adds. Plus, the “bulkiness” of the foods may mean that you will feel full on fewer calories, encouraging weight loss, which is also beneficial for type 2 diabetes. (2)

Finally, a randomized controlled study published in January 2017 in Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews studied how the paleo diet, and the paleo diet and exercise, affected weight and blood sugar control in a group of 32 people with type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that after 12 weeks, regardless of exercise, the paleo diet helped improve blood sugar control and reduce body fat, among other benefits, and those who also exercised enjoyed the additional health benefits of preserved lean muscle mass and boosted heart health. Nonetheless, this study is small and was short, so more research is needed before scientists know whether combining paleo and exercise may offer heart health benefits for these individuals. (3)

Diabetes and the Paleo Diet

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What is it the paleo diet?

The paleo diet is a way of eating that is meant to mimic the way earliest humans ate. Essentially, those following the paleo diet eat things that our hunter-gatherer ancestors would be able to eat — for instance fruits, vegetables, nuts and lean meats. Those following a paleo diet also emphasize eating unprocessed foods to more closely follow the eating habits of early humans.

This results in a diet that is relatively high in fat, moderate in animal protein, and low to moderate in carbohydrates. Those who eat strictly paleo cut out all cereal grains and legumes (including wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, brown rice, soy, peanut, kidney beans, pinto beans), eliminate all vegetable, hydrogenated, and partly hydrogenated oils (margarine, corn oil, canola oil, etc), and try to consume no added sugar and no dairy.

What are the potential benefits of the paleo diet and managing Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes?

Paleo diets are generally low in carbohydrates, which can lead to improved glycemic control. In addition, some small, preliminary studies have shown that the paleo diet may reduce incidents of hypoglycemia, reduce insulin requirements, and may result in participants’ A1c levels dropping more substantially than a control group.

If you want more information about eating a paleo diet as a person with Type 1 diabetes you can read Caroline Potter’s story to find out how the paleo diet helped to stabilize her blood sugar.

Furthermore, celiac disease is much more common with people with Type 1 diabetes, and paleo is gluten-free. Some people with Type 1 diabetes may benefit from eating paleo as it may help address undiagnosed gluten insensitivities.

What are the potential risks of the paleo diet?

When first adapting to a paleo diet, one’s insulin requirements may change drastically to account for the reduction in carbohydrates. It’s recommended to consult with a doctor before beginning to eat the paleo diet.

Be aware, that following a paleo diet can put you at a higher risk for developing an eating disorder. According to Paleoleap.com, “Paleo interacts with eating disorders [in the sense that] the diet itself can trigger orthorexia by feeding an unhealthy obsession with eating the “right” food […] it’s all too easy for the diet to consume your life to the point where your dedication to “health” is doing more harm than good. ”

What about the paleo diet and Type 2 diabetes, specifically?

A 2013 meta review concluded that individuals with Type 2 diabetes are likely to see symptomatic as well as objective improvements in biomarkers of disease risk if they follow a well-formulated very-low-carbohydrate diet, such as the paleo diet. Glucose control improves not only because there is less glucose coming in, but also because insulin sensitivity improves as well. Additionally, the paleo diet often results in increased weight loss compared to a higher carbohydrate diet, which is often beneficial for those at risk or diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

Read more on food and diabetes.

Diabetes And A Paleo Diet

Every minute, three people in the U.S. are diagnosed with diabetes, for a total of 20.9 million people living with the disease (as of 2011, so that number is probably even higher now). That’s up from just 5.6 million in 1980. Currently, about 7% of people in the US have diabetes, but that doesn’t actually tell the whole story. An estimated 86 million more have pre-diabetes (blood sugar high enough to be dangerous, but not enough to be diabetes.

Diabetes is sometimes called a “lifestyle disease,” meaning that it’s caused by lifestyle factors like diet and exercise, rather than a particular germ or gene. It’s often (but not always!) associated with other lifestyle diseases like obesity, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, because the same kinds of lifestyle patterns tend to cause more than one of those problems.

When the Paleo crowd starts talking about diabetes, we typically start from the fact that it’s almost unknown in traditional cultures, even among people in later middle-age. The natural suggestion from there is to eat like people in those cultures – minimal processed and refined foods. But there are a few problems with this:

• All those traditional groups eat differently, so who do you want to imitate, the ultra low-carb and diabetes-free Maasai, or the high-carb and equally diabetes-free Kitavans?
• Diet isn’t the only difference. Lifestyle factors like sleep and exercise also have a huge effect on diabetes: it’s not just food. A diet that works in the context of one lifestyle might not work in another.
• Prevention isn’t the same as cure. People who’ve lived in the modern world their whole lives might need more intensive intervention than people who’ve always been healthy.

For a really comprehensive look at diabetes, we need to get beyond trying to imitate hunter-gatherer groups or cavemen and look at what kinds of diet changes work for humans in the modern world where we all have to live. So here’s closer look. It does get pretty science-heavy, but hopefully at the end you’ll understand what aspects of Paleo make it a good diet for diabetes, and what you might want to play around with to find something that really works for you.

Diabetes: The Basics

Diabetes starts with the hormone insulin. Insulin does all kinds of things, but one of its most basic jobs is to manage blood sugar.

When you eat anything containing carbohydrates, your body breaks the carbohydrates down into simple sugars and releases them into the bloodstream (the process is slightly different for different types of simple sugars, but this is the basic idea). High blood sugar is dangerous in the long term, so insulin is released in response, and the insulin guides the glucose into your muscles, liver, brain, and fat cells.

Storing glucose in fat cells isn’t bad all by itself. That’s how you store energy to use between meals. Otherwise, you’d need to be eating constantly, and that would be incredibly annoying. Storing glucose in fat cells lets you save some of your calories for later, so you can use them at 4 p.m. even if you ate them at noon. Obviously, if you keep storing more glucose than you ever need to use, you’ll gain weight, but the system of storing glucose in fat cells isn’t inherently dangerous.

OK, but what does this have to do with diabetes? Every type of diabetes involves some kind of problem with insulin regulation leading to high blood sugar.

• People with Type 1 Diabetes don’t produce insulin because of an autoimmune disease in the pancreas. When they eat carbohydrates, they have nothing to bring down the dangerously high levels of blood sugar, and they have no way to store that glucose for later.
• People with Type 2 Diabetes produce enough (even too much) insulin, but their body is insulin resistant: it doesn’t listen to the insulin signals, and the extra sugar in their blood doesn’t get stored, so it stays hanging out in the bloodstream, being dangerous.
• Women with gestational diabetes have basically the same problem as people with Type 2, but temporarily and only during pregnancy.

The chronically high blood sugar is what causes the diabetic side effects like numbness/tingling, vision loss, slow wound healing, and even the need to amputate limbs.

All three types do have some basis in genetics, but genes can’t account for the whole story. Genes haven’t changed that much since the 1980s, but rates of diabetes have risen incredibly. To account for that, we have to look at diet and lifestyle.

Diabetes and the Modern Lifestyle

Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease. There are dietary factors in autoimmune disease, but they’re not the same factors that contribute to Type 2. If you want to read about Type 1 Diabetes, you can take a look at this post; everything else about diet and lifestyle below will be focused on Type 2.

People with Type 2 Diabetes have insulin resistance. They make plenty of insulin, but their body doesn’t listen to the insulin signals, so their blood sugar stays dangerously high.

At first, the pancreas responds by making even more insulin, which temporarily forces the muscle, fat, and liver cells to accept the glucose. But it’s basically like a shouting match where the pancreas keeps screaming “take the glucose” louder and louder by producing more insulin and the rest of the body keeps turning up its headphones higher and higher by becoming more insulin resistant. Eventually, the pancreas can’t make enough insulin to force the body into accepting the glucose.

But how do people start getting insulin resistant in the first place? There’s a very oversimplified story that “eating carbs raises insulin, which causes insulin resistance, which causes diabetes,” but plenty of healthy traditional groups eat high-carb diets without getting diabetes. Maybe the carbs in the modern diet are part of the story, but what other parts of our diet or lifestyle make the carbs dangerous to us, when that same amount of carbs is fine for the Kitavans? Here are a few possible answers.

Being Sedentary Contributes to Insulin Resistance.

Muscle tissue is one of the major storage areas for glucose (carbohydrate). Insulin stores glucose as glycogen in the muscles, so it’s right there if you need it for a burst of sudden movement.

Depleting glycogen stores in the muscles makes room for more glucose to show up and fill them again. That glucose has to come from the glucose in your blood, so every time your muscles need to refill their glycogen stores, they do it by reducing blood sugar. Exercise helps keep blood sugar levels down and reduce insulin resistance.

Many people today have completely sedentary lives, so they never deplete the glycogen stores in their muscles. So when insulin comes knocking, trying to put more glucose into the muscles, the muscles resist the insulin signal.

For physically active people in hunter-gatherer societies, a higher-carb diet might be totally fine because their muscles are constantly sucking up more glucose to replace what they use during exercise. For sedentary modern couch potatoes, that same diet might be dangerous, not because the carbs magically became “bad,” but because the lifestyle context changed.

Gut Problems Contribute to Insulin Resistance.

Gut health might also make all the difference in causing or curing diabetes. The gut flora (the friendly bacteria that live in your gut) affect insulin sensitivity and insulin resistance. For example, they’re important for breaking down and synthesizing some nutrients, like choline, that your body needs for proper blood sugar regulation. People with diabetes have different patterns of gut flora than healthy people. Drugs for Type 2 Diabetes, like metformin, work partly by changing the gut flora.

This is particularly true in Type 1 diabetes (since autoimmune diseases are very strongly linked to gut health), but it’s also true for Type 2. In fact, the changes to the gut may even be one reason why Type 2 Diabetes has an autoimmune connection. Gut flora changes could also be one link between Type 2 Diabetes and obesity.

Life in the modern world is full of gut-health threats that our ancestors just didn’t have to face. Antibiotics are one huge example – sure, it’s totally worth it to not die of pneumonia, but penicillin really does a number on the gut flora.

Sleep Deprivation Contributes to Insulin Resistance.

Another factor that makes higher-carb diets dangerous is sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation reduces insulin sensitivity by affecting important hormones for healthy insulin regulation. For example, sleep deprivation raises levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol keeps your blood sugar high. If you had to run away from a tiger, that would be really helpful (think of how much energy you have with high blood sugar), but as a chronic, constant state of living, it’s a problem.

Sleep deprivation also damages the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. And it causes gut problems, which then go on to cause insulin resistance of their own.

Inflammation Ties it All Together.

Inflammation is one problem connecting all of the above. If you don’t know what inflammation is, you can read about it here. Inflammation contributes to insulin resistance in its own right, and it’s a huge factor in diabetes and related diseases. Being sedentary, gut problems, and sleep deprivation all cause inflammation. And all kinds of other diet and lifestyle factors also join in:

• Too much Omega-6 fats, and/or not enough Omega-3s. In terms of food, this means too much industrial seed oils, and not enough fish.
• Too much refined sugar.
• Psychological stress (e.g. feeling beat up by a lousy boss all the time).

Diabetes is a Lifestyle Disease, not a Carb Disease.

There are other factors too (e.g. environmental toxins and artificial estrogens, and the question of calorie surplus independent of carbs). There are probably a bunch of factors that we don’t even know about yet. But the point is that diabetes is about more than carbs. And a helpful intervention should also be about the big picture, not just about carbs.

Diabetes and Paleo: The Big Picture

The modern Paleo diet was basically designed to solve exactly that problem. It’s really about treating lifestyle diseases like diabetes and metabolic diseases underlying obesity (which in many ways is a symptom of hormonal problems). When it comes to diabetes, the goal of Paleo is to address all the factors that contribute to insulin resistance. It’s not limited to carbs, and it’s not even limited to diet. Here’s a look at how Paleo address all the problems above.

Carbs and Fat: Which is Good and Which is Bad?

The USDA “Diabetes food pyramid” is based on a high-carb, low-fat diet. That approach gets a lot of scorn in Paleo circles, because it just doesn’t seem to make much sense. To break down carbs and use them for energy, you need healthy insulin function. People with diabetes don’t have healthy insulin function. So a carb-based diet will just keep them stuck in that awful cycle of sugar highs and crashes, right? How does that make sense?

A lot of recent research basically backs that up: low-carb diets can be very effective for Type 2 Diabetes. Some research (like this study) shows that low-carb diets may be particularly effective for people with insulin resistance. But it’s worth noting that “low-carb” in these studies can be up to 40% carbs by calories, which is medium-high carb by Paleo standards (room for a couple of potatoes every day).

These improvements aren’t coming from a straight diet of steak and lettuce. Some people might do very well on that – a very low-carb ketogenic diet can also be great for diabetes. But other people might feel better with more carbs, especially in the context of other anti-diabetic lifestyle factors. This study found that, in teenagers, a low-calorie diet with 40-45% carbs was just as good as a diet with 55-60% carbs if the subjects exercised and took metformin.

What about the fat? The problem with fat is that when eaten together with a lot of refined carbs, fat really is very fattening. And the wrong type of fat is legitimately dangerous: trans fats are inflammatory and do contribute to metabolic problems. But this meta-analysis found that a Mediterranean diet with lots of olive oil was actually better than a lower-fat diet for preventing Type 2 Diabetes. And this study found that in humans, saturated fat doesn’t affect insulin sensitivity.

The upshot: Recent studies suggest that the “common sense” idea of reducing carbs really does pan out. A lower-carb (40% or lower, not necessarily super-low), higher-fat diet may be helpful for most people. If you’re eating Paleo, you’ll probably be there without trying, even if you’re eating starchy vegetables every day. Some people might feel best on a very low-carb diet, but not everyone needs to go there.

This still doesn’t mean that carbs “cause” diabetes. It does mean that for people who are already metabolically sick, reducing carbs can be a therapeutic option to treat the existing problem.

Other Foods and Lifestyle Factors

Very briefly, Paleo is also helpful for diabetes because it reduces or eliminates other foods that contribute to inflammation, like…

Paleo also emphasizes foods that help with healing from inflammation, healing the gut, and restoring insulin sensitivity, like…

Paleo also focuses on lifestyle choices like exercise (even gentle exercise helps improve insulin sensitivity) and the importance of good-quality sleep every night (not optional. Really, not optional.) And of course, Paleo is a good diet for weight loss, particularly losing belly fat. There may be such a thing as “healthy obesity,” but the apple-shaped, beer-belly pattern isn’t it. Belly fat (technically “abdominal obesity”) independently causes inflammation and insulin resistance.

Summing it Up

Paleo isn’t a magical diabetes cure-all, but the latest research into diet and diabetes basically supports a low-moderate-carb, nutrient-rich, fiber-rich Paleo-style diet over the standard Diabetic food pyramid. And the lifestyle focus on sleep and stress is just as important as the diet factors. But even more important than averages out of studies is individual variation – different diets work differently for everyone, so it’s always useful to experiment and find out what works for you, even if it “shouldn’t” work on the average person.

Have a look at Paleo Restart, our interactive Paleo 30-day program. Learn more and get started here.

+ #PaleoIRL, our new cookbook all about making Paleo work for a busy life is now available! Get it now here.

Preventing and Reversing Type 2 Diabetes

This article is the first in an ongoing series that compares a Paleo-based diet and lifestyle with medication for the prevention and treatment of chronic disease. Stay tuned for future articles on high blood pressure, heartburn/GERD, autoimmune disease, skin disorders, and more.

Insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes have reached epidemic proportions. In the U.S. today, someone dies from diabetes-related causes every ten seconds, and recent reports suggest that one-third of people born in 2010 will develop diabetes at some point in their lives.

Find out how the Paleo diet can prevent and even reverse diabetes naturally.

What is particularly horrifying about this statistic is that many of those who develop diabetes will be kids. Type 2 diabetes used to be a disease of the middle-aged and elderly. No longer. A recent Yale study indicated that nearly one in four kids between the ages of four and eighteen have pre-diabetes. And some regional studies show that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes in children and young adults has jumped from less than 5 percent before 1994 to 50 percent in 2004.

It’s clear that type 2 diabetes is one of the most significant and dangerous health problems of our times, and we desperately need safe and effective treatments that won’t bankrupt our health care system. With this in mind, let’s compare two possible ways of addressing type 2 diabetes: conventional medication, and a Paleo diet.

Conventional Medication for Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is typically treated with the following (impossible to pronounce!) classes of drugs:

• Sulfonylureas
• Biguanides
• Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors
• Thiazolidinediones
• Meglitinides
• Dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors
• Sodium-glucose transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors

These medications vary in their mechanism of action. Some increase the secretion of insulin, others inhibit the release of glucose from the liver, and still others suppress appetite.

But none of them address the real, underlying causes of type 2 diabetes: the environmental factors that lead to blood sugar problems in the first place. These include poor diet, lack of exercise and too much sitting, and poor sleep, among others.

What’s more, these drugs also have side effects which range from relatively minor discomfort to serious complications. They include:

• Sulfonylureas: low blood sugar, upset stomach, skin rash or itching, weight gain
• Biguanides: upset stomach, tiredness or dizziness, nausea, kidney complications
• Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors: stomach pain, gas, diarrhea
• Thiazolidinediones: heart failure, heart attack, fractures, increased risk of bladder cancer
• Meglitinides: low blood sugar, weight gain, nausea and vomiting, headache
• Dipeptidyl-peptidase 4 (DPP-4) inhibitors: upper respiratory tract infection, sore throat, headache, pancreatitis and increased risk of pancreatic cancer
• Sodium-glucose transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors: urinary tract infections, yeast infections, renal and gall bladder issues, bladder cancer

While there’s no doubt that some people with type 2 diabetes do need medication (those that have completely lost the ability to produce insulin, for example), the list of side effects above suggests that these drugs should only be used when other safer—and often more effective—treatments fail.

A Paleo Diet for Type 2 Diabetes

One such treatment is a Paleo-type diet, which emphasizes the real, nutrient-dense foods our ancestors ate. It features meat and fish, vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds, and some starchy plants like sweet potatoes.

Studies have shown that the Paleo diet is an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes and metabolic problems in general. For example:

• A study which compared the Paleo diet with a standard, low-fat “diabetes” diet in people with type 2 diabetes found that the Paleo diet lead to greater improvements in weight, blood sugar, triglycerides, blood pressure, body mass index, and waist circumference than the diabetes diet. (1)
• Another similar study compared the Paleo diet with a low-fat diet in obese, postmenopausal women and found that the Paleo diet led to greater fat loss and metabolic improvements than the low-fat diet. (2)
• A third study (also of obese postmenopausal women) found that a modified Paleo diet improved several metabolic markers, including weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and kidney function. The Paleo diet also decreased the amount of fat stored in the liver by 50%. (3)

These studies clearly indicate that a Paleo diet is not only an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, it is often more effective than the standard “low-fat” diabetes diet that is recommended by groups like the American Diabetes Association.

But Paleo isn’t just about what you eat, it’s also about how you live. Sitting less, getting enough exercise, sleeping 7–8 hours a night, healing your gut, and managing your stress are also important steps you can take to prevent and even reverse type 2 diabetes and metabolic problems. These changes can often have profound effects:

• People who work at a standing desk burn up to 75 percent more calories per day than people who sit for most of the day. (4)
• The more breaks you take from sitting, the lower your waist circumference, body mass index, and triglycerides, and the more stable your blood sugar. (5)
• A single night of partial sleep deprivation causes insulin resistance even in healthy people with no preexisting metabolic disease. (6)

I’ve seen incredible results using the Paleo diet (and lifestyle) in my work with patients, and I’ve heard countless stories like this, from reader Dave Harvey:

In mid-December 2011, I was awakened in the middle of the night experiencing rapid, erratic heartbeats which continued for an hour before I decided to have it checked out. After undergoing many tests as well as a cardiac catheritization to check for heart damage, I was told I did not have a heart attack, but that I did have atrial fibrillation and that I was a type 2 diabetic. The doctors put me on Metformin, a beta blocker, an ACE inhibitor and a statin which I took for a short time. I discontinued it after I began experiencing severe muscle cramping which CoQ10 didn’t help, and weird losses of memory.

I became interested in paleo and low carbohydrate eating to control my Type 2 diabetes. I discovered Chris Kresser’s website and began reading his blog posts which prompted me to devote myself to completely transforming my lifestyle into one of monitoring my diet, recording everything I ate and improving my health.

Since settling into a gluten free, low carb, paleo way of living in April of 2012, my weight has dropped to 140 pounds on a 5’6″ frame. My body fat, which was at about 30%, is 16% and my health has improved tremendously.

My T2 diabetes is in total remission, without medication. I do not have food cravings like I did with low-fat dieting. I don’t feel hungry shortly after eating. I don’t make multiple trips to the kitchen and refrigerator for snacks in the evenings. I have more energy throughout the day. I don’t have feelings of anxiety.

Lastly, and most importantly, it has been four months since I have experienced any sign of the atrial fibrillation which sent me to the hospital in December of 2011.

Unlike the prescription medications used to treat type 2 diabetes, which often have significant side effects, the only “side effects” of a Paleo-type diet and lifestyle tend to be positive things like improved energy, clearer skin, and smoother digestion.

When you look at it this way, which would you choose: pills or Paleo?

If your answer is Paleo, make sure to check out my book (just published in paperback with a new name: The Paleo Cure) for a detailed explanation of how to use the Paleo diet and lifestyle to prevent and reverse disease and feel better than you have in years. And don’t miss the bonus chapter (available online after you buy the book) on addressing type 2 diabetes with diet, lifestyle, and supplements.

As always, check with your doctor before starting or stopping any new treatment plan—including what I’ve suggested in this article. This is not intended to be medical advice, and is not a substitute for being under the care of a physician.

Going Paleo? Study Says It’s No Better Than Other Diets for Glucose, Insulin Regulation

The Paleolithic diet might have health benefits, but a new meta-analysis of peer-reviewed research finds the diet does not appear to be any better than other diets when it comes to fostering glucose and insulin regulation.

The so-called “Paleo” diet has become a popular dieting trend in the United States and abroad in recent years. A 2018 study from the State University of New York estimated that about 3 million Americans were following the diet at the time. As its name suggests, the nutrition plan is premised on the idea that our hunter-gatherer ancestors from the Paleolithic Era had a preferable diet. Adherents to the Paleo diet are told to focus on the types of foods a Stone Age person would eat, including meat, fish, and poultry, as well as fruits and vegetables. Processed foods, including dairy products and cereals, are to be avoided.

Writing in the Journal of Clinical Medicine, a team of Polish and German investigators note that a person on the Paleolithic diet would end up getting about one-third of his or her energy from each of 3 categories: fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. In that sense, the Paleo diet is similar to other low-carbohydrate diets.

“However, the hunter—gatherer diet provides a higher amount of dietary fiber (up to 45–100 g per day) than a low‐carbohydrate diet,” writes corresponding author Jaroslav Walkowiak, MD, PhD, of the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Metabolic Diseases at Poznan University of Medical Sciences, in Poland.

Other research has suggested the Paleolithic diet might have cardiovascular health benefits, as well as anti-inflammatory effects.

What Walkowiak and colleagues wanted to know is whether the diet might affect glucose and insulin levels, something that would be of significant interest to those with diabetes or pre-diabetes.

To investigate the question, the team reviewed the medical literature for randomly controlled trials that compared the Paleolithic diet to other dietary interventions. They zeroed in on studies that compared the effects of the diet on fasting glucose and insulin levels, HbA1c, homeostasis assessment of insulin resistance, and area under the curve for glucose and insulin (AUC 0-120) during the oral glucose tolerance test.

The search criteria netted 4 studies involving 98 subjects. After reviewing the data, Walkowiak and colleagues found the Paleo diet had no significant impact.

“The present meta‐analysis demonstrates that the Paleolithic diet did not differ from other types of diets commonly perceived as healthy regarding its effect (on the above-mentioned criteria),” Walkowiak and co-authors noted.

Despite the lack of a benefit over the other diets studied, the authors noted that the research has generally affirmed that low-carbohydrate diets can improve fasting glucose levels, particularly in patients with type 2 diabetes. Thus, while the Paleolithic diet might not have a statistically significant impact when compared to other low-carb diets, it may still have benefits over less-healthy diets. They write that longer-term studies would be needed in order to more concretely characterize the impact of such diets.

The new study aligns with a report released last year by the American Diabetes Association. It found, in part, that a “one-size-fits-all” approach to nutrition therapy in patients with diabetes or pre-diabetes was not feasible. However, the report did recommend that patients in these categories ought to consume at least the recommended daily amount of fiber, and that they ideally would get that fiber from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Reference

Jamka M, Kulczyński B, Juruć, A, Gramza-Michałowska A, Stokes CS, Walkowiak J. The effect of the paleolithic diet vs. healthy diets on glucose and insulin homeostasis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. J. Clin. Med. 2020, 9, 296. doi: 10.3390/jcm9020296

How To Eat A Paleo Diet With Diabetes — FTF Warrior

What am I getting at exactly?

Writing these blogs always reminds me of the basic principles I try to teach each patient/client that I work with. Sometimes we are overloaded with information, so these are some tips I want you to remember if you start to feel overwhelmed and are unsure what to do. 

1. Despite this entire blog, nutrition requires some critical thinking. For example, paleo can be healthful if lean meats and high intake of non starchy veggies are included. This is a great way to compromise the best of both worlds. SO if something doesn’t sound right, then trust your gut and trust the knowledge you have to make alterations to your diet as needed.

2. Diets work because of calorie restriction, not because of some magical food included or restricted from said diet. .

3. Diets work as long as you do. They actually aren’t diets, they are lifestyle changes. So rather than taking the approach of a quick fix diet, these are changes you are committing to for at least a brief period of time.

4. You don’t have to commit to one diet forever, but eventually you will like one of these diets for long term and it’s up to you to stick with it.

5. I’m really good at NOT telling you which diet to pick. At this point I’m not sure if it’s clear which style of eating I follow but I promise you I do, and I’ve come to that decision based on trial and error. In all honesty I actually follow my own eating plan, a combination of a few diets which I have come to after only trying these strict diets. Despite having a background in nutrition, I too have struggled deciding what is best for me, but now I am able to say what works for me and I promise one day you will too. 

Stay strong and keep on trying.. Eating is fun so don’t let the fear of different diets hold you back, you got this and you will find your best fit. 

-Taylor Gann, PA-S, Type 1 Diabetic

Is the Paleo Diet Good for those with Diabetes?

One of the latest diet trends is called ‘The Paleo Diet,’ paleo being short for ‘paleolithic,’ referring to the pre-historic era when our cavemen, nomadic ancestors foraged, stalked and hunted their food.

Our distant Paleo kin were thought to be pictures of perfect health, chiseled with Brad Pitt-worthy abs, albeit with slightly more facial and body hair than Pitt.

Modern chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, supporters of the Paleo Diet argue, were mostly absent during the Paleolithic era, a result of food sources being whole, unrefined and unprocessed.

The Paleo Diet’s main philosophy, if you’re not familiar with the concept: avoid grains at all costs (think: breads and other baked goods containing flour, along with pastas and noodles, rice, oats, etc.).

Most grains, the paleo theory posits, were not present during the paleolithic era. As societies evolved into settled, agrarian communities, grains became introduced to feed the growing populations. Modern processing of some of these grains, especially wheat, paleo advocates argue, is responsible for modern, first-world chronic diseases.

But does following a diet adopted by unsophisticated brutes, faced with the threat of daily mauling by sabre-tooth tigers and other beasts, and who would have qualified for AARP membership if they reached the ripe age of 30, make sense?

Is the Paleo Diet suggested for diabetics?

The short answer is, “mostly, yes. ”

Nuts, legumes (beans), fruits, vegetables and wild or grass-fed meats are the main staples of the Paleo Diet. These foods are unprocessed, or at most, minimally processed, meaning they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, critically important fatty acids and other vital nutrients. (If you’re overweight, do not avoid foods that contain Omega 3 fatty acids like wild salmon; contrary to what you might think, Omega 3’s fats will not make you fat and they are vital to good health and reducing inflammation.)

So, do indeed eat plenty of approved, Paleo-friendly foods, especially if you’re trying to improve your diabetes. Doing so may reduce the chronic inflammation in your body and may help improve your blood sugar levels. But take caution with fruit. Fruit is a sugar and should be, ideally, eaten sparingly, and consumed in the whole variety (eat, for example, a green apple but always avoid apple juice as it has no fiber to keep you full and regular).

Is dairy Paleo-friendly?

Although milk and cheese contain important nutrients like bone-building calcium and are sometimes fortified with Vitamin D (also important for bones and preventing chronic disease), most dairy is heavily processed, i.e. pasteurized. Pasteurization kills all of the beneficial bacteria that help fight off infections. Although it’s beyond the scope of this article, pasteurized and homogenized dairy products can contribute to a vast number of health problems.

If you have access to a farmer’s market, food co-op, or live in one of the few states that allow the sale of unpasteurized dairy, raw milk, cheese and butter can be part of a very healthy diet and has been in traditional societies for centuries.

Modern grains: definitely a ‘Paleo no-no’

If you want to lose weight and reduce the chronic inflammation of your body (achy joints, for example), then adhering to the Paleo requisite to avoid grains is wise, especially modern, processed grains.

Grains, at one time, were a health food, but today’s grains, especially wheat, perhaps the worst offender of processed grains, are stripped of nutrition and can lead to a host of health problems.

The grains that your grandparents and great grandparents consumed are not the same grain of today. Over the last half-century, wheat has changed dramatically in the way it’s produced.

It may seem innocuous why wheat has been genetically modified: to make the strains resistant to devouring insects, droughts and pathogens. But the biggest reason for the modification of this ancient grain is simply to be able to make huge amounts of it.

Eating modern wheat can raise your blood sugar

Because the modern process of treating, or milling flour, results in the stripping of the wheat germ, vitamins, minerals and enzymes are lost in the processing.

In numerous studies, including this one in the Journal of Experimental Botany, wheat, or more accurately: processed wheat, has been shown to raise blood sugar levels.

The study author, a British researcher, concluded, “Most of the starch consumed in the human diet, including wheat starch, is readily digested in the small intestine, resulting in a rapid increase in blood glucose which may contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes and obesity.”

In addition to the potential rapid ride of blood sugar after eating wheat, even whole wheat, this modified grain could be the cause for numerous health conditions, including:

• cramping

• nausea

• intestinal diseases, chronic bowel problems or stomach pains

• chronic fatigue and sleep difficulty

• depression

• memory loss  

• joint pains

The protein in wheat, otherwise known as gluten, could be the cause of these andother symptoms, including infections and autoimmune disorders.

So, diabetics should not eat grains?

For the most part, no, especially not modern wheat products like wheat crackers or wheat bread. But ancient, heirloom grains, which have the same genetic properties generation after generation are fine to eat in limited quantities. Types of heirloom, ancient grains include kamut, spelt, quinoa, amaranth, barley and some brands of rye.

Also, grains that have been soaked and fermented, which release digestive enzymes, helping your bloodstream absorb nutrients, are ok for diabetics to eat in limited quantities as well.

Diabetics would be wise to avoid nearly all flour-based products, especially white flour. But there is one type of noodle and rice that’s comprised of an ancient Japanese flour called ‘konjac’ that is highly recommended for diabetics to eat. Konjac flour is the main ingredient in Miracle Noodle and Miracle Rice, which both have zero net calories and do not raise your blood sugar at all!

The Paleo Diet can be very limiting, although thanks to Miracle Noodle, you can still enjoy your favorite noodle and rice dishes while sticking to a Paleo-friendly diet, all the while improving your diabetes, without the guilt of packing on extra calories and spiking your blood sugar.

Order the Miracle Noodle variety sampler pack now and start losing weight.90,000 Diabetes and the Paleo Diet. Do’s and don’ts on this diabetes diet. | Diabetes. Health. Cooking.

Products for the paleo diet.

Hello everyone as always. Today I want to talk about another diet that may help many diabetics lose weight if they are overweight. I had an article on the keto diet.

For both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, it is very important that you do not feel hungry and there is no hypoglycemia or vice versa hyperglycemia. Well, I “sat” on different diets.I will not write on which ones, so that there are no negative consequences.

It is up to you: to lose weight or not to lose weight, to fast or to adhere to the standard diet No. 9 for diabetics.

This is the Paleo diet. What is the main thing in this diet.

• with this food system, in principle, there are no restrictions on the amount of food taken. The most important thing is saturation.
• you can eat : only permitted foods and 3-4 times a day.But only who of the diabetics can.
• with this diet are excluded: all grains, milk, any oil.
• Permitted: fish, poultry, meat.
• Permitted products: fruits, berries, honey. But keep in mind that they can cause hyperglycemia (that is, increase sugar levels). Therefore, then you need to go in for sports, Scandinavian walking, or at least do gymnastics every day for 30 minutes.

Berries and fruits.

Disadvantages of the diet for us diabetics.

– this diet includes: carrots, potatoes, beets, and as we know they are needed and useful, but they increase sugar levels. When cooked, they raise sugar levels even more than when raw.

Since during heat treatment, starch in all tuberous vegetables is hydrolyzed and becomes more available for assimilation by the body.

There are many diets, but this is your choice. And my article is only recommendatory.

See you all.Thanks to all my subscribers and readers. See you on my channel.

Paleo diet – Diabetes mellitus is not a disease. How …

Diabetes mellitus is not a disease.

Like many of my posts, I’ll start this one with a short explanation. I am not a doctor, but my experience with diabetes is personal and quite hard-won. I was diagnosed with diabetes when I was 42, and I honestly “got sick” with it for 8 years. I think that this is what led me in the end to what I am doing now, what I am writing about and what I am trying to clarify.The story itself about how modern medicine approaches the problem of diabetes is not worthy of a post, but a book. And it will be a gorgeous book about a real conspiracy, not about some kind of aliens that the government skillfully hides, and not about a flat Earth, but about a real conspiracy that has already killed millions of people and will kill uncounted millions of innocent people.

To begin with, we are, of course, talking about type 2 diabetes, when the pancreas is healthy and regularly produces insulin.The deal with this type 2 diabetes is as follows. There is no such disease! I know this is a pretty radical statement, and your doctor might get furious with such a statement, but the essence does not change. It is enough to look at the medical definition of diabetes, and it becomes clear that it is formulated in such a way as to bypass the present discussion of the problem. So let’s look at the standard definition of a disease and its causes. Diabetes is the presence of high blood sugar. The reasons are many, including insulin resistance, obesity, physical inactivity, genetics, and so on.In this disorganized mess of explanations, there is absolutely no discussion of how this situation can be changed for the better. This brings us to a key part of the diabetes medical conspiracy. The standard outline for discussing diabetes with your doctor is as follows. Your doctor will explain to you that diabetes is a chronic and progressive disease. This means that your condition will never improve and will only regress. This means that you become a client for life for the doctor and the medical system that feeds him.First, you will be prescribed medication to help lower your blood sugar. Since this does not in any way affect the real cause of your condition, after a while your dose will be increased or another medication will be prescribed. Then it will almost inevitably come to insulin. And here comes the real madness. Giving insulin to a diabetic is no different from prescribing alcohol to an alcoholic to relieve him of his morning hangover. This, with one hundred percent probability, will not improve his condition. This is standard practice. Moreover, if you start a conversation with your doctor about curing diabetes, he will say that, unfortunately, diabetes cannot be cured, but medicinal methods will allow you not only to live a normal life, but also to eat food that you always liked. The client must live in comfort for the rest of his life.

Now we turn to the harsh truth of life. Everything that doctors tell you about type 2 diabetes is structured so as not to discuss the real problem and a simple solution to your “chronic” problem.The truth is that diabetes is part of metabolic syndrome caused by a high carbohydrate diet. This easily explains the presence of high blood sugar. A large amount of carbohydrates in the diet causes a high insulin content and the cells of the body respond by developing resistance to insulin by desensitizing to it. This is a simple defensive reaction of cells that simply cannot physically absorb all this sugar that you want to cram into them.Well, there is no physical place there. As a result, insulin sends excess sugar into fat and the well-known uncontrolled process begins. So obesity is not the cause of diabetes, but quite the opposite. As you can see, trying to give a diabetic insulin in this situation will only worsen the cell’s resistance and cause additional obesity. By the way, your doctor will tell you that insulin often causes weight gain. That’s all.

Now about the solution to this serious, but completely artificial problem.I have a simple question for you. What happens to your sugar level if you stop eating carbs? It should be recalled here that the need for carbohydrates for the body is zero. This means that we do not need carbohydrates in our diet. Absolutely. Proteins and fats are essential and without them, death will come. In our body there are several biological systems that are not able to function without glucose and therefore our body is able to generate it, but this amount is really very small. What happens if you stop eating carbohydrates? It’s simple. Insulin levels will drop immediately and remain chronically low. This will quickly adjust the sensitivity of the cells and they will begin to easily absorb the small amount of glucose that will be in the blood on a low-carb diet. It is easy to see that the underlying problem of diabetes, as defined by doctors, will be immediately and permanently resolved.

Please note that we are not talking about a complete rejection of carbohydrates, but simply about lowering their level to such a state when the body begins to function normally.The simplest approach is to significantly reduce your carbohydrate levels and then experiment with returning them to your diet. One thing is clear, if you have already been diagnosed with diabetes or you are close to it, you will have to forget about sugar, bread and industrially processed foods from color boxes forever.
Now about my personal experience. I went through all these wonderful stages. One medicine, then two, then large doses and finally insulin. As a result, after 8 years I weighed 130 kilograms and injected insulin twice a day.When my doctor started talking about a new type of insulin, I realized that the situation was finally deadlocked and rushed to read about alternatives. As a result, I found a low-carbohydrate diet and in 4 years I got rid of 55 kilograms of excess weight and completely cured my diabetes. so at least in my case it is not a chronic and progressive disease. It’s not a disease at all. Good luck to all those who are struggling with this nasty ailment!

Paleo diet for type 1 diabetes – we eat like in the Stone Age! | Sugar Magazine

The term “paleo” is not a name for a diet or a tribute to fashion, but rather the foundation – the basis for building a healthy lifestyle, centered around simple food, natural products that retain all their beneficial properties inherent in them by nature.Eating simple foods doesn’t have to be boring and tasteless, in fact, quite the opposite!

The basis of the paleo diet is grains, gluten (even corn and oats), hydrogenated oils, low-fat dairy products of animal origin, refined sugar and soy. Even though there are many products listed, a reasonable question may arise: what is there? It is better to focus on foods that you can eat and enjoy than grieving for what you can’t. All of these ingredients can be turned into a feast of flavors, textures and gastronomic combinations.

Everyone can benefit from the fundamentals of the paleo diet, but personalization is a key factor in this assignment. Some people need more quality carbohydrates due to their activity level, and some need high quality dairy products.Keep in mind that diet is the foundation but not the solution to all problems, especially when it comes to health issues for people with type 1 diabetes. Factors such as lifestyle, stress, sleep, and emotions play a huge role in controlling disease.

Why is the paleo diet good for controlling blood sugar in type 1 diabetes?

– Paleo Friendly Foods are rich in nutrients that saturate the body and keep blood sugar levels stable.When we eliminate processed foods and refined carbohydrates from our diet, we reduce the spikes in blood sugar that are key to success in managing type 1 diabetes.

– Paleo friendly foods tend to be lower in carbs , or at least refined carbs and sugars. This does not mean that the paleo diet does not contain carbohydrates, but rather promotes a balance between good fats, proteins and carbohydrates (for example, sweet potatoes, zucchini, berries, nuts and seeds are combined with a natural sweetener – honey).

– Paleo Friendly Foods are rich in fat and protein, which are actually great sources of energy for the body and brain. These nutrients are slowly broken down and released into the bloodstream, which helps to avoid sudden changes in sugar. Such a diet helps to improve blood sugar control and stability. It will take your body several months to get used to working in this mode.

Create your own paleo dish

Each person’s plate looks different depending on how much they exercise, age and personal lifestyle factors.Maintaining a balance of foods, types of foods, and even the color of foods in your daily diet will satisfy your taste buds and keep your blood sugar stable.

Divide your cymbal into sections to create balance:

• ½ * – quality animal fats and proteins and / or vegetable fats and proteins: beef, pork or chicken, lamb, fish, eggs, oil, coconut oil, avocado or avocado oil, olive oil or olives, raw nuts and seeds;

• 1/4 – leafy greens, fresh fruits and vegetables: spinach, arugula, cabbage, romaine, radish, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, mushrooms, bell peppers, tomatoes;

• 1/4 – Carbohydrates: Sweet potatoes or yams, potatoes, courgettes, bananas, beets, parsnips, onions, carrots, bananas, apples and berries.

* Please note that 1/2 (animal and vegetable fats and proteins) will include cooking fats and oils, as well as homemade salad dressings, sauces, etc.

90,000 menus per week, list of products, results, nutritionist reviews

As with any diet, variety is important on the paleo. No matter how healthy the foods are, you can get tired of the monotonous menu day after day and lose interest.

Here is a list of some of the most popular foods to eat on the Paleo diet. They are easy to find in most stores and provide great opportunities for culinary experimentation.

Paleo-ancestors hunted and gathered for food. And this is a basic guide to food choices to follow when following the paleo diet today.

MEAT, Poultry, Game and by-products. There are no restrictions in this section, except that the preferred choice of fish and animals raised without modified feed, in vivo.

Beef, lamb, lamb, veal, pork, rabbit, chicken, duck, turkey and all offal.

FISH, MOLLUSCS AND OTHER GADS. Cod, tuna, mackerel, haddock, tilapia, herring, salmon, pike perch, trout, anchovy, perch, sea bass, halibut, mussels, shrimps and other sea creatures.

EGGS. Chicken, quail and duck eggs. For those who love experiments, ostrich ones are also suitable.

VEGETABLES, ROOTS AND MUSHROOMS. If something went wrong in hunting and fishing, Paleolithic man had to apply the skills of gathering. Wild vegetables are unlikely today, so we choose organic in the store and in the market.

Spinach, chicory, Swiss chard, lettuce, cabbage, seaweed, arugula, beets, watercress, bell peppers, leeks, asparagus, celery, cauliflower, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, artichokes, avocado, broccoli, kohlrabi, eggplant, green onions and Brussels sprouts. Zucchini, pumpkin, radish, parsnip, carrot, turnip, sweet potato, Jerusalem artichoke.

FRUIT. Apples, pineapples, berries (blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries), oranges, bananas, grapefruit, figs, mango, kiwi, coconut, pears, dates, peaches, apricots, nectarines, watermelon, cherries, plums, papaya, lemon, persimmon, pomegranate, grapes, passionfruit, tangerine and melon.

Remember that sweet fruits and paleo desserts are only occasionally acceptable, as an exception. Eating large amounts of them on a daily basis is not recommended.

FATS, NUTS AND SEEDS. One of the important aspects of the paleo diet is that we don’t avoid so-called “healthy fats”.

Olive oil, coconut oil, nut oils, avocado oil, lard and animal fat, ghee. Sunflower seeds, almonds, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, pecans, hazelnuts, chestnuts, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, and cashews.

SPICES AND HERBS. Pretty much everything, no limits.

NO ONE The list of acceptable paleo products is not exhaustive – there are a lot of options.In short: we use what is given by nature and avoid any products made by man.

AMERICAN DIABETIC ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDATIONS, RESEARCH, INFOGRAPHICS AND DIET EXAMPLES FOR DIABETES PATIENTS

Diabetes is a disease characterized by metabolic disorders caused by insufficient production of insulin or cell insensitivity to it [1]. There are two main types of diabetes: type I diabetes and type II diabetes [2].Type I diabetes usually occurs during childhood, when cells of the immune system destroy the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas to fight infection. Scientists believe that type 1 diabetes is genetically determined. Type II diabetes can also be caused by genes, but most often it occurs due to low physical activity, inadequate diet and being overweight. Type II diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, and occurs in 90% of cases, although in order to avoid it, in most cases, only slight lifestyle changes are needed [2], [3].

Unfortunately, the number of patients with type II diabetes is increasing every year, and scientists predict that their number will double over the next 25 years [4], [5]. And if only genetic engineering can fight the spread of type I diabetes, the spread of type II diabetes can be easily prevented by regulating the eating behavior and culture of physical activity of the population [6], [7], [8]. Although it is worth noting that parents with diabetes, or whose family has had diabetes, should carefully monitor their children, since the predisposition to type II diabetes is inherited even more often than type I [9], [10].And the most important thing to watch out for is the body mass index (BMI; English BMI), the norms of which can be found in the source [11].

Symptoms of diabetes are: frequent urination, blurred vision, increased appetite, fatigue, numbness or tingling in the hands and feet, poorly healing wounds, hypertension, high cholesterol or triglyceride levels, and unexplained sudden weight loss [3], [12]. In the case of type I diabetes, they appear quickly and intensely, literally in a couple of weeks, and in the case of type II diabetes, the disease can develop very gradually, and a person may not even suspect that he is sick for many years [3].Diabetes can be triggered by hormonal disorders, gene mutations, pregnancy, damage to the pancreas, other diseases, the use of drugs, high cholesterol or triglyceride levels and excess weight, which, when the BMI is over 25, is a sure sign of the need to be tested for diabetes [12].

In any case, whether a person suffers from diabetes, or wants to prevent this deplorable event, the most important thing that he needs to take is to establish a diet and regulate physical activity [13] – [20].Although many people with diabetes convince themselves that the disease does not allow them to lose weight, this opinion does not correspond to controlled scientific studies, which unequivocally prove that people with diabetes can lose weight, although they lose weight more slowly than healthy people [21] – [25] … Nevertheless, there are a lot of recommendations about what kind of diet should be followed in diabetes [26] – [30], therefore it is necessary to understand each possible nutritional protocol, and draw the attention of patients to the fact that self-education does not negate the need to consult with professional doctors [31].

Diabetes diet

There are two fundamentally different nutritional systems for diabetics: low-carb and low-fat. The difference lies in the ratio of nutritional nutrients that make up the diets. Low-carb diets involve controlling carbohydrate intake, and low-fat diets control fat intake. However, the goals of all types of diabetic diets are the same: control of lipids, blood sugar and blood pressure [32].One of the most effective methods for achieving this goal is weight loss [33], [34], therefore, any diet for diabetes involves controlling the calorie intake. Another important method is the control of the glycemic index (GI) of foods [35] – [37], although a meta-analysis of the American Diabetes Association (ADA; ADA) showed a weak correlation between a low GI or high GI diet and glycemic control [38].

In 2013, the ADA published an article [32], which outlined the main recommendations for organizing the diet of patients with diabetes.These primarily included the control of portion sizes and frequency of meals. Secondly, ADA recommends eating more fiber-rich vegetables and fruits, as well as monitoring the ratio of fatty acids in the diet, a topic that we discussed in detail in one of our 90,088 previous reviews . Third, since diabetic patients must strictly restrict caloric intake, since caloric balance is a determining factor in weight gain and weight loss [39], [40], they are advised to take vitamin and mineral supplements .It is recommended to limit the consumption of salt, alcoholic beverages, and alcohol should be consumed only with food [41]. And it should be emphasized that it is recommended to eat, exercise, sleep and take medication at the same time every day [20].

The issue of physical activity should be separately touched upon, which, although not the subject of today’s article, is an important point in the treatment and prevention of diabetes. The most beneficial and safest way to increase physical activity is walking.But conceptually, for the prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, it is recommended to use an aerobic exercise, since such a load improves the sensitivity of cells to insulin, normalizes the blood lipid profile, and also lowers blood pressure [42] – [44]. It is also important to note that during exercise it is necessary to monitor blood sugar [45], as well as consult about sports with your doctor.

Results: patients with diabetes need to control the calorie intake; if you are overweight, you need to lose weight; it is necessary to eat often and in small portions; monitor the glycemic index of foods; control blood sugar levels; take into account circadian rhythms ; normalize physical activity and consult with your doctor about any changes in your lifestyle.

Low fat diets for diabetes

A low-fat diet is considered the traditional diet for diabetics [46] – [48], although prior to the discovery of insulin, physicians advised diabetics to limit their carbohydrate intake [49].Today, a typical diabetes diet is a moderate intake of carbohydrates (45% of the caloric intake), 35–40% fat and 15–20% protein [50], [51]. At the same time, ADA recommends [32] an individual approach to the organization of the diet, and this point of view is supported by relevant scientific research [52] – [61], in connection with which it is recommended not only to engage in self-education, but also to consult with qualified doctors and nutritionists.

Low fat diets have benefits. For example, fruits and vegetables, which are sources of carbohydrates, are also sources of fiber, vitamins and minerals that have a positive effect on human health [62] – [64]. They prevent various chronic diseases such as stroke, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular and oncological diseases, colon diverticulosis, obstructive pulmonary diseases, etc.etc. [65] – [67]. In addition, people with kidney dysfunction may have problems with protein absorption, which is why such people are often advised to use low-fat vegetarian diets [68].

However, current dietary guidelines for diabetic patients include moderate and controlled intake of all nutrients [69]. Why? Because, on the one hand, low-fat diets cause an increased intake of carbohydrates [70] – [72], which upsets the calorie balance and becomes the cause of excess weight gain.On the other hand, modern nutritional science has long abandoned the idea of ​​demonization of fats and therefore nutritionists recommend paying attention not so much to the amount of fats in the diet as to their ratio [73], which can be read in detail here . At the same time, since each gram of fat contains 9 Kcal, and diabetic patients are recommended to eat from 1500 to 2500 Kcal per day, the amount of fat in the diet must be limited [20].

Bottom Line: A traditional low-fat diet should not be recommended for diabetes, as such a diet correlates with high carbohydrate intake, and the quality and quantity of carbohydrates in the diet of diabetics should be carefully monitored.Due to this, it is recommended to use low-carb diets with moderate intake of fat, such as the Mediterranean and Paleo diets. But in some cases, if health conditions or beliefs do not allow a person to eat meat, a well-balanced vegetarian diet can be considered [74].

Vegetarian Diet

Vegetarians avoid the consumption of any animal products, including meat, fish, dairy products, eggs and others, which entails a number of side effects, in particular a lack of iron [75].But a vegetarian diet can increase insulin sensitivity [68], which sometimes leads to the possibility of lowering the dosage of insulin or oral medications [76]. Fruits and vegetables contain a large amount of fiber and microbiota [77], which has a beneficial effect on the state of the intestinal microflora, which, in turn, has a beneficial effect on the condition of a patient with diabetes [78].

Vegetarian diets allow weight loss [79], and vegetarians generally have a lower BMI than meat eaters [80], but controlled studies do not support an increased efficacy of vegetarian diets for weight loss in the long term [81].However, a well-planned vegetarian diet may be an adequate diet for diabetics [82], although lacto-ovo vegetarianism is preferred over veganism [83]. At the same time, if a person includes in the diet protein products of animal origin, then he should pay attention to their insulin index, since it is often as high as that of carbohydrates [84], [85].

Low Carb Diets for Diabetes

Low-carbohydrate diets have long been proven to be effective in treating diabetes [17], which is logical, since such diets can reduce caloric intake [86], increase control over blood glucose and insulin levels [87], [88] , lower blood pressure [89], which, incidentally, is facilitated by weight loss, since the loss of each kilogram of own body weight reduces arterial blood pressure by 1 mm Hg [90]. And relevant scientific studies show that low-carb diets are the most effective in terms of weight loss [91] – [93]. At the same time, in the long term, the effectiveness of low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets in terms of weight loss is identical [94], since it is not the composition of food that is important for the utilization of subcutaneous fat, but the calorie content of the diet.

Especially effective in the short term can be ketogenic diets, which involve the consumption of no more than 20-30 g of carbohydrates per day [29].But it is impossible to recommend them for use in the long term or without a doctor’s recommendation due to the fact that they are still poorly studied [17]. The popularity of low-calorie diets in diabetes is growing steadily [95], [96], although it is worth noting the importance of controlling fiber and micronutrient intake while reducing overall carbohydrate intake [97], [98]. And in view of understanding this problem, the Mediterranean and Paleo diets have gained particular popularity among nutritionists, which allow them to cover the need for micronutrients almost completely from natural food sources.

Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet was first described in 1960 [26] and is characterized by a high intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids, vegetables, fruits, meat products, fish and coarse grains. The essence of this diet is to eat all products, especially a lot of vegetables, fruits and fatty fish, which provide the body with useful micronutrients, but there is everything in limited quantities so as not to overeat in calories.We remind you that for patients with diabetes, the daily caloric intake should fit into the range of 1500-2500 Kcal. Proteins must be eaten 0.8-1.0 g per kilogram of their own body weight [99], the amount of which must be multiplied by 4 to be converted into calories. Accordingly, if carbohydrates are eaten 170 g, and fat 1. 0 g per kilogram of own body weight, then for 70 kg For humans, such a diet will have an energy value of 1590 Kcal, which is quite consistent with the norm.

The Mediterranean diet can level chronic inflammatory processes [5], reduce the risk of type II diabetes by 83% [100] and prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases [101]. Just like the vegetarian diet, the Mediterranean diet has a positive effect on the intestinal microflora [77]. A large amount of OMEGA-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet of the Mediterranean diet correlates with an increase in the sensitivity of cells to insulin [102].However, it is worth noting that the average citizen of the CIS will not be able to afford to provide the body with a sufficient amount of OMEGA-3 from natural sources of nutrition, therefore it is recommended to take supplements with fish oil.

Stone Age Diet

The paleo diet is a diet that is limited to the foods available to humans before the agricultural revolution [27]. And the caveman’s diet has a positive effect on the sensitivity of cells to insulin, preventing the risk of developing diabetes [103].In a 12-week study comparing the effects of the paleo diet and the Mediterranean diet on improving glucose tolerance, the paleo diet performed better [58]. However, since the paleo diet involves the consumption of lean meat, fish, shellfish, fruits, vegetables, roots, eggs and nuts, but completely excludes the consumption of grains, dairy products, salt or refined fats and sugar [20], it can be recommended for use only in the event that a person will cover the lack of micronutrients through nutritional supplements [27].

Conclusion: diabetics are advised to use the Mediterranean diet as the most adequate nutritional protocol, which, for personal preference or health reasons, can be replaced by a well balanced vegetarian diet.

Sports diets

[1] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0024704/

[2] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMHT0024703/

[3] niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/symptoms-causes

[4] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15111519

[5] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18196989

[6] nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa012512

[7] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18830087

[8] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16241925

[9] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17703236

[10] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17596467

[11] niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/risk-factors-type-2-diabetes#BMI

[12] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2797382/

[13] jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/226013

[14] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12087014

[15] care.diabetesjournals.org/content/34/7/1481

[16] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15846663

[17] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1188071/

[18] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1570767/

[19] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14672286

[20] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3977406/

[21] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6373464

[22] http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2016/02/24/dc15-1942

[23] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC538279/

[24] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12936955

[25] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2879275/

[26] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3083888/

[27] ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2787021/

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90,000 Should We Eat Like Cavemen – Wonderzine

Is it still possible to normalize weight and health on the paleo diet

There is currently no conclusive evidence that the Paleo diet is effective for weight loss. In 2014, a study of obese women was conducted: compared to the classic diet recommended for weight loss, people on the Paleo diet lost more kilograms – but the effectiveness disappeared after completing the course, and the weight partially returned.In terms of health, the authors noted that the paleo diet was effective in controlling blood sugar and lipid levels. True, the publication separately noted that it was in the paleo diet group that the participants had problems with adherence to the instructions – which means that such a diet is not suitable for preventing diseases.

This combines paleo with other restrictive diets: complex rules and a narrow list of permitted foods lead to a host of problems. Such a diet is difficult to follow, it is expensive (especially in the case of organic products) and leads to isolation from society: it may turn out that a person invited to lunch and dinner, “nothing is allowed”.

Several advantages can still be found in the paleo diet: for example, recommendations for increasing the amount of vegetables and fruits in the diet and avoiding semi-finished products generally correspond to what doctors say. People who follow the Paleo diet should cook more at home, which helps control, for example, the amount of salt and sugar. It is also important to understand that the question of how much any diet is “healthier” than the current one is highly individual. A person whose diet consists entirely of cooked foods, sweets and soda, and who does not eat fruits and vegetables at all, the Paleo diet is likely to be beneficial.But it is much easier to follow the classic dietary guidelines: they are easier to follow and they provide a much larger choice of foods.

Photos : Porechenskaya – stock.adobe.com, Pineapple studio – stock.adobe.com, New Africa – stock.adobe.com

90,000 How a Caveman’s Diet Improves Health

Our distant ancestors “developed” the principles of this type of nutrition in a practical way. In the Paleolithic era (about 10.000 years ago), people were forced to gather and move a lot while hunting. They ate plant foods and meat. Studies have shown that obesity, diabetes, heart and vascular disease were not common diseases at the time.

According to statistics for 2019, cardiovascular diseases rank first among fatal diseases. Based on research, we will figure out if the diet of cavemen is as effective as they say in the media.

Paleo – what is this diet

There are no strict rules for the paleo diet, unlike the same keto diet. The main thing is to eat natural products. Any chemical additives, flavor enhancers and aroma enhancers are unacceptable in this diet. Cavemen cooked meat only on fire, so frying on this diet is acceptable, but with a minimum amount of oil.

Scientists advise against following all the principles of this diet. Over the past few years, they have proven the benefits of many products.For example, the same vegetable oils are useful and important for a healthy body.

What foods can be eaten on the paleo, and what not

Try not to eat processed foods so that the body receives a full of useful substances.

Permitted products

• meat and fish;
• vegetables and fruits:
• eggs and salt;
• seeds and nuts;
• spices and herbs;
• healthy fats.

Prohibited products

• refined sugar and products with it; 90,020 90,019 grains;
• fruit juices;
• dairy products;
• legumes;
• vegetable oils;
• trans fat;
• Artificial sweeteners – Only natural stevia permitted.

Foods that can be eaten in small quantities

• dark chocolate .In small amounts, it is good for the brain;
• red wine . In moderation, it helps to prevent cancer, thanks to antioxidants.

Drinks on a paleo diet

The best and healthiest drink is water. Over the past few years, the principles of the paleo diet have changed slightly due to the proven benefits of drinks:

• green tea . Helps slow down aging and is rich in antioxidants;
• coffee .Strengthens the heart when consumed in moderation.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Paleo Diet

Compared to the Mediterranean and Diabetic Diet, Paleo has the following advantages:

• normalizes blood sugar levels;
• reduces the level of “bad” cholesterol;
• helps to quickly reduce weight;
• normalizes pressure;
• improves appetite control.

The main disadvantage of the paleo diet is the lack of complex carbohydrates that give us energy.Sources of complex carbohydrates are not only oatmeal and buckwheat, but all cereals and legumes. Not every person benefits from giving up croup, so before switching to such a diet, you need to consult a doctor.

The same applies to dairy products. They are a source of protein and calcium, which are essential for both adults and children. Therefore, the best decision before switching to paleo is to contact a nutritionist for a menu.

Is it possible to lose weight on the paleo diet

A study from 2017 proved that the paleo diet leads to weight loss.On average, in 3 weeks, people manage to lose up to 2.5 kg. Scientists attribute this to a decrease in the number of calories consumed. Therefore, any diet on which you cut back on your diet will have a similar effect.

Paleo diet menu for the week

You cannot abruptly quit your usual diet – you can quickly break loose and harm your health by gaining extra pounds. Experts advise that the first time there is what you want, 3 times a week. But it shouldn’t be

3 days of “free” food, and 3 meals.Then try to reduce these indulgences every week.

Monday

• Breakfast : omelet with vegetables and 1 fruit.
• Lunch : salad with turkey and olive oil. A handful of hazelnuts.
• Dinner : burgers without buns (lettuce instead) with spices.

Tuesday

• Breakfast : scrambled eggs and bacon and fruit
• Lunch : Same burger as for Monday dinner
• Dinner : Salmon with vegetables

Wednesday

• Breakfast : what’s left from yesterday’s dinner
• Lunch : sandwich with lettuce, meat and vegetables
• Dinner : ground beef with vegetables and berries

Thursday

• Breakfast : scrambled eggs and fruit
• Lunch : leftovers from yesterday’s dinner
• Dinner : pork with vegetables in the oven

Friday

• Breakfast : omelette with vegetables
• Lunch : chicken salad with butter and nuts
• Dinner : steak with vegetables and baked potatoes

Saturday

• Breakfast : eggs with bacon and fruit
• Lunch : steak with vegetables like last dinner
• Dinner : salmon with vegetables in the oven , avocado

Sunday

• Breakfast : leftovers from yesterday’s dinner
• Lunch : sandwich with lettuce, chicken and vegetables
• Dinner : chicken in the oven with vegetables and seasonings

stick to three meals a day, you can carry snacks with you.