Continuing education activity
A Paleolithic diet is the modern interpretation of the diet that people ate during the Paleolithic or "Old Stone Age." This period, about 2.5 million years ago, was notable for the anatomical and physiological changes that occurred in humans as they adapted to climate change, learned to cook meat using fire, and began using stone tools for better access to food and resources. Anthropologists believe that the diet of our ancestors had a major influence on their neural expansion, their increased brain size and the reduction of their gastrointestinal tract. This activity describes the benefits and indications of the Paleolithic diet and highlights the role of the interprofessional team in ensuring that patients follow a healthy diet.
Goal:
Identify the function of the Paleolithic diet.
Describe the problems associated with the Paleolithic diet.
Discuss the clinical significance of a Paleolithic diet.
Outlines interprofessional team strategies to improve care coordination and communication to promote patient nutrition education and improve outcomes.
Introduction
A Paleolithic diet is the modern interpretation of the diet that people ate during the Paleolithic or "Old Stone Age." This period, about 2.5 million years ago, was notable for the anatomical and physiological changes that occurred in humans as they adapted to climate change, learned to cook meat using fire, and began using stone tools for better access to food and resources. Anthropologists believe that the diet of our ancestors had a major influence on their neural expansion, their increased brain size and the reduction of their gastrointestinal tract.[1][2][3]
Work
There has been a boom in industrialization over the past hundred years. While essential to human progress, industrialization has also given rise to ultra-processed, cheap, readily available foods to support a growing population. A consequence of consuming these foods is an increase in the number of chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Scientists and laypeople alike are beginning to look for solutions to these epidemics; Alternatives focus not only on medication, but also on making important changes in diet and lifestyle. This search for the 'ideal' diet for health and longevity has uncovered several ancient cuisines, and some have been extensively studied, such as the 'Mediterranean diet'.
The concept of the Paleolithic diet began in the 1970s and its popularity skyrocketed after the book's publicationThe Paleo Diet: Lose weight and get healthy by eating the foods you were meant to eatby Loren Cordain in 2002. Since then, the public has shown tremendous interest in this diet, also called the "Caveman Diet" or "Stone Age Diet." Many cookbooks have been published claiming to contain Paleolithic recipes. The central principle behind this diet hinges on returning to what our prehistoric ancestors ate and rejecting today's processed diet to improve our health outcomes. The challenge with this diet, however, is that conflicting versions are presented to the public.
Fortunately, several groundbreaking developments in anthropology in recent years have helped dietitians and physicians better understand the Paleolithic diet. Perhaps one of the most popular misconceptions is that our ancestors were primarily carnivores, when in fact they ate primarily a plant-based diet. The diet was very broad and greatly influenced by geographic location and food availability.[4][5][6][7]
Scientists and anthropologists have managed to reconstruct this diet based on evidence collected from archaeological remains and by studying modern tribes. In the modern world, about a dozen tribes still follow the hunter-gatherer concept. These tribes are located in different parts of the world and in all climatic areas. The most extensively studied tribe is the Hadza tribe from central Tanzania, where the African continent is considered the birthplace of human evolution and where the majority of hominid prehistoric fossils are found. Because the Hadza group lives in the tropical forest, their diet consists mainly of plants, fruits, tubers and game. One of the most popular food groups for them is honey. There are also studies of some Scandinavian tribes, which live mainly on fish and other crustaceans.[8][9][10]
Based on these findings, the Paleolithic diet most likely consisted of the following:
Plants - These include tubers, seeds, nuts, wild barley ground into flour, legumes and flowers. Since they discovered fire and stone tools, it is believed that they could process and prepare these foods.
Animals - Because they were more readily available, lean small game animals were the main animals eaten. By some estimates, animal products made up only about 3% of the total diet. Animals had not yet been domesticated, so dairy products were most likely not included.
Fish and shellfish - The diet included crustaceans and other smaller fish. It was an important part of the diet of the coastal areas.
Insects - A variety of insects and their products were eaten, including honey and gingerbread. They were a great backup food. Recently, interest in edible insects, called entomophagy, has increased. The United Nations has published a list of edible insects as an alternative to meat products, as insects can provide similar nutritional benefits.
Clinical significance
It is clear that Stone Age people ate a variety of high-quality foods that were rich in nutrients and fiber. Compared to this diet, modern diets offer much less variety and are packed with artificial sugars and salt.
Since it's impractical to exactly recreate the diet that our Stone Age ancestors ate, we can reasonably take some key foods and adapt them to a modern lifestyle.
Whalen KA, et al. have done studies on the Paleolithic diet and compared it to the Mediterranean diet. In a study of more than 2,000 people, participants in each group consumed the list of foods that would fit into each diet. The results were similar in both groups, although consumers of a Paleolithic diet reduced their all-cause mortality, reduced oxidative stress and also reduced mortality from cancer, particularly colon cancer.
Another study by Blomquist C, et al. It involved women who were postmenopausal and also obese. They found that a Paleolithic diet reduced lipogenesis-promoting factors, improved insulin sensitivity and reduced circulating triglycerides.
The Paleolithic diet has been studied as an adjunct to therapeutic treatment in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. An article by Dr. Jacob Eaton and Dr. Lara Lannotti, major proponent and pioneer of the Paleolithic diet, focuses on the discrepancy between genomic evolution and the modern diet. As discussed above, the diet of our ancestors has had a major impact on our genetic development. However, because the current diet no longer contains the same variety and nutritional value, there has been an increase in chronic diseases caused by both "undernutrition" and "overnutrition". Several other smaller studies confirm similar results.
Doctors around the world have tried to incorporate healthy diet and lifestyle habits into the therapeutic regimen of their patients. A Paleolithic diet is certainly a reasonable option for doctors because it advocates healthy eating.
Improving health team outcomes
Every few years a new diet is introduced that is believed to be the miracle cure for good health. Doctors should not fall into the "fad" trap but should advise patients to eat a healthy diet low in processed foods, exercise regularly, and quit smoking and other harmful habits. Like all diets, the Paleolithic diet has its pros and cons. This was a diet first adopted by our human ancestors out of necessity, and while it may have been good for the digestive tract, it is unknown how it affects human health in the long term. term.
Doctors, pharmacists, nurses and dietitians should all encourage a healthy diet for their patients, low in processed foods and higher in fiber, with lean sources of protein.
References
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Otten J, Ryberg M, Mellberg C, Andersson T, Chorell E, Lindahl B, Larsson C, Holst JJ, Olsson T. Postprandial levels of GLP-1, GIP and glucagon after 2 years of weight loss with a paleolithic diet: a randomized controlled trial with healthy obese women.Eur J Endocrinol.01. June 2019;180(6):417-427.[PMC free article: PMC6528411] [PubMed: 31042670]
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Ghaedi E, Mohammadi M, Mohammadi H, Ramezani-Jolfaie N, Malekzadeh J, Hosseinzadeh M, Salehi-Abargouei A. Effects of a Paleolithic diet on cardiovascular disease risk factors: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Adv Nutr.July 1, 2019;10(4): 634-646.[PMC free article: PMC6628854] [PubMed: 31041449]
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Morin E, Meier J, El Guennouni K, Moigne AM, Lebreton L, Rusch L, Valensi P, Conolly J, Cochard D. New evidence of broader diets for archaichom*opopulations in the northwestern Mediterranean.Scientific Adv.March 2019;5(3):eaav9106.[PMC free article: PMC6402852] [PubMed: 30854435]
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Chenard CA, Rubenstein LM, Snetselaar LG, Wahls TL. Comparison of nutritional composition between a modified Paleolithic diet for multiple sclerosis and the recommended healthy American-style diet.Nutrients.01. March 2019;11(3)[PMC free article: PMC6470485] [PubMed: 30832289]
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Hardy K. Paleomedicine and the Use of Secondary Plant Compounds in the Paleolithic and Early Neolithic.Evol Anthropol.March 2019;28(2): 60-71.[PubMed: 30771227]
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Wahls TL, Chenard CA, Snetselaar LG. Review of two popular eating plans in the multiple sclerosis community: low saturated fat and modified paleolithic.Nutrients.February 7, 2019;11(2)[PMC free article: PMC6412750] [PubMed: 30736445]
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Britto S, Kellermayer R. Carbohydrate monotherapy as protection and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.J Crohns-colitis.July 25, 2019;13(7): 942-948.[PubMed: 30715243]
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Evans RDR, Antonelou M, Henderson S, Walsh SB, Salama AD. New evidence for an effect of salt on innate and adaptive immunity.Nephrol disc transplantation.01 december 2019;34(12):2007-2014.[PubMed: 30521016]
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Genoni A, Lo J, Lyons-Wall P, Boyce MC, Christophersen CT, Bird A, Devine A. A Paleolithic diet reduces resistant starch intake but does not affect serum trimethylamine N-oxide concentrations in healthy women.Brother J Nutr.February 2019;121(3): 322-329.[PMC free article: PMC6390390] [PubMed: 30419974]
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Revelation:Kalyan Uppaluri declares that it has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.
