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  • Original Article
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Carbohydrates, glycemic index and diabetes mellitus

Metabolic and physiologic effects from consuming a hunter-gatherer (Paleolithic)-type diet in type 2 diabetes

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 69, pages 944–948 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

The contemporary American diet figures centrally in the pathogenesis of numerous chronic diseases– 'diseases of civilization'–such as obesity and diabetes. We investigated in type 2 diabetes whether a diet similar to that consumed by our pre-agricultural hunter-gatherer ancestors ('Paleolithic' type diet) confers health benefits.

Subjects/Methods:

We performed an outpatient, metabolically controlled diet study in type 2 diabetes patients. We compared the findings in 14 participants consuming a Paleo diet comprising lean meat, fruits, vegetables and nuts, and excluding added salt, and non-Paleolithic-type foods comprising cereal grains, dairy or legumes, with 10 participants on a diet based on recommendations by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) containing moderate salt intake, low-fat dairy, whole grains and legumes. There were three ramp-up diets for 7 days, then 14 days of the test diet. Outcomes included the following: mean arterial blood pressure; 24-h urine electrolytes; hemoglobin A1c and fructosamine levels; insulin resistance by euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp and lipid levels.

Results:

Both groups had improvements in metabolic measures, but the Paleo diet group had greater benefits on glucose control and lipid profiles. Also, on the Paleo diet, the most insulin-resistant subjects had a significant improvement in insulin sensitivity (r=0.40, P=0.02), but no such effect was seen in the most insulin-resistant subjects on the ADA diet (r= 0.39, P=0.3).

Conclusions:

Even short-term consumption of a Paleolithic-type diet improved glucose control and lipid profiles in people with type 2 diabetes compared with a conventional diet containing moderate salt intake, low-fat dairy, whole grains and legumes.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Academic Senate Grant from the University of California, San Francisco. We acknowledge the staff of the Clinical Research Center at UCSF for their assistance in conducting these studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    U Masharani, P Sherchan, S Stratford, A Xiao, A Sebastian, M Nolte Kennedy & L Frassetto

  2. Clinical and Translational Science Institute, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    M Schloetter & A Sebastian

Authors
  1. U Masharani
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  2. P Sherchan
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  3. M Schloetter
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  4. S Stratford
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  5. A Xiao
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  6. A Sebastian
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  7. M Nolte Kennedy
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  8. L Frassetto
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to U Masharani.

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Competing interests

All the authors were involved in the design of the experiment. UM, PS, MS, SS, AX and LF performed the experiments. UM and LF analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Masharani, U., Sherchan, P., Schloetter, M. et al. Metabolic and physiologic effects from consuming a hunter-gatherer (Paleolithic)-type diet in type 2 diabetes. Eur J Clin Nutr 69, 944–948 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.39

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