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More than twice the amount of a key biomarker closely related to heart disease has been found in the blood of people under paleo diet.
Researchers at Edith Cowan University have just completed the first major study in the world on the impact of the Paleo diet on intestinal bacteria.
Image Credit: MaraZe / Shutterstock
The controversial regime of the Paleo regime (or "caveman") advocates the consumption of limited meat, vegetables, nuts and fruit, thus excluding cereals, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar and the transformed oils.
ECU researchers compared 44 people to the scheme to 47 people following a traditional Australian diet.
They measured the amount of trimethylamine-n-oxide (TMAO) in participants' blood. High levels of TMAO, an organic compound produced in the intestine, are badociated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Heart disease kills an Australian every 12 minutes.
Not good for the belly
Dr. Angela Genoni, Principal Investigator at the Faculty of Medical Sciences and Health of the ECU, said:
"Those who promote the Paleo diet often cite it as beneficial to the health of their intestines, but this research suggests that there were adverse differences in those who followed the diet."
She explained that the reason why the TMAO was so high in people on paleo diet seemed to be due to higher consumption of red meat, but also to a lack of consumption of whole grains.
"The paleo diet excludes all grains and we know that whole grain cereals are a fantastic source of resistant starch and many other fermentable fibers that are essential to the health of the gut microbiome," said Dr. Genoni.
"Since TMAO is produced in the gut, a lack of whole grains could alter bacteria populations enough to allow higher production of this compound.
"In addition, the paleo diet includes larger portions of red meat per day, which provides the precursor compounds necessary for the production of TMAO."
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