People who follow the Paleo diet may have a higher risk of heart disease, according to a new study.
Until now experts have touted the benefits that come with following the popular eating plan, which is based upon the eating habits of people in the Paleolithic era.
The theory is that by returning to this way of eating, which emphasizes eating meat and vegetables but excludes grains and dairy, a person will be able to reverse the genetic mismatch that reportedly occurred due to the modern diet, which is believed to cause obesity, diabetes and heart disease, The Mayo Clinic noted.
However, a new study published in the European Journal of Nutrition found that people who follow the Paleo diet could actually have twice the amount of a key blood biomarker linked closely to heart disease.
The link is in the gut, said researchers from Edith Cowan University. The study comprised 44 people following the Paleo diet and 47 following a traditional Australian diet.
To determine the effects that the respective diets played on heart health, researchers then measured the amount of trimethylamine-n-oxide (TMAO) in participants' blood.
The organic compound is produced in the gut and is associated with heart disease. Those following the Paleo diet had higher levels of TMAO.
"Many Paleo diet proponents claim the diet is beneficial to gut health, but this research suggests that when it comes to the production of TMAO in the gut, the Paleo diet could be having an adverse impact in terms of heart health," said lead researcher Dr Angela Genoni in a statement.
"We also found that populations of beneficial bacterial species were lower in the Paleolithic groups, associated with the reduced carbohydrate intake, which may have consequences for other chronic diseases over the long term."
Genoni said that at issue was a reduced intake of whole grains, which provides resistant starch and fermentable fibers essential for gut health. Cutting out whole grains cold actually change the bacteria in the gut which could lead to a higher production of TMAO.
"We found the lack of whole grains were associated with TMAO levels, which may provide a link between the reduced risks of cardiovascular disease we see in populations with high intakes of whole grains," said Genoni.
"Additionally, the Paleo diet includes greater servings per day of red meat, which provides the precursor compounds to produce TMAO, and Paleo followers consumed twice the recommended level of saturated fats, which is cause for concern."
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