Healthy Satiety Effects of Paleolithic diet on Satiety and Risk factors for Cardiovascular disease

Abstract: The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) exhibits considerable variation across agrarian societies, whereas they are virtually absent in non-agrarian societies such as hunter-gatherer and horticultural societies. When looking for lifestyle factors which could promote CVD, it therefore seems logical to focus on the agrarian lifestyle and ways in which it departs from a non-agrarian lifestyle. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the effect of a hunter-gatherer diet (also called Paleolithic diet) compared to agrarian diet in prevention of CVD. In paper I we reviewed evidence from epidemiology and evolutionary biology for a possible maladaptation of human satiety hormone leptin to agrarian diet. We found that leptin resistance hypothetically may be a sign of maladaptation to dietary cereals as staple food, and that lectins could be a cereal constituent with sufficient properties to cause leptin resistance. In paper II we experimentally studied the long-term effect of a Paleolithic diet compared to a cereal-based diet on risk factors for cardiovascular disease in domestic pigs. We found that a Paleolithic diet conferred higher insulin sensitivity, lower C-reactive protein and lower blood pressure than a cereal-based diet. In paper III and IV we experimentally studied the effect of a Paleolithic diet compared to a Mediterranean-like diet on risk factors for cardiovascular disease, satiety and leptin in individuals with ischaemic heart disease and either glucose intolerance or type 2 diabetes. Paper III showed that a Paleolithic diet improved glucose tolerance more than a Mediterranean-like diet, and paper IV showed that a Paleolithic diet was more satiating per calorie than a Mediterranean-like diet. In conclusion, we have found beneficial effects of a Paleolithic diet on risk factors for cardiovascular disease and satiety.