Really old-school diet seems to get results
‘Caveman’ program can help you drop unwanted extra pounds, study finds
For all the modern advice on how to shed the pounds, the best way to lose weight is by copying our ancient ancestors, a study suggests.
The “caveman” diet popular with celebrities including Uma Thurman and Tom Jones has been given the seal of approval by scientists who found it more effective than some modern diets.
Women who adopted the socalled Palaeolithic diet lost twice as much weight within six months as those who followed a modern program based on official health guidelines. The diet involves eating plenty of berries, vegetables and lean meats such as chicken. Avoid bread, rice, pasta and dairy products.
The diet is designed to simulate what our ancestors ate before the advent of farming about 12,000 years ago, meaning followers can eat whatever they like except for certain types of food containing grains, refined sugars and salt.
A typical breakfast might be eggs supplemented with chicken or turkey, and fruits such as grapefruit, melon, avocados and tomatoes. Lunch and dinner could include a chicken filet, but with extra vegetables instead of rice or pasta.
In the latest study, published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers divided 70 post-menopausal, heavily overweight women into two groups. One was told to follow a Palaeolithic diet, the other a Nordic diet based on wholegrain cereals, low-fat dairy products, fruit, fish and vegetable oils. Participants were asked to get about 30 per cent of their total energy intake from protein. However, they found it difficult to reach that level and compensated by eating extra carbohydrates in the form of five to seven portions of fruit and vegetables each day.
After six months, those on the Palaeolithic diet had lost an average of just below 6.2 kilograms of fat and 11 centimetres from their waistlines, compared with 2.6 kg and 5.8 cm in the other group.