100210 – Study shows Paleo works FAST

WOD

1. Warmup
2. DROM
3. Deadlift – 75%x5rx4s
4. AMRAP 10:
   Kettlebell swings, 24(16)kg
5. Stretch

From Monique at Crossfit Evolution:
A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition acknowledges that the contemporary American diet fuels numerous chronic diseases. The study worked with a group of adults over a 20 day period, switching them to a Paleolithic diet and then posted their results. The paleolithic diet provided metabolic and physiologic improvements in a matter of days. This entire passage is courtesy of Dr Cordain.

Here’s what they measured:

* Arterial blood pressure (BP)
* 24-hour urine sodium and potassium excretion
* Plasma glucose and insulin areas under the curve (AUC) during a two-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT).
o The glycemic index of a food is defined as the area under the two-hour blood glucose response curve (AUC) following the ingestion of a fixed portion of carbohydrate (usually 50 g).
* Insulin sensitivity
o generally shows the risk for heart problems
* Plasma lipid concentrations
o used to determine the risk of coronary heart disease
* Brachial artery reactivity in response to ischemia (a restriction in blood supply)

Results:

* Significant reductions in BP associated with improved arterial distensibility
* Significant reductions in plasma insulin versus time AUC during the OGTT
* Large significant reductions in total cholesterol, low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and triglycerides

Okay, but what does all that really mean to me?

1. Improved (lowered) blood pressure
High blood pressure can remain undetected for years, but it can damage blood vessels, and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

2. Fights diabetes and cardiovascular disease
You can also use this diet to improve glucose tolerance, decrease insulin secretion, and increase insulin sensitivity, as this study found. Impaired glucose tolerance is seen as a pre-diabetic state that is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular pathology. Insulin sensitivity is also used to measure the risk for heart disease. Generally, greater insulin sensitivity indicates reduced risk of heart problems.

3. Reduce the risk of atherosclerois
The Paleo Diet also improved lipid profiles very quickly for healthy, sedentary people. Lipid profiles show total cholesterol, LDL-C that is referred to as “bad” cholesterol, triglycerides, and “good” cholesterol or HDL-C.

Improving your lipid profiles can reduce your risk for heart attack and stroke caused by blood vessel blockage or hardening of the arteries, also known as atherosclerois.

Conclusion: all this in ONLY 20 days!! Imagine what can be done for your health if you predominately ate this way. Dr Cordain’s site is full of great information, published research, yummy recipes, and a most informative Free Newsletter dedicated to not just Paleo, but new research findings translated for those of us without a doctorate in scientific speaking.