The Paleo Diet? Not so healthy if carried on over the long term.

This is what the first study that analyzes the effectiveness of the famous Paleo diet reveals in a whole year of observation, on a group of participants divided into two groups.
Those who followed a strictly Paleo diet (no cereals, cheeses and dairy products and legumes) and those who followed a Pseudo Paleo diet (a portion of cereals a day, usually rice, or dairy products / cheeses).

The 44 study participants, all adults, were non-smokers and were not taking drugs, which could compromise the study results. During the study they provided fecal, urine and blood samples every three days for a year. The results stunned the researchers.
There were intestinal abnormalities in both groups.

PALEO DIET CONTRAINDICATIONS IN THE LONG TERM

WHAT THE FIRST STUDY THAT ANALYZES THE EFFECTS OF THE DIET SAYS

The study , conducted by Edith Cowan University, has in fact shown that those who follow a Paleo diet for a year undergoes significant changes in the intestine.

In particular, the low intake of foods containing resistant starch and some fibers could be the reason why too high levels of TMAO in serum were found in the intestinal flora of all participants .

PALEO DIET CONTRAINDICATIONS: RISK OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS

TMAO is an intestinal metabolite which is positively related to cardiovascular risk and which derives from the ingestion of choline, lecithin and carnitine. Although choline is an important nutrient in the diet, high levels of choline, found in red meats and eggs, lead to higher serum levels of TMAO (trimethylamine-N-oxide) as well as lecithin (from the yolk) and carnitine .

The consumption of cereals and starches in general seems to mitigate this transformation, so much so that the highest levels of TMAO were found in the samples of the group that followed a strictly Paleo diet , but to a slightly lesser extent, although still risky, in the Pseudo Paleo group, that who ate rice or potatoes at least once a day.

Previous studies had found a cardiovascular risk factor in TMAO , because it acts on platelets increasing the risk of thrombosis and ischemic heart disease. In short, it would favor atherosclerosis, promoting the accumulation of foamy cells in the arteries.