Diets high in meat and eggs are an effective treatment for type II diabetes

This study was published in Diabetologia 2007 Sep;50(9):1795-807

Study title and authors:

A Palaeolithic diet improves glucose tolerance more than a Mediterranean-like diet in individuals with ischaemic heart disease.

Lindeberg S, Jönsson T, Granfeldt Y, Borgstrand E, Soffman J, Sjöström K, Ahrén B.

Source

Department of Medicine, Hs 32, University of Lund, SE-221 85, Lund, Sweden. staffan.lindeberg@med.lu.se

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17583796

This 12 week study compared the effects of a  Paleolithic "old Stone Age diet" and a consensus "Mediterranean-like diet" in 29 patients with ischaemic heart disease with either high blood glucose levels or type II diabetes. 

The diets comprised of:

(i) The "old stone age diet" tended to be lower in carbohydrate and higher in fat. Meat consumption was 47% higher, egg consumption 52% higher and cholesterol consumption 34% higher on the "old stone age diet" compared to the "Mediterranean-like diet".

(ii) The "Mediterranean-like diet" tended to be higher in carbohydrate and lower in fat. Cereal consumption was 1388% higher, pastry consumption 1200% higher, margarine consumption 1500% higher, potato consumption 51% higher and sweetened drinks consumption 194% higher on the "Mediterranean-like diet" compared to the "old stone age diet".

After 12 weeks the study found:

(a) Those on the old stone age diet lost 31% more weight compared to those on the Mediterranean-like diet.

(b) Those on the old stone age diet lowered their unhealthy high fasting glucose levels 88% more than those on the Mediterranean-like diet.

(c) Those on the old stone age diet lowered their unhealthy high HbA1c levels 4.3% more than those on the Mediterranean-like diet.

This study shows how a diet high in meat and eggs is more effective than a diet high in cereals and margarine in the treatment of type II diabetes.