Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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I started grad school about a month ago and my original plan was the M.S. -> RD route. Looking into it more and knowing what I know now, there's no way in hell I could ever work unpaid in a hospital telling really sick people to eat things I know are probably terrible for them. I've decided to go the PhD route instead which means I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do my research on. I'm most interested in:

Magnesium, the lack of it in our diets and why we need it

The O3:O6 balance and inflammation + disease

Gluten's effect on brain chemistry and the gut (fairly positive I have Celiac's)

The misguided fear of natural saturated fats and why they're good for us.

What kind of research would the paleo brains here like to feed on? Just trying to narrow down my focus a little bit and this site has been pretty damn helpful with a lot of other questions. My advisor seems pretty cool with me taking the non-conventional route, getting funding for paleo research from our government is a whole different story. Thanks in advance.

flag	asked Sep 22 2011 at 15:25 Nutritionator 5,306●1●8●39

BaconHealsChic · Answer 1 · 2011-09-22 19:07:49Z UTC

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Alzeimer's and diet--Type 3 diabetes or the gut/brain connection or any sub-set therein.

answered Sep 22 2011 at 19:07

BaconHealsChic
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My great aunt had Alzheimer's before she died and it was pretty terrible to see her go through something that awful, the gut/brain connection is definitely high on my list. – Nutritionator Sep 22 2011 at 21:24

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Alzheimer's results in a heart-breaking loss of friends/relatives before they are dead. My mother had dementia and then Alzheimer's and I would love to protect myself from going down the same road. – henny Sep 22 2011 at 21:50

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I watched a comedian the other night, who said "We lost my mom in 2001, and she finally passed away in 2009. For those of you who have been through it you know what I mean." The laughter from the audience seemed both nervous and cathartic. Having lost 3 grandparents to Alzheimer's long before the end of their lives, I was laughing and crying at the same time. – Happy Now Sep 22 2011 at 23:08

Yes. Same with my family--It is even a better reason for me to be paleo and stop using toxic products to clean myself or home with. it's so tragic. I don't want my kids to live seeing me not knowing what is going on. – BaconHealsChic Sep 23 2011 at 3:50

Sunshine · Answer 2 · 2011-09-22 15:33:11Z UTC

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Are certain populations better genetically predisposed to tolerate a diet of specific macronutrient ratio?

ex) do certain populations fare better on low/high carb, protien, and/or fat

I actually don't know if this has been studied before. I guess I should get off my lazy bum and do a search...

answered Sep 22 2011 at 15:33

Sunshine
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I'll have to do some searching on this also, would be very interesting either way. – Nutritionator Sep 22 2011 at 16:09

Michael · Answer 3 · 2011-09-22 17:05:05Z UTC

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ADHD and diet. Considering how many kids have it, how quick the results might be if diet is important, and how skeptical the mental health community is that diet matters, it could be a rich area for discovery and impact, both for the kids and indirectly for paleo itself. Emily Deans blogged on some minimal research being done, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry/201106/how-does-diet-affect-symptoms-adhd.

answered Sep 22 2011 at 17:05

Michael
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+ 1. Unfortunately, though, it probably won't garner gov't funding, as Big Pharma would lose out on a huge drug market. – Scrubjay Sep 22 2011 at 17:20

I'm also very interested in the same topic but even my advisor thought I would have an extremely hard time getting funding for something like that. I'm pretty sure I had some form of it when eating SAD so it hits close to home. Going to explore this one some more for sure. – Nutritionator Sep 22 2011 at 17:53

Matt · Answer 4 · 2011-09-23 02:52:00Z UTC

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Just be methodical and control variables, please please please! Nutritional science is so god-awful compared to other sciences, it's embarrassing.

answered Sep 23 2011 at 2:52

Matt
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I hear that, as much as I enjoy reading her stuff, I want to avoid being ripped apart by Denise Minger at all costs. – Nutritionator Sep 23 2011 at 5:13

I think part of the problem is that controlling variables in nutritional science is damn hard. Many of them only half-ass control variables because I think the community tends to give a pass on variable control (in other words, I suspect peer review is lacking.) – Matt Sep 23 2011 at 15:01

citrusfire · Answer 5 · 2011-09-22 15:28:50Z UTC

A controlled, >6 month long experiment with a paleo or perfect-health type diet (no vegetable oils, gluten, peanuts/soy, little sugar) on high-level athletes, compared to a traditionally prescribed low-fat diet and/or a Mediterranean diet. Measure health markers and performance. Maybe lightweight rowers or something to get similar body types.

JRM · Answer 6 · 2011-09-22 22:53:57Z UTC

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Blacks and vitamin D. You could probably get funding really easily, yet open yourself up to the thought police.

answered Sep 22 2011 at 22:53

JRM
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I looked around and couldn't find much research on this surprisingly. +1 for getting the wheels turning. – Nutritionator Sep 23 2011 at 5:18

akman · Answer 7 · 2011-09-22 23:50:01Z UTC

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I would like to see someone develop a Purina-type "People Chow". A tasty food that had everything in it a person could thrive on. No more need for supplements, grass-fed beef, offal--just a crunchy pellet I could eat a certain amount of and optimize myself. You would have to be mindful of reward theories, nutrient content, and palatability. You could even develop different types for different goals, weight-loss chow, weight-gain chow, old-age chow, baby-chow.

This food would have no neurotoxins (MSG/aspartate), the proper 03:06 ratio, and leave you satiated without triggering reward tracts in the brain.

answered Sep 22 2011 at 23:50

akman
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Interesting, though personally, ugh. Do you really think you could thrive on that? Question for food reward knowledgeable, perhaps. – Scrubjay Sep 23 2011 at 0:50

you dont want to enjoy food? – citrusfire Sep 23 2011 at 3:06

First of all Kibble is filled with horrible processed "not fit for human consumption" foods, so you lost me with the analogy. And, eating the same thing every meal, every day, would result in extreme boredom. I know I couldn't maintain a diet like that for more than a week. Do you have a purpose in mind? – Marie Sep 23 2011 at 3:54

The boredom is kind of the whole thought behind the food reward deal, I definitely think it's an interesting idea. It would be interesting to see if people actually "thrive" on such a mundane diet or if it's more of a tool for resetting the body's fat set point for weight loss. – Nutritionator Sep 23 2011 at 5:15

Look at what people are eating now in the name of health, whey protein powders, bars of all sorts, drinks of all sorts...Everyone else is just too overwhelmed and sticks with what they know best: SAD. I'm serious about this request. I'd love to be able to buy a 50lbs sack of human chow! It would have to taste good, be completely paleo in nutrition contents, and come with instructions on how much to eat for my height, weight,body comp or goals. – akman Sep 23 2011 at 16:04

Daniel Kirsner · Answer 8 · 2011-09-23 06:22:48Z UTC

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Effect of noise pollution vs. relative quiet on stress levels, mood, etc.

answered Sep 23 2011 at 6:22

Daniel Kirsner
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Daniel, indeed interesting. See euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/136466/…: Burden of disease from environmental noise. Quantification of healthy life years lost in Europe – Pieter D Sep 23 2011 at 6:31

Priscilla · Answer 9 · 2011-09-23 15:46:58Z UTC

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You're in NC? There are a lot of labs at Duke working on low-carb type research. Check out the people in the bio/biochem departments. I'm sure you will be able to get some ideas there.

answered Sep 23 2011 at 15:46

Priscilla
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	Haha actually just moved to Greensboro from Chapel Hill, worked at UNC for the last 3 years and had no idea Duke was big on low carb dammit!!! – Nutritionator Sep 23 2011 at 16:30
	Haha noo. I'd at least check online and perhaps contact some of the PIs there. I know for sure someone is working on a low carb/antioxidant sort of project there. – Priscilla Sep 23 2011 at 22:43

greyman · Answer 10 · 2011-09-23 22:14:48Z UTC

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I like your last proposal about fear of fats. Vote fot that.

answered Sep 23 2011 at 22:14

greyman
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Really interested in this one. It's a consistent fear in everyone in my Nutrition department and I'm pretty sure the fear isn't justified. – Nutritionator Sep 24 2011 at 4:36

Edward J. Edmonds · Answer 11 · 2011-10-15 16:11:44Z UTC

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The effect of polyunsaturated fats on the thyroid and metabolic rate.

answered Oct 15 2011 at 16:11

Edward J. Edmonds
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	Fatty fish dominant diet vs. beef dominant diet. – Edward J. Edmonds Oct 15 2011 at 16:14
	Would be tricky because you'd have to control total amount as well as ratio of omegas. – Matt Oct 15 2011 at 16:25

Anonymous Chump · Answer 12 · 2011-10-15 17:40:22Z UTC

Long term analysis of lipid numbers and those who avoid the top dangers of the SAD.

(I personally have this notion that many or most of the things we are warned about, things like high cholesterol, aren't so dangerous, and particularly aren't so dangerous for those who follow the basic paleo tenets.)

What paleo research do you want to see done by a grad student?

12 Answers