Metabolic and dietary composition of ad-libitum Paleolithic vs Australian Guide to Healthy Eating diets.

The baseline visit included a 20 minute dietary consultation explaining the dietary intervention with a registered Nutritionist. Those in the Paleolithic group were provided with meal ideas obtained from “The Paleo Diet” book (Cordain, 2011) and advised to consume lean meats, fish, eggs, nuts, fruits and vegetables, and small amounts of olive or coconut oils. Grains, cereals and dairy products, any mixed dishes or processed foods that included these items were not permitted. Dairy products were to be replaced with unsweetened almond milk. Sugarless black coffee and tea were allowed. All vegetables were permitted on the diet, except for corn, white potatoes and legumes. Sweet potatoes were offered as an alternative to white potatoes. To ensure adequate carbohydrate, additional serves of fruit were recommended. Dried fruit was limited to one tablespoon per day. The intervention was 28 days in duration. Participants were advised to consume foods on an ad-libitum basis and eat when hungry. Compliance was assessed with a daily checklist of allowable foods. Additional foods consumed outside those allowable, was recorded and coded with a serving size amount. All checklists were returned and checked for completeness.