Table 1.
Constituents and Construction of the Paleolithic Diet (PD) score a
| Dietary food components | Paleolithic diet scoreb | Dietary foods intakec |
|---|---|---|
| More characteristic of diet | ||
| Vegetables | Highest intake “best” | 280 ± 180 |
| Fruit | Highest intake “best” | 180 ± 150 |
| Fruit and vegetable diversity score | Highest intake “best” | 26 ± 3 |
| Lean meat d | Highest intake “best” | 66 ± 47 |
| Fish | Highest intake “best” | 16 ± 18 |
| Nuts | Highest intake “best” | 7 ± 15 |
| Calcium | Highest intake “best” | 1020 ± 520 |
| Less characteristic of diet | ||
| Red and processed meate | Lowest intake “best” | 12 ± 15 |
| Dairy foods | Lowest intake “best” | 270 ± 280 |
| Sugar sweetened beverages | Lowest intake “best” | 390 ± 460 |
| Baked goodsf | Lowest intake “best” | 26 ± 28 |
| Grains and starchesg | Lowest intake “best” | 120 ± 89 |
| Sodium | Lowest intake “best” | 2700 ± 1200 |
| Alcohol | Lowest intake “best” | 10 ± 25 |
a All components of food were in grams/day except calcium and sodium which were in milligrams/day. Highest intake “best”: points were assigned to each quintile; highest and lowest quintiles scored 5 and 1 points, respectively. For lowest intake “best”, the scoring was reversed; highest and lowest quintiles scored 1 and 5 points, respectively
b The PD score had 14 components and possible scores ranged from 14 to 70
c Values are mean ± standard deviation (grams/day)
d Lean meats included skinless chicken or turkey and lean beef
e Red and processed meat included sheep, pork, beef, ham, bacon, sausage, hot dogs and so on
f Baked goods included items such as cake, pie, and other pastry-type foods
g Grains and starches included different sources of grains and starches including potatoes