Table 3.
Biochemistry results by dietary group
| Biomarker | Control Mean (95% CI)a,b (n = 46) |
Strict Paleolithic Mean (95% CI)b (n = 22) |
Effect size (strict Paleolithic vs control) | Pseudo-Paleolithic Mean (95% CI)b (n = 22) |
Effect size (Pseudo-Paleolithic vs control) | Overall dietary effect P valuec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blood biochemistry | ||||||
| Total Cholesterol (mmol/L) | 4.88 (4.51, 5.26) | 5.02 (4.48, 5.56) | 0.13 | 5.60 (5.10, 6.11)* | 0.65 | 0.050 |
| LDL Cholesterold (mmol/L) | 3.00 (2.70, 3.30) | 3.10 (2.66, 3.53) | 0.12 | 3.49 (3.09, 3.90) | 0.55 | 0.113 |
| HDL Cholesterol (mmol/L) | 1.43 (1.29, 1.57) | 1.69 (1.49, 1.89)** | 0.64 | 1.79 (1.61, 1.98)* | 0.88 | 0.003 |
| Total Cholesterol/HDL Ratio | 3.49 (3.21, 3.77) | 3.14 (2.73, 3.55) | − 0.41 | 3.25 (2.87, 3.64) | − 0.28 | 0.122 |
| Triglycerides (mmol/L) | 0.94 (0.88, 1.0) | 0.86 (0.79, 0.94) | − 0.49 | 0.84 (0.77, 0.91) | − 0.60 | 0.049 |
| Serum TMAO (µM)e | 3.93 (2.79, 5.55) | 9.53 (5.86, 15.49)** | 0.86 | 5.47 (3.42, 8.75) | 0.32 | 0.008 |
| Stool markers | ||||||
| Stool weight (g/day wet weight) | 194.57 (161.7, 227.43) | 248.81 (200.55, 297.06) | 0.55 | 233.04 (186.03, 280.05) | 0.37 | 0.099 |
| Frequency (motions per day) | 1.37 (1.19, 1.54) | 1.60 (1.35, 1.85) | 0.46 | 1.91 (1.67, 2.16)** | 1.03 | 0.001 |
| Bristol number [31] | 4.12 (3.75, 4.48) | 4.3 (3.76, 4.84) | 0.18 | 4.54 (4.02, 5.07) | 0.38 | 0.338 |
| Moisture (%) | 73.96 (72.04, 75.89) | 74.69 (71.86, 77.52) | 0.12 | 74.5 (71.74, 77.26) | 0.09 | 0.880 |
| pHe | 7.19 (7.05, 7.36) | 7.19 (6.97, 7.41) | − 0.33 | 7.18 (6.97, 7.4) | − 0.06 | 0.974 |
| Residual fecal fat (%)e | 1.09 (0.69, 1.5) | 1.16 (0.57, 1.75) | 0.07 | 1.70 (1.13, 2.27) | 0.49 | 0.165 |
| Acetate excretion (mmol/day)e | 7.80 (6.18, 9.86) | 10.52 (7.46, 14.86) | 0.41 | 9.06 (6.49, 12.68) | 0.19 | 0.288 |
| Propionate excretion (mmol/day)e | 2.36 (1.87, 2.98) | 2.76 (1.96, 3.89) | 0.80 | 2.82 (2.02, 3.94) | 0.70 | 0.546 |
| Isobutyrate excretion (mmol/day)e | 0.27 (0.23, 0.32) | 0.34 (0.26, 0.44) | 0.42 | 0.34 (0.27, 0.44) | 0.41 | 0.152 |
| Butyrate excretion (mmol/day)e | 2.21 (1.72, 2.84) | 2.86 (1.98, 4.13) | 0.33 | 2.85 (1.99, 4.07) | 0.32 | 0.315 |
| Isovalerate excretion (mmol/day)e | 0.39 (0.33, 0.46) | 0.45 (0.36, 0.58) | 0.29 | 0.48 (0.38, 0.61) | 0.39 | 0.255 |
| Valerate excretion (mmol/day)e | 0.30 (0.25, 0.36) | 0.37 (0.29, 0.49) | 0.40 | 0.38 (0.29, 0.49) | 0.41 | 0.136 |
| Caproate excretion (µmol/day)e | 0.05 (0.04, 0.08) | 0.06 (0.03, 0.11) | 0.05 | 0.08 (0.04, 0.15) | 0.28 | 0.618 |
| Total SCFA excretion (mmol/day)e | 13.74 (11.02, 17.14) | 17.91 (12.94, 24.83) | 0.38 | 16.41 (11.94, 22.54) | 0.25 | 0.299 |
Significant P values are in bold
aGeneral linear modelling used to determine estimated marginal means and the difference between control and the overall Paleolithic groups after adjustment for age, gender, energy intake and body fat percentage.**P ≤ 0.01 different from control group, *P ≤ 0.05 different from control group
bGeneral linear modelling used to determine estimated marginal means and the difference between control, strict Paleolithic and Pseudo Paleolithic groups after adjustment for age, gender, energy intake and body fat percentage.**P ≤ 0.01 different from control group, *P ≤ 0.05 different from control group
cSignificance of the overall general linear model for the three group analysis. Effect sizes reported using Cohen’s d, with a value of 0.2 representing a small effect, 0.5 a medium effect and 0.8 a large effect
dLDL Cholesterol reported is calculated LDL. P values for stratified Paleolithic groups adjusted using post hoc Bonferroni correction [43]
eLog transformation conducted prior to analysis