Paleo Diet makes MICE fat - your tax dollars at work

Last week I read with interest the latest findings on the Paleo diet.

Paleo diet touted as better for diabetics could cause rapid weight gain, research finds.

The article began “Researchers who set out to prove the benefits of the Paleo diet have instead discovered it could cause significant and rapid weight gain.” 

The research paper was published in Nature’s Nutrition and Diabetes journal.

Now, as a long term vegan I am in no way advocating a Paleo diet, but on this occasion you’ve got to acknowledge that celebrity chef, and avid Paleo advocate, Pete Evans has a fairly strong point.

Evans said "The first question I'd ask is: 'Why are they testing mice on a diet that isn't their natural diet in the first place?'" That’s a very valid question, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

The article (linked above) reads “Mice were used for the study due to their genetic, biological, and behavioural characteristics which closely resemble that of humans.”

I’m really having trouble with that statement.

The chimpanzee genome (complete genetic material) is 98.77 percent identical to that of humans, therefore, researchers argue that chimpanzees will be the species most likely to replicate human outcomes in scientific (biomedical and toxicity) testing. However this small genetic variation between human and chimpanzees accounts for very significant differences in the way diseases affect the two species.  You only need to look at the tragic results of what happened in France recently when a new drug (BIA 10-2474, to treat pain and anxiety) ‘successfully’ tested in chimpanzees was translated to humans.  One man dead and others suffering permanent brain damage.

So if that’s a consequence of our differences to  chimpanzees – genetically our closest relatives – how can it be claimed that mice are suitable models based on their genetic and biological characteristics? 

As for their behavioural similarities to us, well I’m baffled by that claim.

The intricate differences in genetics, anatomy and metabolism make them poorly predictive of human outcomes and a number of recently published papers and systematic reviews have confirmed this. In fact, 95% of drugs deemed “successful” in animal tests fail in human clinical trials, suggesting the current model is simply not working.

This leads to another concern. Why weren’t humans studied for this research? There are already many people following the Paleo diet so why not use them in an epidemiological study? This way environmental and social elements could be factored into the equation, but more importantly, the data obtained from this research would be directly applicable to the species it is intended to benefit – humans – and not provide misleading data extrapolated form another species that differs from us genetically, anatomically and metabolically.

To clarify, I am not advocating for a Paleo diet, but such research as this which criticises the diet based on what happens to mice is failing medical research 101. 

I guess the only real lesson to be learned from this research is to not feed mice a high fat, low carb diet or else they may likely put on weight!   Once again, a frivolous waste of our tax dollars, courtesy of the National Health & Medical Research Council.

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