People who follow a paleo diet, shunning whole grains and dairy, have raised levels of a biomarker linked to cardiovascular disease, an Australian study shows.

In the world-first trial, WA researchers compared the diets of 44 people on a paleolithic-style diet with those of 47 people on a healthy balanced diet.

Those strictly following the paleo diet were found to have more than twice the amount of serum trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) than those on a traditional diet

TMAO is a gut-derived metabolite produced from diets rich in animal protein and is associated with cardiovascular disease, the authors say.