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look at study claiming low protein, high carb diet may ward off dementia

lmsaa
lmsaa Posts: 51 Member
in Debate Club
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/diagnosis-diet/201812/the-truth-about-low-protein-high-carb-diets-and-brain-aging

Article linked above is a nice look at the deficiencies of a study from the University of Sydney published in Cell Reports Nov. 20, 2018 (https://www.cell.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2211-1247(18)31674-7 - open access) called "Comparing the Effects of Low-Protein and High-Carbohydrate Diets and Caloric Restriction on Brain Aging in Mice."
While some news outlets reported the findings uncritically (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/21/low-protein-high-carb-diet-may-help-ward-off-dementia), Psychology Today looked at the diets used in the study in detail. It's a nice example of why it's so difficult to know what to believe when the mainstream media reports on scientific studies.

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    More mouse study stuff? Why bother? The food is not mouse food.

    and it's...mice.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    I mean, did you even read the Psychology Today article? It completely trashes the whole study method.
  • comptonelizabeth
    comptonelizabeth Posts: 1,701 Member
    Could this be more to do with some forms of protein being also high in saturated fats? I've only skimmed the articles and intend to look properly later so I don't know if Alzeimers was the only type of dementia studied. There are other types such as vascular dementia which may well be diet related.
    Hard to balance this against the body's need for more protein as we age. :(
  • lmsaa
    lmsaa Posts: 51 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    I mean, did you even read the Psychology Today article? It completely trashes the whole study method.

    That was my point!! I said that it was about the deficiencies of the study. If you just saw the Guardian article, you might believe it.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,416 Member
    lmsaa wrote: »
    cmriverside wrote: »
    I mean, did you even read the Psychology Today article? It completely trashes the whole study method.

    That was my point!! I said that it was about the deficiencies of the study. If you just saw the Guardian article, you might believe it.

    Ah. I didn't get that from your first post. I thought you were still on the fence.
  • lmsaa
    lmsaa Posts: 51 Member
    Ah. I didn't get that from your first post. I thought you were still on the fence.[/quote]

    I guess my last sentence was unclear. I meant that, in general, the mainstream media reports on studies uncritically, so one doesn't know whether or not the conclusion is valid. This particular study was clearly debunked as being of any value the way it was done.

  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    edited December 2018
    lmsaa wrote: »
    Ah. I didn't get that from your first post. I thought you were still on the fence.
    I guess my last sentence was unclear. I meant that, in general, the mainstream media reports on studies uncritically, so one doesn't know whether or not the conclusion is valid. This particular study was clearly debunked as being of any value the way it was done.

    I'd even go a step further and say that in general the mainstream media tends to go beyond uncritical into sensational, picking an angle that, out of context, sounds like an entire branch of science has been turned on it's head. "Eat this one thing if you want to lose weight!!!" from a study* where mice are fed a calorie-controlled diet including that one thing. I see this All The Time.

    *made up study

    edited to fix quotes
  • amberellen12
    amberellen12 Posts: 248 Member
    One week it’s eat this way. Next week it’s eat that way. What’s a person to think! :s

    I’m staying with one word foods or foods I make from scratch or grow in my garden.....carrot, potato, apple, my fresh bread, beef, pork, chicken that I meet when they’re running around on the farm. Also eat the way my 90+ year old neighbours eat.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    Default mode with everything should be that it is false and then confirm for yourself.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
    Fat in the diet is needed. Cholesterol blocking drugs are linked to increased rates of Alzheimer's and other mental health disorders because they block the brain from getting needed fat and cholesterol.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    In which we have examples of why science literacy (or at the very least, the ability to skim journal articles in the sciences and the humanities) is really important.

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