WHAT? Too much protein in middle age 'as bad as smoking'

kapoorpk
kapoorpk Posts: 244 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just saw this published in Medical News today. Following this study's recommendation will have you switch to plant protein and reduce its intake significantly.

Would that even work well anymore for all the lifting many of us do?

Any counter thoughts or studies?


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273533.php#.U6M63nqucgg.facebook

Replies

  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    I'm curious about protein's role in longevity (or the reverse) as well. The studies using intermittent fasting in rats and primates mention protein. See the BBC special Eat Fast and Live Longer.

    Edit to add what I put in another post on this topic: A cynical part of me just laughs and says hey, I wouldn't tell a victim of the Hiroshima or Nagasaki bombings that all their woes will be cured by eating less protein. With all the crap in our air, food, and water, why the heck would I be fool enough to think I'll live so much as a day longer by eating less protein? Or less carbs? Or more? Or a specific carb/protein/fat ratio? Or by eating fortified pond scum? Or the sparkle trailings of my little ponies? Part of me can't help but think all this is utter fiction, and that we'd do far better to get together and do whatever we have to do in order to clean up our environment instead of grasping at some magical food ratios for longevity.
  • ruthejp13
    ruthejp13 Posts: 213 Member
    I read a couple studies about this. Protein causes growth, whether it's muscle or cancer. If you have cancer and eat protein it will grow more. The same sort of thing with growth hormones. Taller people get more cancer than shorter people.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Just saw this published in Medical News today. Following this study's recommendation will have you switch to plant protein and reduce its intake significantly.

    Would that even work well anymore for all the lifting many of us do?

    Any counter thoughts or studies?


    http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273533.php#.U6M63nqucgg.facebook

    Assuming this is the study I think it is, they showed an increased mortality rate from high protein intakes for ages 50 to 65 but a decreased mortality rate for high protein intakes for people older than 65. That would strike me as damn suspicious.

    Additionally, dietary recall can be quite problematic in some regards with respect to accuracy.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    Another correlation study that shows a link between high protein intake and health problems. When will they end? Correlation does not equal causation.

    http://www.biolayne.com/uncategorized/myths-surrounding-high-protein-diet-safety/
  • naturesfempower
    naturesfempower Posts: 107 Member
    They really don't know. It's all a big guessing game. First it was fat, then cholesterol, then sugar. Now pesticides, GMO's, food additives, overeating carbs. Why not blame protein for a while?
  • SkimFlatWhite68
    SkimFlatWhite68 Posts: 1,254 Member
    My thoughts are that I'll take my chances with protein but I sure as hell am not going to take up smoking!!
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Just saw this published in Medical News today. Following this study's recommendation will have you switch to plant protein and reduce its intake significantly.

    Would that even work well anymore for all the lifting many of us do?

    Any counter thoughts or studies?


    http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/273533.php#.U6M63nqucgg.facebook

    Well the first study in that article mentions Valter Longo -- who has studied fasting for longevity and how it "flips a regenerative switch."
    http://www.newser.com/story/188321/to-regenerate-immune-system-fast-for-3-days.html ---- he is studying people
    The other guy, Stephen Simpson, is showing that counting calories might be less important than watching protein --http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/abstract/S1550-4131(14)00065-5 --- His work is done with rats

    Neither scientist is making recommendations. They are merely doing studies.
    Journalists are like television guys -- trying to get us excited so that we pay attention to them.

    Re lifting:
    "Longevity and health were optimized when protein was replaced with carbohydrate to limit compensatory feeding for protein and suppress protein intake. "
    http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/abstract/S1550-4131(14)00065-5

    But again, these are scientists talking to each other and not making recommendations yet.
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,069 Member
    That study has been widely criticised, have a steak :)

    ETA: think the biggest issue with it was that most of the subjects were untrained/sedentary.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    This one again - move along nothing to see here!!!!
  • jimmmer
    jimmmer Posts: 3,515 Member
    Living your life from the results of the latest "paper of the month" is stupid.

    Science is not a paper.

    Science is a social practice, methodology, body of work/knowledge and is constantly revisable and co-edified.

    Seriously - this site cracks me up!
  • albertine58
    albertine58 Posts: 267 Member
    This study was definitely not perfect (are they ever?) but here's my med student two cents:

    for the vast majority of people, higher protein intake = eating much more meat, and likely those who eat the most meat also eat the most red meat, which study after study has linked to heart disease & mortality. It's not in the news anymore because it's old news that nobody wants to hear, especially with Paleo being so popular right now. Yes, there is speculation these days that the associations between saturated fat and heart disease MAY not be as strong as we once thought, but it drives me crazy when people take that to mean that red meat isn't bad for you anymore. By all means eat your steak, but maybe once a week - in moderation, like so many delicious things.

    Also, those who eat more meat in a typical American diet are probably likely to eat fewer veggies & healthy fats. That wasn't addressed. Yes, the patient base for this study was sedentary, but so are the vast, vast majority of middle-aged Americans. If you're looking to apply this to bodybuilding, I can see the issue with that comparison feeling like a bit of a stretch. However we do know for sure that very high protein intake for decades is very taxing on the kidneys, though designing a study to look at that is quite difficult. It's been widely disseminated that the American diet contains way more protein than we need. The current body of nutrition research, while far from perfect obviously, all points to the fact that people need to start thinking critically about any diet that skews your macros too much (like Paleo/Atkins/keto). But all of us at MFP knew that already, right? :)
  • Phanntom
    Phanntom Posts: 28 Member
    As a former smoker I don't believe anything could possible be worse for a persons overall health than smoking...of course those that end up with diseases directly linked to smoking certainly know this.

    I've heard it from medical professionals before and I believe it....and believe it relates to this issue. Most doctors will tell you that most smokers they see are not only punishing their bodies with smoking, but also with a plethora of other unhealthy habits, bad eating habits, heavier drinking, lack of exercise etc.

    It's probably much the same when it comes to protein. Most of us get it from red meats and for this reason we're also getting more fat and cholesterol, so it would stand to reason people with higher protein would also likely be unhealthier, but not from the protein.

    Does anyone know if that higher protein studies were done in the Norwegian countries where most of their protein comes from fish? That would essentially be adjusting the fat out of the diet...

Categories