Although the importance of diet in long term well being is indisputable, new evidence shows that a high protein diet in middle age could be as damaging to a person's long term health as smoking.
In fact, new statistics show that a high protein in the after 50s brackets can result in a fourfold increase in cancer rates, or a whopping 400% more probability of having cancer/premature death. However, that risk is diminished if the protein intake is limited.
The issue however is not just how much protein, but also what kind of protein intake is healthier in middle age and beyond.
For many years, high protein diets have reigned undisputed as the most common form of dieting. Diet like Atkins for example were found to be very damaging to the person employing the regime. Not only does high protein intake fatigue the kidneys, but it also has a long term effect that can be extremely dangerous. Tellingly, the founder of the Atkins diet empire died a bloated, overweight man of a heart attack.
However, high protein, and especially high protein at the expense of a well rounded diet, which includes fruits and vegetables, and legumes is a cause of high cholesterol, hypertension and cv disease.
The new study showed that high protein diets are not only precursors for serious risk factors, but could be as dangerous as smoking. And that is because a diet rich in animal protein has now been directly linked to a fourfold risk of mortality compared to those people in the study who followed a low protein diet.
What most people don't realize however, is that animal protein is a compounded problem, because people do not think of milk, cheese and meat as being in the same class. And that is why people who are not mindful of their protein intake, could easily fall into that bracket of people that is in the high risk category. Having a glass of full fat milk, together with a cheeseburger is a quick example of protein compounding. But even if the excess in protein came only from cheese, then even that person would be at higher risk.
The high protein diet is also a risk factor for diabetes, which has been in the past shown to go hand in hand with poor diets and subsequent or concomitant cardiovascular disease.
The other problem is that most people do not realize how little protein they are supposed to eat or actually need for subsistence. While a teenager or athlete might have or tolerate higher requirements, a person of 45 or more needs a much smaller amount of protein daily.
It's also interesting to note how certain dietary risks wane and wax depending on which age bracket you are. What might be dangerous at 50, might not be so at 70. And that is because the decade of 50-60 years of age is a very important timespan for subsequent decades. Just like childhood and teenagehood are the building blocks of the person's lifetime's immunity and health, the middle age years are the building blocks for the rest of the person's life. It is a time when the body no longer works as efficiently to clear out toxins and other dietary excesses, so that its consequences are much worse for the remainder of the person's life.
Once the person goes over 65 however, the need for protein rises again, as muscle loss and frailty must be prevented by eating enough protein to at least maintain muscle mass and bone health. That is because the growth hormone IGF-I which causes growth in the human body is produced in much smaller amounts after 65. IGF-I is a protein-controlled hormone.
The key then, is to lower IGF-I in middle age to prevent the incidence of cancer and other disease, but to increase the protein intake moderately after 65 to maintain healthy muscle mass. However, the increase should be moderate and should be at levels that do not increase the risk of being overweight or obesity.
The next phase of the research focused on the way to increase protein intake without using animal protein. That is because of the link between animal protein and cancer and other diseases. The research found that plant based proteins do not result in an increase in mortality risk or cancer. Therefore, the increase of plant based protein is suggested in all age groups, but especially in middle age and over 65.
Examples of plant based proteins are: legumes, potatoes, bananas, soy, nuts and seeds. Even a high level of plant protein did not raise risks of cancer/premature death or diabetes.
Research into how controlling sugar intakes and carbohydrates, and fats separately affects the health of a person after middle age, showed no less risk in the cancer and death risk factors, showing that it is the animal protein, and not the fat or sugar that is the causative factor in the increased risk of cancer/death.
In general, most American eat about double their protein need each day, with many exceeding that by triple intake or more. However, a drastic change in diet and a complete cutting off of animal protein intake can be damaging too. Malnutrition could ensue if the dieter is not aided by a nutritionist or supplements/balances the animal protein with plant protein adequately.
The guidelines offered int he study are of about .08 grams per kilo of body weight of protein as the recommended daily intake of protein after 45, which would result, for example, in about 45-50 grams of protein for a person of about 130 pounds. That is not a very large amount. In addition, the research suggests that of that protein amount at least some part of it should derive from plant proteins.
The interesting portion of the research is the discovery that even those people who ate moderate amount of protein in middle age, still had about 3 times more risk of death or cancer, further stressing the importance of substituting some of the animal protein for a plant based protein.
In a group of 2,253 people whose growth hormone levels were tested, especially selected to show the effects of a high protein diet, the hormone IGF_I was shown to produce a 9% increase in cancer/death risk for each 10ml/gn increase.
Source : Science Daily: 3.5.14
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