Posts Tagged "Protein"

Getting more protein in your diet, though not red meat, may reduce your risk for stroke, a review of studies found.

Scientists reviewed seven prospective studies involving more than 250,000 people and found that after adjusting for various stroke risks and for other nutrients consumed, those who had the highest consumption of protein had a 20 percent decreased risk for stroke compared with those with the lowest.

Each increase of 20 grams per day in protein — about the amount in a 3-ounce serving of chicken or fish or a cup of beans — was associated with a 26 percent decrease in risk, a dose-response relationship that further strengthens the association.

The finding does not apply to red meat, which has been shown to increase the risk for stroke and was not evaluated in the studies reviewed.

Some evidence suggested that animal protein was slightly more effective than vegetable protein, although there was not enough data on vegetable consumption to reach a definitive conclusion about the exact difference.

“Moderate dietary protein intake may lower the risk of stroke,” said the senior author, Dr. Xinfeng Liu, a neurologist at the Nanjing University School of Medicine in China. “This does not mean that people should avoid red meat entirely,” he added, but “increasing intake of fish or vegetables is recommended.”

Middle-aged people who eat protein-rich food are four times more likely to die of cancer than someone who only eats a little, according to a new study. The researchers said eating a lot of protein increased the risk of cancer almost as much as smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

They reached their findings, published in the journal Cell: Metabolism, after tracking thousands of people over 20 years. “We provide convincing evidence that a high-protein diet – particularly if the proteins are derived from animals – is nearly as bad as smoking for your health,” one of the academics behind the work, Dr Valter Longo, of the University of Southern California, told The Daily Telegraph.

A high-protein diet was defined as one in which 20 per cent of the calories came from protein. They recommended eating 0.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight a day during middle age.

However, the researchers said protein had benefits during later life. Dr Eileen Crimmins, a co-author of the study, said: “We also propose that at older ages, it may be important to avoid a low-protein diet to allow the maintenance of healthy weight and protection from frailty.”

However Dr Gunter Kuhnle, a food nutrition scientist at the University of Reading, criticised the study for making a link to smoking. “While this study raises some interesting perspectives on links between protein intake and mortality… It is wrong, and potentially even dangerous, to compare the effects of smoking with the effect of meat and cheese,” he said. “The smoker thinks: ‘Why bother quitting smoking if my cheese and ham sandwich is just as bad for me?’”

And Professor Tim Key, of Cancer Research UK, said: “Further research is needed to establish whether there is any link between eating a high protein diet and an increased risk of middle aged people dying from cancer.”

Source: The Independent