New study finds only good results from high protein diet

[Johnka]

A new study in the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology found a host of benefits in rats being fed a high protein diet. And when they say high protein, they mean it - protein comprised at least 50% of their calories.

The benefits of rats fed the high protein diet, versus those on a 'no protein' diet (is that possible?) were: increased satiety, and decreased subcutaneous fat. At the same time, basal blood insulin, leptin and triglyceride levels, and glucose tolerance were improved.

But the clincher in this study was that a protein intake of three times the requirements did not produce any adverse effects. That means there was no damage to liver or kidneys, no calcium leaching, and no adverse effects on the renal and hepatic functions. On the contrary, exchanging carbohydrates for proteins was beneficial regarding body composition, basal triglycerides, glucose, leptin, and insulin plasma concentrations.

Nice

[Q.]

... from the same link you provided...
High-Protein Diets Not Proven Effective And May Pose Health Risks

However, the source for this one was the American Heart Association.

Still, my response to the above is KILL IT AND GRILL IT!

[russ]

I wonder why the researchers in the animal study didn't include a group fed a moderate protein diet That might have altered the conclusions somewhat.........

Brad-----keep in mind that the rats likely weren't fed slabs of meat as their form of protein intake, although it doesn't say exactly how they were fed. Which reminds me, my steak is almost ready (I'm serious)

[Q.]

The main thrust of the article by the AHA was that eating a diet high in protein had negative implications, such as it can often be associated with more saturated fats, reduced intake of fruits/veggies/grains, and probably some other stuff (I really didn't go back and read it... this was just on my mind). So, as I recall, it wasn't necessarily that the high protein was a problem, it was what often goes along with it that was the concenn.

[Ogedei]

The arcticle against high protein diets isn't based on a study though, it's based on dumb asses eating protein full of saturated fat. It's essentially written about Atkins induction phase etc. Diets where your not eating carbs hardly at all from the tone of the article. It was also published in 2001.

The new article Johnka posted is based on a study done on rats, which of course we are not, but we are all mammals. The down side to the article is that it is only a 6 month study. Maybe thats long enough in rats as they don't live that long, I don't know. Either way I suspect the rats weren't being fed on bacon to get their 50% protein. [img]smile.gif[/img] I would also be interested to learn what the other components of their diet was, ie 50% protein 25% fat and 25% carbs or 50/30/20 or 50/10/40 or what?

Og.

[russ]

Originally posted by Quercus:
So, as I recall, it wasn't necessarily that the high protein was a problem, it was what often goes along with it that was the concenn.

Exactly. That's why I made the comment about the rats not likely being fed the slabs of beef that I often feed myself [img]tongue.gif[/img]

The arcticle against high protein diets isn't based on a study though, it's based on dumb asses eating protein full of saturated fat. It's essentially written about Atkins induction phase etc. Diets where your not eating carbs hardly at all from the tone of the article. It was also published in 2001.

The reality is that those 'dumb asses' represent a big chunk of the population, and that has to be taken into account.

The new article Johnka posted is based on a study done on rats, which of course we are not, but we are all mammals. The down side to the article is that it is only a 6 month study. Maybe thats long enough in rats as they don't live that long, I don't know. Either way I suspect the rats weren't being fed on bacon to get their 50% protein. I would also be interested to learn what the other components of their diet was, ie 50% protein 25% fat and 25% carbs or 50/30/20 or 50/10/40 or what?

It's a nice preliminary study, but there aren't any conclusions generalisable to the human population at large which can be made. It will take time for these questions to be answered and we'll be the human guinea pigs.

[Q.]

Originally posted by russ:
and we'll be the human guinea pigs.

WOO HOO! FREE FOOD!!! Oh wait... they aren't going to feed us?