High Protein Diets Not As Healthy As We Thought

Published in an article on the ABC website 5/3/2014, Low carb diet may make you unhealthy, shorten your life: study, a study of various diets and their affect on longevity show that low fat, high protein diets are not as healthy as we thought.

A three year study of mice at the University of Sydney Charles Perkins Centre came up with some very surprising and striking results.In recent years low carb/high protein diets such as the Atkins diet which has been found by many people to be great for weight loss, have become very popular.

It appears from this research that longterm, this kind of diet is not good for you and in fact may lead to early death.

The research team put mice on 25 different diets, all with varying amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fats.

The mice were allowed to eat as much as they wanted, and the healthiest ones, the ones that lived the longest (in some instances an incredible 50% longer than those on low carb/high protein diet!) were those who had a low protein, low fat and high carb diet.

High protein diets are associated with weight loss and increased muscle bulk, but also increased blood pressure and diabetes.

Those on high carb /low protein low fat diets had better blood pressure, better glucose tolerance, better LDL cholesterol and less diabetes.

What of course this study does not cover is the positive health effects through weight loss from high protein diets.

The reduced rates of heart failure, the general health of all organs and joints is much better without that extra 20-30kg that many people are carrying around.

Not to mention an increased sense feeling of wellbeing.

It does seem that there is little affect upon the longevity of life, of short term low carb/high protein diets that are undertaken to lose a specific amount of weight, and where after such result is achieved, the person then resumes their normal diet with some volume restrictions and increased exercise.

The problem arises that as we get older our metabolism slows down, as does the physical activity we undertake, so what was a balanced high carb diet when we were younger, becomes a diet that just piles on the kilos.

So while the Atkins diet allowed dieters to eat as much protein as they wanted, so removing the ‘deprived’ feeling that dieters hate and struggle with, ultimately it appears that keeping weight within safe parameters remains an issue of dietary self control and discipline.

By Mark O’Brien

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