Animal protein-rich diets COULD be as harmful to health as smoking

New food worries in the "news"!

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/mar/04/animal-protein-diets-smoking-meat-eggs-dairy

My Better Half pointed out this article to me after she read the headline and instantly thought that I was putting myself at a higher cancer risk by consuming a diet with lots of animal protein. The article suggests a maximum daily protein intake of 0.8g/kg BW.

This brings up a number of points:

1) It's nice to know she cares and pays attention to what I'm doing
2) ANOTHER example of sensationalist journalism as, even in the second paragraph of the article it says "However, nutrition experts have cautioned that it's too early to draw firm conclusions from the research" ('ahh', says the newspaper, 'but we put "could" in the headline!' We all know that's not going to be the take away message from just browsing headlines :bang
3) Does the study actually isolate the correlation between dietary intake and cancer/beetus risk?
4) Does any correlation identified demonstrate causality?
5) How reliable are the results, given that it's an observational study (rather than an intervention study)?
6) Do these findings apply to those involved in resistance training (my ego is too small to class myself as an 'athlete'), generally for whom a higher protein intake is recommended/allowed/suggested?
7) Does the recommended maximum intake relate to absolute amounts (per kg BW), or a proportion of total caloric intake?
8) So if protein is bad (cancer/beetus), carbs are bad (insulin resistance/fat) and fat is bad (duh, says it in the name, also cholesterol/CHD, apparently), then is the majority of our caloric intake to come from... ...water, air and positive thinking?

Personally, after reading the full article I think this is a piece of research that can be filed under "slightly interesting, but inconclusive and needs more work".

So, thoughts etc?

 

I think any and all arguments against eating meat can be countered with

 

Both beautiful and hunger inducing!

 

But that point can be challenged by this monstrosity - an edible (once it is cooked) bacon baby!:



Seriously though, the article's another one I go "huh, it's gonna make no difference to me at all". The problem is there's so many faddy bits of news that all suggest that chocolate, vegetables and pretty much everything else can cause cancer or be a massive detriment. And none of them cite any concrete evidence. I so tend to take them all with a pinch of salt.

And bacon.

 

I hate most reporters cos they arent science readers.

well high protein intakes have always been linked to cancer at least theoretically because amino acids from protein breakdown stimulate the mTor pathway, which is overreactive in cancer cells and prevents them being broken down.

heck most people dont meet daily protein requirements.
and in any case - we will all develop cancer given enough time.

more time is on treatment than prevention because of that.
this is my favourite video. a little long but its a great development.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scITIoJvMJ0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scITIoJvMJ0[/ame]

 

Animal protein-rich diets could be as harmful to health as SMOKING. Yeh sure.

http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/co.../document/~export/ACSPC-037389~1/140653-2.gif

Looks to me like lung still holds the lead. Also given that the average american is eating more animal protein then they are smoking, they're blowing out where the sun don't shine. Man journalism, just journalism.

http://www.cancer.org/research/canc...cancer-statistics-2013-slide-presentation.pdf

 

As a result of this I took up Smoking.

The Guardian? Strewth IF they're that desperate for 'news' I'll send 'em a photo of next door's cat with the caption:

"Killer Stalks Suburban Heartland - Horror!"

 

It's like global warming, it's better to believe it could be true and try to prevent if from happening as much as possible.

 

This article came up on Facebook recently, posting for relevance sake:

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices...king-only-if-you-twist-the-facts-9171442.html

 

just imagine eating one of them covered in tomatoe sauce, on a pram shaped plate:hat:

 

imagine eating chocolate ice cream as dessert, and where it would be if served in the same plate (also, apple/lemon juice)

 

Definitely thought-provoking and meriting further research.

Now somebody pass the steak.

 

A small chain of chipolatas on the inside, perhaps?

Baby has never sounded so delicious

 

i think people are convinced that they need (and consequently their bodies can use) more protein than is actually necessary. and i think that lots of people also tend to forget or discount plant-based proteins (and building blocks).

while the article uses language that is confusing, we already know based on studies that a mostly plant-based diet lowers the risks for all sorts of diseases.

 

Entirely vegetarian and possibly the worlds most awesome moustache

 

i think this goes back to people thinking they need more protein than a body can actually use, either at once or over the course of the day. i've also found with some people that if it's real food, they don't take it seriously. like instead of drinking some milk and maybe making an egg or two after a workout, some won't even consider a post-workout meal if it's not a maize-whey shake or something like that.

 

I have heard studies say that eggs, meat, cheese, milk, wheat, barley, alchohol and everything inbetween are linked to cancer or can kill you some other way, If I listened to all this "research" I would be living on water and some kind of tastless substance.

Instead I will continue my current lifestyle of steak, lager, coffee, Coca cola, full english breakfasts and southern fried chicken, and enjoy it all thoroughly.

 

I am by no means an expert on nutrition. However, I do remember the research on fasting and IGF-1 protein which in elevated levels is linked to numerous diseases including cancer. From what I recall, the reason fasting was found to be beneficial was that the calorie deficit resulted in lower IGF-1 levels. The mechanism of this protein at elevated levels has something to do with producing new cells and was deemed to be potentially harmful (?), whereas lower levels result in DNA repair of (damaged?) cells which was deemed conducive to good health. Going by this, high animal protein intake could probably be associated with high calorie intake as meat is generally calorific, so perhaps the link between high animal protein intake and cancer lies in this. Just guessing.

 

the NHS confirmed that the newpapers interpretation was crap:
http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/03March/Pages/high-protein-diet-may-be-harmful-for-middle-aged.aspx