WebProNews

Tag: paleo diet

  • High-Protein Diet May Raise Cancer Risk

    High-Protein Diet May Raise Cancer Risk

    High-protein diets like the Paleo Diet and the Atkins Diet have long been associated with bodies packed with muscle and low in fat. They also have been suggested by many as a way to lose weight quickly. But a new study suggests that high protein diets may increase cancer risk, especially if a person is between the ages of 50 and 65.

    The study titled Low Protein Intake Is Associated with a Major Reduction in IGF-1, Cancer, and Overall Mortality in the 65 and Younger but Not Older Population was published in the journal Cell Metabolism on March 4, 2014, and already media outlets are pouring over the results.

    In the study, researchers followed 6,381 adults aged 50 or over that represented a cross-section of society, meaning the study population is representative of the United States population in terms of ethnicity, education, and health characteristics. Participants in the study reported dietary intake and were divided into three categories regarding protein intake.

    The first group was called the “high protein group” and consisted of individuals whose protein intake was at least twenty percent of their total calorie intake. The second group was called the “moderate protein group” and consisted of individuals whose protein intake was between 10 and 19 percent of their total calorie intake. The final group, the “low protein group” was anything beneath that.

    Results showed that both high and moderate protein groups were at a higher risk for diabetes mortality compared to the low protein group. Researchers noted however that this needed further study to solidify the link.

    Results also showed that among those between the ages of 50 and 65, high protein levels were linked to significantly increased risks of all-cause and cancer mortality. In this age group, those in the high protein group were four times more likely to die of cancer than their low protein group counterparts.

    When researchers analyzed the animal-plant protein variable, they found that when they removed animal protein from the statistical sample, the link between high protein consumption and mortality disappeared. Researchers suggest that consuming a high level of animal proteins can lead to death by all health-related causes, including cancer.

    Participants aged 65 or older actually need more protein than those in the low protein group, due to the fact that those over 65 suffer from protein malnourishment as their body weight starts to drop.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • High Protein Diets Could Be Dangerous

    High protein diets such as the Paleo diet have become very popular, but although fans of these diets swear that they are healthy and great for losing weight and staying fit, doctors warn that they can be dangerous.

    Studies show that high protein diets can be helpful for the elderly but can actually shorten the lifespan of middle aged men and women. Researchers have found that people who are over 60 and eating a high protein diet are 60% less likely to die of cancer and 28% less likely to die of any cause than those whose protein intake is lower.

    While the benefits of high protein diets are obvious in the elderly, young adults and middle aged people who have a high protein intake from certain food may be at risk for developing cancer and some doctors even claim eating a high protein diet is the equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. Protein itself is not necessarily the problem, but more so the source of the protein. Red meat for example, is high in protein, but not the best option.

    “High levels of protein can be can be as bad for you as smoking. People should understand the distinction and be able to make the decision about what they eat. Some proteins are better for you than others, for example plant-based proteins like beans. Vegans seem to do better in studies than those who eat animal based proteins. Red meat always comes out top as the worst and that’s probably due to its other components. But the good news is that there is no evidence that fish is bad for you. So fish plus vegetables is really the best group of proteins,” said Dr Longo, Professor of Biogerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology.

    Protein levels control the growth hormone IGF-I, which helps bodies grow but high levels of which have been linked to cancer. While the elderly are in need of higher IGF-I levels, the hormone can build up over time in a younger or middle aged person, and lead to cancer and other health problems.

    If you are considering a high protein diet, you may want to reconsider. If you do decide to consume large amounts of protein, make sure it comes from a variety of good sources including fish, vegetables and legumes.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • The Paleo Diet vs Plant Based Diet

    The Paleo Diet vs Plant Based Diet

    With 2014 upon us most people are making their New Year’s resolutions. The number one resolution is to lose weight.

    Weight loss seems to elude many American’s – mostly because of our lack of knowledge, and due to the fad diets that plague our country – promising quick weight loss. We are short on patience, and much too trusting – as evidenced by the droves of fast food places on nearly every corner of every street – in even some of the most remote places in the U.S.

    When thinking about losing weight – the successful dieter realizes that any diet that promises rapid weight loss cannot be healthy or sustaining – nor does it work. Weight loss takes time and effort, and entails eating right and not taking shortcuts.

    Approximately 80 percent of people who lose more weight than 2 pounds a week, gain it back. Many gain back more weight and become heavier than when they started.

    “Losing weight is one of the top resolutions made every year, yet only 20 percent of people achieve successful weight-loss and maintenance,” says Jessica Bartfield, MD, internal medicine who specializes in nutrition and weight management at the Loyola Center for Metabolic Surgery & Bariatric Care.

    The Paleo Diet states: the world’s healthiest diet – is based upon eating wholesome, contemporary foods from the food groups that our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have thrived on during the Paleolithic era.

    But there is one obvious problem in that statement – we are no longer hunter-gatherers. The Paleolithic period was a time when people spent an entire exhaustive day searching, and hunting for food. It was the cultural period of the Stone Age beginning with the earliest chipped stone tools, about 750,000 years ago.

    They didn’t drive cars, shop at grocery stores and sleep in homes. Logic should tell you that this is a diet to avoid; we are long past the Stone Age.

    With our lifestyles in the 21st Century, there is a way to lose weight, obtain optimum health and never have to worry about counting calories. It’s called a plant based diet.

    Web MD says: If your diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and meat substitutes such as soy, you may be less likely to have certain risks for heart disease and other heart problems, such as:

    High blood levels of total cholesterol
    High levels of LDL “bad” cholesterol
    High levels of triglycerides
    High blood pressure
    Overweight and obesity
    Metabolic syndrome
    Diabetes

    Dr. Neal Barnard can get you started on the path to a slimmer you, with the added benefit of abundant health with his 21 day weight loss kick-start, using a plant based diet.

    While losing weight and keeping it off by a lifestyle change – you can avoid most all diseases. What could be better than that!

    Image via Wikimedia Commons