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09.04.2024

Animal protein and life span extension?

The greater the share of animal proteins in your diet, the greater the chance that you will live to a ripe old age. This is suggested by a Spanish study based on Italian data.

Study
In 2022, Spanish researchers, affiliated with the University of Barcelona, ​​published an epidemiological study in the Journals of Gerontolog - Series A. In this article, the Spaniards analyzed data from a group of 1139 Italian elderly people, who were followed for up to 20 years in the InChianti- project.

The elderly were on average 75 years old. They lived independently. They had also completed questionnaires that gave an idea of ​​their diet. During the project, 811 elderly people died - and the researchers then looked to see if they could see a link between the intake of plant and animal proteins and the chance that the study participants would die.

We should perhaps formulate this a little more precisely. The researchers looked at the percent of the kilocalories in the diet that came from protein.

Results
The researchers found no statistically significant links between total protein intake and the risk of death in general. When they broke down their data by source of protein, they saw that a relatively higher intake of animal protein lowered the risk of death - while the intake of plant protein did not. The main source of animal protein was dairy.

Click on the figures below for a larger version.

292 elderly people died as a result of cardiovascular disease. A relatively high intake of animal protein protected against this, but the intake of vegetable protein did not. The researchers found no link between proteins and the risk of death from cancer.

The bean factor
Particularly in Asian studies, epidemiologists regularly find that vegetable proteins have a protective effect. The Spaniards note that in those studies many vegetable proteins come from beans. However, in the group of Italians studied, grains are the most important source of vegetable protein.

In the West, the food industry markets many unhealthy and ultra-processed foods made from grains. In Asian countries, many vegetable proteins come from healthy and natural foods such as beans.

Perhaps from a nutritional point of view there is little wrong with animal protein and little wrong with vegetable protein. Their health impact depends on the food they are in - and especially the way the industry has corrupted those foods.

Source:
J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2022 Sep 1;77(9):1866-72.

More:
Higher consumption of meat, longer life 04.08.2023
Is the carnivore diet unhealthy? 16.02.2022

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