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Low-Protein Diet May Extend Lifespan

Posted by Soulskill on from the suddenly-i-feel-much-healthier dept.

sciencehabit writes "A new theory about the foods that can extend life is taking shape, and it's sure to be a controversial one. Two studies out this week, one in mice (PDF) and another primarily in people (PDF), suggest that eating relatively little protein and lots of carbohydrates — the opposite of what's urged by many human diet plans, including the popular Atkins Diet — extends life and fortifies health."

4 of 459 comments (clear)

  1. Misleading Summary; Less than exhaustive research. by digsbo · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Full article indicates the human study was based on a one-time interview with participants. Even then (FTFA): "as the NHANES cohort aged, protein became more important. In the over-65 crowd, those who ate lots of protein survived longer, on average, than those who ate less."

    So, sort of, maybe, but not.

  2. Re:Tried it already. It kind of flopped. by avandesande · · Score: 1, Interesting

    I call it the "Monsanto Diet"

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    love is just extroverted narcissism
  3. Re:Yeah...whatever you believe today... by QRDeNameland · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Low Fat, Low Carb...oooh...hardcore...(thats what I did)...nearly died from that one...

    Yep, it's long been known that extremely high protein diets are bad for humans. I actually RTFA, and in the mouse study, it was a 50% protein diet. Mice are herbivores, that much protein is effectively toxic for them.

    So the mouse study doesn't show that low protein diet extends lifespan as much as a ultra-high protein diet reduces lifespan, which is not really news.

    The second study was an observational study of humans, which joins a long list of such studies where you'll find something to support pretty much any nutritional hypothesis you can imagine.

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    Momentarily, the need for the construction of new light will no longer exist.
  4. Only study worth quoting: BBC horizon s2013e06 by n3r0.m4dski11z · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Twin doctors, one eats nothing but fats and the other eats nothing but carbs, for a month. They document it, they work out, they do tests.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programme...

    The result (spoiler alert), either is not great. Eating only fat cannibalizes your muscles, and makes you not get any enjoyment out of food. Whereas eating only carbs makes you feel hungrier all the time.

    But their conclusion had a twist, the main problem is processed foods that have a 50/50 mix of fat and carbs. An excellent example is whipped cream. Your body would reject you drinking pure cream, and also pure sugar. But mix them together, and you cant stop eating it! Same with many of our favourite foods, ice cream, doughnuts. All have the 50/50 mix that vendors long ago realized was the most addictive mix. Your body basically never gets the signal to stop eating.

    Anyone who is interested should check it out.
    http://kickass.to/usearch/hori...

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