Plant Protein Is Better For You Than The Animal Protein, Says A New Study
How much protein you eat—and where that protein comes from—may affect your lifespan, suggests research published in JAMA Internal Medicine. The new analysis, conducted at Massachusetts General Hospital, found that people who ate a lot of animal protein had a higher-than-average risk of dying over the next few decades, especially if they favored processed red meat over fish or poultry. Those who ate more plant-based protein, on the other hand, had a lower-than-average risk of death.
The researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital looked at the health data of nearly 132,000 people since the 1980s. The data included information about their diet as well as how much and what types of proteins they consumed.
They then looked at health outcomes of the participants and, after adjusting for other diet and lifestyle factors, found that high intake of animal proteins (meat, eggs, dairy) was associated with a greater risk of premature death than when the protein intake came from plant sources (breads, cereals, pasta, beans, nuts and legumes).
“Overall, our findings support the importance of the sources of dietary protein for long-term health outcomes,” said co-author Mingyang Song
in a statement. “While previous studies have primarily focused on the overall amount of protein intake – which is important – from a broad dietary perspective, the particular foods that people consume to get protein are equally important.”The news isn’t all bad for meat lovers, though. The increased risk of death only applied to people who had at least one “unhealthy lifestyle” factor, such as being a heavy drinker, a smoker, or overweight or obese, or getting very little exercise. For participants who led overall healthy lifestyles, the link disappeared.
The study authors suspect that, in addition to lifestyle factors, the specific types of meat consumed also played a role.
“While we expected we might find the associations to be weaker in the healthy lifestyle group, we did not expect them to completely disappear,” said Mingyang Song, MD, a research fellow in the Massachusetts General Hospital Clinical and Translational Epidemiology Unit and Division of Gastroenterology, in a press release. “But when we looked deeper into the data, we found that—at similar levels of animal protein intake—those in the unhealthy lifestyle group consumed more red meats, eggs, and high-fat dairy, while the healthy lifestyle group consumed more fish and poultry.”
Indeed, when they broke down the study results into specific types of animal protein, they found that the link between animal protein and increased risk of death applied primarily to people who ate lots of processed and unprocessed red meats (including beef and pork), and not to fish or poultry.
“Our findings suggest that people should consider eating more plant proteins than animal proteins, and when they do choose among sources of animal protein, fish and chicken are probably better choices.”
Melbourne-based dietitian, Melanie McGrice said the authors “hit the nail on the head” and added that lifestyle factors and dietary choices often go hand in hand.
“It’s not necessarily that red meat intake increases mortality, but the other foods with the red meat,” MCGrice says. “A common example is ‘steak and chips’. ‘Steak and chips’ is a much more common term than ‘steak and salad’. Conversely who eats chips as a side to their lentil pattie?”
Regardless, she says upping our intake of plants and plant-based protein while reducing the amount of meat we eat is better for everyone.
“As a dietitian, I’d really like to see people serving smaller portion sizes of red meat though. 100-150g 3-4 times per week is adequate to meet nutrition requirements. And aim for at least two vegetarian meals each week.”
