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Some sources aren't as healthy as you think For years we’ve been fed the line that a diet of red meat, supplements and protein shakes can have real health benefits. If only it were that simple. A recently published by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland, who tracked 2,400 middle-aged men over the course of 22 years, reported that a high-protein diet resulted in a 49% greater risk of heart failure. Many large, long-term population studies have also found that people who consume large amounts of protein, especially in the form of red and processed meat, are more likely to be obese or develop type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and colon cancer. Thomas Sanders, professor of nutrition and dietetics at King’s College London, says the idea of a protein gap in our diet was first broached by a professor at MIT, Nevin Scrimshaw, in the 1960s. He claimed that the protein that comes from plant sources such as vegetables was deficient in vital amino acids and that we therefore needed to eat more animal protein. Perhaps one of the biggest problems with high-protein diets is that the excess protein typically indicates an imbalanced diet, as it comes with a deficiency in another crucial food source. “A balanced diet is one that meets all your nutrient requirements and prevents chronic disease,” Sanders says. “High-protein diets are often low in fibre, and we think colorectal cancer and obesity are linked to low intakes of fibre. There has been so much negativity about fat over the years, but you see in the big population studies that weight gain typically occurs when a big proportion of the diet comes from animal protein.” https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jun/04/are-you-eating-too-much-protein?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pockethits