"High protein diet linked to spiked cancer risk akin to smoking 20 cigarettes a day: U.S. study"

National Post ^ | Mar. 5, 2014 | Sarah Knapton

[Jacob Kell]

Eating too much protein could be as dangerous as smoking for middle-aged people, a study has found.

Research which tracked thousands of adults for nearly 20 years found that those who eat a diet rich in animal protein are four times more likely to die of cancer than someone with a low-protein diet.

The risk is nearly as high as the danger of developing cancer from smoking 20 cigarettes each day.

Previous studies have shown a link between cancer and red meat, but it is the first time research has measured the risk of death associated with regularly eating too much protein.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

Look at the animal species. The vegetable and grass eaters have their eyes on the sides of their head (deer and rabbit).

The meat eaters have their eyes in front for bi-focal vision to determine the distance to their prey.

Look in the mirror. Where are your eyes located?

[driftdiver]

Shhhhh. I hear the govt is going to make smoking meat illegal next.

[SAJ]

No error at all. PETA is unquestionably a PITA.

[CatherineofAragon]

"Check out books like "The Pleasure Trap", "Forks Over Knives", or anything by Dr. Joel Furman. These books have nothing to do with PETA, yet all essentially say the same thing about animal protein."

I don't know anything about The Pleasure Trap , but Forks Over Knives has been debunked as vegan nonsense..."atrocious and terribly misleading", I have read.

Colin Campbell and Joel Fuhrman are self-appointed gurus and snake-oil salesmen who advocate their personal vegan/vegetarian regimens as the cure to just about every disease out there.

Fuhrman actually says that olive oil is bad for you, LOL.

[Empireoftheatom48]

Smoking a pork butt right now ummmm!

[Georgia Girl 2]

Juicy hamburgers on the grill for us today. We don’t care about no steenking statistics. :-)

[tbpiper]

The info-bull has defecated again.

[Praxeologue]

... this study appears to be one of the worst types of studies that still manages to get printed in the medical literature. It is a longitudinal study of food intake, with the methodology probably depending on food diaries. That is extremely unreliable methodology

Not so fast. Here is the actual study, as opposed to a media spin or USC press release.

That is not to say that the study cannot be criticized. This is the abstract:

Mice and humans with growth hormone receptor/ IGF-1 deficiencies display major reductions in age- related diseases. Because protein restriction re- duces GHR-IGF-1 activity, we examined links between protein intake and mortality. Respondents aged 50–65 reporting high protein intake had a 75% increase in overall mortality and a 4-fold increase in cancer death risk during the following 18 years. These associations were either abolished or attenu- ated if the proteins were plant derived. Conversely, high protein intake was associated with reduced cancer and overall mortality in respondents over 65, but a 5-fold increase in diabetes mortality across all ages. Mouse studies confirmed the effect of high protein intake and GHR-IGF-1 signaling on the inci- dence and progression of breast and melanoma tumors, but also the detrimental effects of a low pro- tein diet in the very old. These results suggest that low protein intake during middle age followed by moderate to high protein consumption in old adults may optimize healthspan and longevity.

[Smokin' Joe]

“Scientists” everywhere have been given their marching orders

Only the ones who live by the grant.

The rest of us are free to think.

[Smokin' Joe]

that crap is what my food eats!

Precisely!

[Rodamala]

eat more fat.

[a fool in paradise]

Have they bothered to find out why gay men live 20 years less than heterosexuals?

[kiryandil]

Butter bad.

Margarine good.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Don’t you mean PETA?

[ladyjane]

Highly unlikely they can show a causal link. No way they did a randomized study like this for 20 years. Probably just data that shows those who eat a lot of protein (or possibly a certain kind of protein) have more cancer. It doesn’t mean protein is causing the cancer. It doesn’t mean cancer risk is lowered if they reduced their protein intake. This shows protein *may* be a cause.

[Interesting Times]

Cardiovascular disease reduces the average American lifespan far more than cancer. A high-protein diet could increase lifespan even if this study is accurate.

It's also possible that this is "sustainable" anti-meat agitprop masquerading as science....

[RinaseaofDs]

In other pseudo-science news, the Arctic has completely melted. According to Al Gore, here in the summer of 2014, the Arctic, as he predicted in 2004, has completely melted.

Satellite photos taken this week show definitively that Arctic ice is at it’s greatest extent . . . wait . . . nevermind.

[DouglasKC]

The U.S. study found that people with a high-protein diet were 74% more likely to die of any cause within the study period than their low-protein counterparts. They were also several times more likely to die of diabetes. But this trend appeared to reverse for those aged over 65, researchers found.

It's good for you once you hit 65 (however they determined that magical age). I'm 53 which means....close enough!

[southern rock]

Forks Over Knives has been debunked as vegan nonsense..."atrocious and terribly misleading", I have read.

well I have read the actual book, not just what people say about it. Recommend you do the same. It has not been "debunked" as you claim, and it is not "nonsense"

Fuhrman actually says that olive oil is bad for you, LOL.

LOL??? Well, let's see. Olive oil is 100% fat. 100%!! Pure FAT. How is that a health food exactly???

[TheOldLady]

Have they bothered to find out why gay men live 20 years less than heterosexuals?

Suicide, drugs, AIDS, and Kaposi's Sarcoma.

Saw it with my own eyes. Best brother on earth was a homosexual, and I watched
him and his friends fall to those hazards in the 1980's and 90's.

He was only 55 when he died.