People 50- to 65-years old who consumed a high-protein diet, defined as consuming 20% or more of calories from protein, were 1.73 times more likely to die over the next 18 years than people who consumed a low-protein diet, defined as consuming less than 10% of calories from protein, according to a study from researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, USA.

“None of these associations was significantly affected by controlling for percent calories from total fat or for percent calories from total carbohydrates,” the paper notes.

“However, when the percent calories from animal protein was controlled for, the association between total protein and all-cause or cancer mortality was eliminated or significantly reduced, respectively, suggesting animal proteins are responsible for a significant portion of these relationships.”

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People 50- to 65-years old who consumed a moderate-protein diet, defined as consuming 10-19% or more of calories from protein, were 3.1 times more likely to die from cancer over the next 18 years than people who consumed a low-protein diet, defined as consuming less than 10% of calories from protein, according to a study from researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, USA.

“None of these associations was significantly affected by controlling for percent calories from total fat or for percent calories from total carbohydrates,” the paper notes.

“However, when the percent calories from animal protein was controlled for, the association between total protein and all-cause or cancer mortality was eliminated or significantly reduced, respectively, suggesting animal proteins are responsible for a significant portion of these relationships.”

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People 50- to 65-years old who consumed a high-protein diet, defined as consuming 20% or more of calories from protein, were 4.3 times more likely to die from cancer over the next 18 years than people who consumed a low-protein diet, defined as consuming less than 10% of calories from protein, according to a study from researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, USA.

“None of these associations was significantly affected by controlling for percent calories from total fat or for percent calories from total carbohydrates,” the paper notes.

“However, when the percent calories from animal protein was controlled for, the association between total protein and all-cause or cancer mortality was eliminated or significantly reduced, respectively, suggesting animal proteins are responsible for a significant portion of these relationships.”

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People 66-years and older who consumed a high-protein diet, defined as consuming 20% or more of calories from protein, were 28% less likely to die over the next 18 years than people who consumed a low-protein diet, defined as consuming less than 10% of calories from protein, according to a study from researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, USA.

“[T]his was not affected by percent calories from fat, from carbohydrates, or from animal protein,” the paper notes.

In other words, a high-protein diet INCREASED the risk of dying prematurely in people 50-65 years-old, but REDUCED the risk of dying prematurely in those 66-years-old and older.

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People 66-years and older who consumed a moderate-protein diet, defined as consuming 10-19% or more of calories from protein, were 21% less likely to die over the next 18 years than people who consumed a low-protein diet, defined as consuming less than 10% of calories from protein, according to a study from researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, USA.

“[T]his was not affected by percent calories from fat, from carbohydrates, or from animal protein,” the paper notes.

In other words, a moderate- to high-protein diet INCREASED the risk of dying prematurely in people 50-65 years-old, but REDUCED the risk of dying prematurely in those 66-years-old and older.

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People 66-years and older who consumed a high-protein diet, defined as consuming 20% or more of calories from protein, were 60% less likely to die from cancer over the next 18 years than people who consumed a low-protein diet, defined as consuming less than 10% of calories from protein, according to a study from researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, USA.

In other words, a moderate- to high-protein diet INCREASED the risk of dying prematurely from cancer in people 50-65 years-old, but REDUCED the risk of dying prematurely from cancer in those 66-years-old and older.

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Type 2 diabetics with renal disease who were assigned to eat a moderate protein diet containing at least 25% protein lost an average of 21.3 lbs after one year versus 14.5 lbs for those assigned to eat a standard protein diet containing 15% protein, however, the difference was not statistically significant.

People in the moderate protein diet ate an average of 19 grams more protein per day than those on the standard protein diet.

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People assigned to eat diets with a different composition of protein (15% vs 25%), fat (20% vs 40%) and carbohydrates (35% to 65%), but the same number of calories, lost the same amount of weight and same amount of fat according to a recent study from researchers at Harvard University. The average weight loss was 13.9 lbs after six months which was similar in all the diet groups, with 9.2 lbs coming from body fat, and 4.6 lbs coming from lean body mass (muscle) "with no differences between 25% and 15% protein, 40% and 20% fat, or 65% and 35% carbohydrate." Read the entire article | Email this article

Here is a 7-minute video of obesity researcher, George Bray, MD, talking about the results of their new study in which they overfed subjects roughly an extra 1,000 calories per day of either a low-protein diet (5% protein), a normal-protein diet (15% protein), or a high-protein diet (25% protein), and the effect that this had on body weight and body fat.

All groups gained weight. The normal- and high-protein groups gained the most weight (13-14 lbs vs 7 lbs for the low-protein group), and all groups gained roughly the same amount of body fat.

In other words, overeating caused weight gain regardless of weather they were overeating a high-protein diet or a low-protein diet.

Even though the low-protein group gained weight, they lost a small amount of lean body mass (muscle).

Dr. Bray notes that this shows that not eating enough protein -- a diet containing only 5% protein -- will not prevent loss of lean body mass. He notes that this finding was unexpected.

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"Our findings provide conclusive proof that European Neandertals... lived on a diet of mainly hunted animal meat," said Fred H. Smith, anthropologist from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Read the entire article | Email this article

A high-protein, reduced-fat diet causes more weight loss and more belly fat loss than a moderate-protein reduced-fat diet according to the always interesting research group from Denmark which includes Arnie Astrup and S. Toubro. Read the entire article | Email this article

People lost twice as much weight after three months and six months on a high-protein, low-carb diet than a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet, but the difference in weight loss was not significantly different after one year according to the first randomized, controlled trial of a low-carb diet that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Read the entire article | Email this article

"Participants on a low-carbohydrate diet had more favorable overall outcomes at one-year than did those on a conventional [low-fat] diet," concludes a new study conducted at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center. People who were assigned to follow a low-carb diet maintained a weight loss of 11.2 pounds after one-year compared to a weight loss of 6.8 pounds for people who were assigned to follow a low-fat diet. The difference in weight loss between the groups was not statistically significant, however there still was an 80 percent chance that this difference in weight loss was due to the diet. Some articles have concluded that this study shows that low-carb diets are no better than low-fat diets, however this was not the conclusion of the study. Read the entire article | Email this article

Women lose twice as much weight -- 18.7 lbs vs 8.6 lbs -- and twice as much body fat -- 10.6 lbs vs 4.4 lbs -- on a low-carbohydrate diet as a low-fat diet according to a recent study. Read the entire article | Email this article

Patients eating a low-carbohydrate group lost nearly twice as much weight as those in the low-fat group. Those in the low-carb group lost an average of 26.4 pounds versus 14.3 pounds for those in the low-fat group. Read the entire article | Email this article

Adolescent lost 21.8 pounds in three months on a low-carbohydrate diet compared to 10.8 pounds on a low-fat diet according to a recent study. Read the entire article | Email this article

Increasing protein intake to 25 percent of calories increases both fat loss and weight loss according to one study where 65 obese patients ate a low-fat diet (30 percent fat) which contained either 12 percent protein or 25 percent protein.
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Whenever and wherever possible, our hunter-gather ancestors ate 45-65 percent of their calories as animal food and the remaining 35-55 percent as plant foods according to a recent paper from researchers at Colorado State University. Read the entire article | Email this article

Our hunter-gather ancestors showed little signs of cardiovascular disease despite eating a diet containing about 65 percent of their calories from animal food and 35 percent from plant foods, containing 28-58 percent fat according to a paper from researchers at Colorado State University. Read the entire article | Email this article

For years, one of the arguments given against high-protein diets was that they would cause a loss of bone mass. However, this is not true according to a recent study from Denmark. Read the entire article | Email this article

In the past, another concern about high-protein was that they would cause kidney problems. This is not so according to a recent study. Read the entire article | Email this article

Low-carbohydrate diets cause the body to release fat from fat cells which are converted to ketone bodies. These ketone bodies have three important functions according to a recent paper about low-carbohydrate diets. Read the entire article | Email this article

Low carbohydrate diets cause weight loss because of decreased calorie intake, not because of reduced carbohydrate content according to a recent review of low-carb diets. Read the entire article | Email this article

A high-soy-protein, low-fat diet causes more weight loss than lifestyle education according to a study from Germany. Read the entire article | Email this article

Although "dietary compliance [after one-year] was poor in all groups, women maintain more of their weight loss with a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet than a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet or a low-fat, high-carbohydrate, high-fiber diet according to a recent study from researchers at the Edgar National Centre for Diabetes Research in Dunedin, New Zealand. Read the entire article | Email this article

Women instructed to eat either a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet or a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet lost more weight than those who were instructed to eat a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet according to a recent study from researchers at the Edgar National Centre for Diabetes Research in Dunedin, New Zealand. "This study provides strong support for the use of higher protein diets as an alternative to the conventional [high-carbohydrate, low-fat] approach," the researchers concluded. Read the entire article | Email this article

Women lost more weight during the first six months when instructed to eat a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet (18.7 pounds or 8.7 percent of their body weight) or a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet (17.6 lbs or 8.5 percent) compared to a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet (13 pounds or 6 percent of their body weight) according to a recent study from researchers at the Edgar National Centre for Diabetes Research in Dunedin, New Zealand, but those in the high-fat group gained back more body fat (5.1 pounds) than those in the high-protein group, who gained back 2 pounds of body fat, or those in the high-carbohydrate group who gained back 1.8 pounds of body fat. Read the entire article | Email this article

More women who were instructed to follow a high-protein diet returned after one year for a follow-up (93 percent) than those who were instructed to follow a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet (77 percent) or those who were instructed to follow a high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet (75%) according to a recent study. This suggests that people may find it easier and more effective to follow instructions to eat a high-protein diet than a high-fat or high-carbohydrate diet. Read the entire article | Email this article

After losing about 20 lbs on a very-low calorie liquid diet, people instructed to eat a high-protein diet lost an additional 2.4 lbs in 3 months compared to a weight gain of 2.6 lbs for those instructed to eat a high-carbohydrate diet.

This was a difference of about 5 lbs. Read the entire article | Email this article

People assigned to eat a diet containing 25% protein and 30% fat lost more weight and more fat than a group assigned to eat a diet containing 15% protein and 30% fat. Read the entire article | Email this article

High-protein diets suppress appetite in adults, however, this does not appear to be the case in children or adolescents according to a NEW study from researchers at Leeds Metropolitan University in Leeds, UK.

This is the third time they have found this.

They also note that other studies have also found that high-protein diets fail to suppress appetite in obese children. Read the entire article | Email this article

Men eat less and lose more weight on a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet than a high-protein, medium-carbohydrate diet according to a new study from researchers at the Division of Obesity and Metabolic Health at the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland.

Those fed a diet containing 30 percent protein and only 4 percent carbohydrates ate 9 percent fewer calories without any dietary restrictions -- 3035 calories per day versus 3328 -- and lost more weight during the one-month study -- 13.9 pounds versus 10 pounds.

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Children who consume more animal protein, especially dairy protein, at the age of 1-year and 5- to 6-years-old have higher levels of body fat at the age of 7 than those who consume less according to a new study from researchers at the Research Institute of Child Nutrition at the University of Bonn in Dortmund, Germany. Read the entire article | Email this article

Low-carbohydrate diets reduce calorie intake, cause weight loss, and reduce markers for cardiovascular disease according to a study from researchers from Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina and the University of California, Davis in Davis, California, USA. Read the entire article | Email this article

Overweight women with insulin resistance lost about 5 pounds more following either a Zone-type high-protein diet or an Atkins-type high-fat diet compared to women who followed a high-carbohydrate, high-fiber diet according to a study from New Zealand. Read the entire article | Email this article

Numerous studies have found that people who eat more calcium tend to weigh less than people who eat less. However, a new study from Australia found that people lost just as much weight on a high protein, moderate calcium diet compared to those eating a high dairy protein, high calcium diet.

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People lost 19.8 pounds, or 10.3 percent of their bodyweight, and reduced body mass index (BMI) by 3.2 units in six months eating a very-low-carbohydrate diet according to a recent study. Read the entire article | Email this article

Women who ate the same number of calories and same amount of fat, but twice as much protein, lost 5.5 pounds more bodyfat than women eating a diet contained only half as much protein according to a recent study from the University of Illinois. Read the entire article | Email this article

Women with type II diabetes lose nearly twice as much bodyfat eating a high-protein diet as those eating a low-protein diet according to a recent study from Australia. Read the entire article | Email this article

"The totality of the evidence continues to show that low-carbohydrate diets are marginally disadvantageous for long-term health and for weight maintenance," according to a new paper. Read the entire article | Email this article