Replacing 3% of calories from eggs with plant protein reduces risk of death by 19% over 26-32 years

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Wednesday, December 21, 2016 12:02 pm Email this article

Replacing 3% of calories from eggs with plant protein was associated with a 19% lower risk of death over 26-32 years according to a recent analysis from researchers from Harvard University.

This is the equivalent of replacing roughly 15-20 grams of protein from red meat with plant protein for people eating a diet containing 1800-2500 calories per day.

Two (2) eggs contain 12 grams of protein.

Conclusion

Conclusion: Replacing animal protein with plant protein was associated with lower mortality

“Replacing animal protein of various origins with plant protein was associated with lower mortality,” the authors of the paper concluded.

“High animal protein intake was positively associated with cardiovascular mortality and high plant protein intake was inversely associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, especially among individuals with at least 1 [unhealthy] lifestyle risk factor [which included smoking, heavy alcohol intake, overweight or obesity, and physical inactivity].”

“Substitution of plant protein for animal protein, especially that from processed red meat, was associated with lower mortality, suggesting the importance of protein source.”

Subjects

Subjects: 131,342 U.S. doctors and nurses

The study analyzed data from US health care professionals which included 131342 participants from the Nurses’ Health Study (1980 to end of follow-up on June 1, 2012) and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986 to end of follow-up on January 31, 2012).

Reference

Song M, Fung TT, Hu FB, Willett WC, Longo VD, Chan AT, and Giovannucci EL. Association of Animal and Plant Protein Intake With All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality. JAMA Intern Med, 2016 Oct 01; 176(10): 1453-1463.

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