Article Link:
http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/...ty-rate/?hpt=T2

Animal-based protein diets increase mortality rate

Not all proteins are equal when it comes to the health of dieters eating low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets.

Animal-based proteins and fats are associated with increased mortality rates, including increased cardiovascular mortality and increased cancer mortality, a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine concludes. But low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets composed mostly of plant-based proteins and fats were associated with lower mortality rates overall and lower cardiovascular mortality rates.

The study followed more than 85,000 women and 44,500 men for a period of 20 to 26 years. All the study participants were without heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. To reach their conclusion, the study authors accounted for lifestyle factors such as smoking, exercise, multivitamin use, and alcohol intake. The study participants were all health professionals who filled out regular questionnaires about their food intake over the long follow-up period. The study authors acknowledged that while the large sample of participants was a strength of the study, its participant pool of all health care professionals was a limitation because it was not representative of the larger population.

Results of the study confirmed a "direct association" between animal-based low-carbohydrate food intake in men and increased cancer deaths, particularly from colorectal and lung cancer. That association aligns with previous studies that have confirmed a link between red meat, processed meat, and those two types of cancers. The study also found that men and women who ate diets heavy in animal-based proteins had higher averages BMIs and were more likely to smoke. Yet men and women who ate more plant or vegetable-based proteins and fats ate more whole grains and tended to drink more alcohol.

"The protein you get from combining rice and beans is the same quality as what you get from eggs and steak. You just don't get all the other stuff that's bad for you, " says Dr. Dean Ornish, founder and president, Preventive Medicine Research Institute, who is not affiliated with this study.

"This is the diet that I've been advocating for for 30 years."

The study authors say the low-carb, high-protein diets followed by its participants "were not designed to mimic any particular versions of low-carbohydrate diets available in the popular literature." Yet when most people think of a high-protein eating plan, they think of the Atkins diet. Atkins says nothing about its eating plans can be deduced by this study. In a statement to CNN, the company says, "Major clinical research has demonstrated the health benefits of low-carb diets," including several dozen articles on the Atkins protocols that "demonstrate positive results in terms of weight loss, as well as improvements in lipid profiles, reduced inflammation and better blood sugar control."

Dieters interested in eating more plant and vegetable-based proteins should consider adding tofu, beans, legumes, nuts, and seeds in to their diet. Sunflower oil, olive oil, canola oil, soy oil, and peanut oil are also great sources of plant-based fats.

"Plant-based diets – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, a little fish, soy products, legumes – you want to eat more towards that end of the spectrum, not exclusively vegetarian," says Ornish.

It's an interesting article, and it echoes some similar studies I've heard of before. My understanding was that in those studies it was "red meat" that was more of a concern than other forms of animal protein.

I'm a vegetarian low carber, and it can definitely be done. (I'm a vegetarian because of my concern for animals - not for health reasons) But I imagine most folks on this board who have found positive health results from a high-meat diet will find this study hard to swallow.

Thanks for posting!

Just a heads up, there's no such thing as a vegetarian Atkins diet, at least it's not written anywhere in the book I've read. The only Atkins diet I know of contains meat and lots of it. I'm just saying.

On with the topic. See here for a thorough debunking of all the bullshit thrown around about the bad meat and the good plants:
http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/07/07/th...fact-or-fallac/

Incidentally, Campbell's website, www.campbellcoalition.org, is off the air. I wonder why.


Is that a fact? Are you calling vitamin B12 "stuff that's bad for you" as well? Oh but you can get it from a pill, you say. Well, what does that tell you about where we've been getting it for the past 2.5 million years with nary a bad side effect?

Ornish. Pfft.

The latest version of Atkins (A New Atkins for a New You) has modifications for vegetarians and vegans.

I'm reading the comments and it's hilarious really. So much misinformation. But like a good geek, I'm prepared to correct somebody on the internet and I will stay up all night if need be.

The latest version is not the Atkins diet. As far as I know, it was written after Atkins died so he can't have written it. But I'm OK with calling that one the Phinney-Volek-Westman diet though. They wrote it after all.
http://www.atkins.com/AtkinsBook/MeetTheAuthors.aspx

JustSmurfy, I think you're better off just going with the old Atkins if you can still find a book somewhere. Or if you prefer to go with some vegetarian diet, go with the Ornish diet but before you do that, I think you should check this out just to get an idea of what to expect:
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/...the-mainstream/

Bear in mind, the Atkins tested there is not the new one, it's one of the old versions.

Thanks for the advice Martin, but I'm comfortable with my program as it is. I'm also comfortable calling it whatever the heck I like to.

Best of luck to you.

I found this on ABC too: funny how anything anti-meat gets media attention and lots of "I told you so" comments.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010...in6841541.shtml

The Annals of Internal Med,
Has news that carnivores may dread.
The report is alleging,
That those who are vegging,
Live longer than those who eat red Good one

I wonder how much all these people got paid to assemble this worthless piece of junk. Validated FFQ? What the heck is that? How does one "validate" a FFQ? And how do we know how many carbs these people were eating? Where are the numbers?

I think its interesting that are 85,000 women in the study 44,500 men. The increased cancer risk was found in men, so the conclusion is it must be the animal protein causing cancer??? Were the women all vegans and only the men eating animal protein??

"A major study was just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine from Harvard. In approximately 85,000 women who were followed for 26 years and 45,000 men who were followed for 20 years, researchers found that all-cause mortality rates were increased in both men and women who were eating a low-carbohydrate Atkins diet based on animal protein."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-de...-_b_707005.html

From the actual study abstract...
"Results: The overall low-carbohydrate score was associated with a modest increase in overall mortality in a pooled analysis (hazard ratio [HR] comparing extreme deciles, 1.12 [95% CI, 1.01 to 1.24]; P for trend = 0.136). The animal low-carbohydrate score was associated with higher all-cause mortality (pooled HR comparing extreme deciles, 1.23 [CI, 1.11 to 1.37]; P for trend = 0.051), cardiovascular mortality (corresponding HR, 1.14 [CI, 1.01 to 1.29]; P for trend = 0.029), and cancer mortality (corresponding HR, 1.28 [CI, 1.02 to 1.60]; P for trend = 0.089). In contrast, a higher vegetable low-carbohydrate score was associated with lower all-cause mortality (HR, 0.80 [CI, 0.75 to 0.85]; P for trend ≤ 0.001) and cardiovascular mortality (HR, 0.77 [CI, 0.68 to 0.87]; P for trend < 0.001)."
http://www.annals.org/content/153/5/289.abstract

Ok...who has time to tear this apart? I am at work now and have to actually be productive

Increased mortality rate? You mean...I can't live forever?!?!?

Yes, we are all going to die!

Looks like it's based on trawling through the Nurses study data.

Low-carbohydrate diets, either animal-based (emphasizing animal sources of fat and protein) or vegetable-based (emphasizing vegetable sources of fat and protein), were computed from several validated food-frequency questionnaires assessed during follow-up.

So - my questions are how low carb? And how many of the people were actually low-carbing for 20 years.

And the stats aren't particularly convincing. High p values and low Hazard Ratios.

I was curious about that one too. The challenge must be, how to steer all that low carb money over to plant-based processed food profits.

I do hope we all aren't encouraging by clicking on these links to bad reports of bad science?