SUPERMARKETGURU FOOD &
HEALTH WEEKLY NEWSFLASH!
Lay Off that Protein-Rich Diet
Published on: December 15, 2006A study published in the December 2006 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that compared to typical Americans, distance runners had lower levels of IGF-1, a protein that helps cells grow and multiply and which has been linked to breast, prostate and colon cancers. And vegetarians who maintained low calorie and low protein diets had even lower levels of IGF-1 than the runners.
Researchers caution that this does not necessarily mean lower cancer odds. But do say that the study shows how lower-protein diets could alter cancer risks.
The findings are based on a small sample of middle-aged adults: 21 vegetarians who'd been vegetarian for at least two years, 21 long-time endurance runners, and 21 sedentary adults who consumed a typical American high protein diet.
On average, the vegetarians ate just below the recommended daily amount of protein - 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight - while both the runners and the sedentary group ate more protein than the recommended amount.
IGF-1 levels in the sedentary group increased when they upped their protein intake. By comparing the runners and the vegetarians, two equally lean groups, the study suggests that not just body weight, but diet as well has an effect on IGF-1 levels.
Dr. Luigi Fontana, an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, who led the study recommends that we eat more fruits and vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains, beans and fish ... and less red meat.
