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Eating lots of meat and cheese in middle age is ‘as deadly as SMOKING’

  • In men and women aged 50+, those who ate the most protein were almost twice as likely to die early
    as those who ate low amounts
  • They were also more than four times as likely to be killed by cancer
  • This is a figure comparable with smoking, say the researchers

By
Fiona Macrae Science Correspondent


PUBLISHED:

12:10 EST, 4 March 2014

|
UPDATED:

12:36 EST, 4 March 2014

Warning: Eating lots of meat and cheese in middle age is as deadly as smoking. Carole Middleton is an advocate of the high protein Dukan diet

Eating lots of meat and cheese in middle age is as deadly as smoking, it has emerged.

A study of thousands of men and women aged 50-plus found that those who ate the most protein were almost twice as likely to die early as those who ate low amounts. 

They were also more than four times as likely to be killed by cancer – a figure comparable with smoking.

The researchers blame the protein found in meat, cheese and other animal products for feeding tumours and fuelling the ageing of the body’s cells. 

They recommend
that those in their 50s and early 60s cut back on protein and get eat
fish, beans and lentils rather than meat and cheese.

Someone who weighs around nine stone should limit themselves to just 45 to 50g of protein a day – the equivalent of a 6oz steak or two pork chops. 

But the advice is not clear-cut, as the study also showed eating protein to be beneficial later in life.

In other words, while you may have to deny yourself during your working life, you can enjoy meat treats in retirement.

British experts, however, questioned the findings and said the best way of warding off cancer is to not smoke, keep to a healthy weight, drink in moderation and keep active.

The U.S. study follows numerous warnings about the dangers of eating red meat and processed meat in particular.

However, high-protein diets, such as the Atkins, are popular with those who are trying to lose weight.

Professor Valter Longo, of the University of Southern California, compared the diet of almost 6,400 Americans with their health over the next 18 years.

The data from a US government health survey showed a clear link between eating high amounts of protein in middle age and an early grave.

People in this group got at least a fifth of their calories from protein.

Even moderate amounts of protein, making up 10 and 19 per cent of calories, were also dangerous.

These people were three times as likely to die of cancer than those who ate less. 

The average Britons gets around 15 per cent of their calories from protein and so falls into this category. 

Danger: Kim Kardashian is said to be a fan of
the high protein, high fat Atkins diet, while Jennifer Lopez is said to
have followed the Dukan diet

Protein was also linked to deaths from diabetes, the journal Cell Metabolism reports. 

With
plant-based proteins, such as those from beans, appearing to be
beneficial and the dangers not due to the fat or carbohydrates in the
people’s diets, the researchers believe animal protein was to blame. 

The researchers also showed that cancer found it easier to take root and grow in mice on a high protein diet.

Professor Longo said: ‘Almost everyone is going to have a cancer cell or pre-cancer cell in them at some point. ‘The question is: Does it progress?

‘Turns out one of the major factors in determining it is protein intake.

It is thought the protein does the
damage by fuelling a hormone called IGF1.  It helps our bodies grow but
may also feed cancer and accelerate ageing.

Professor Longo recommends that people of all ages get their bulk of their protein from fish, beans peas and lentils.

Buyer beware: Eating lots of meat and cheese in middle-age is as deadly as smoking, researchers have warned

He suggests that those in middle age eat just 0.36g  of protein per lb of body weight per day. This works out at 45g a day for a woman who is 9 stone and around 60g for a 12-stone man.

A 8oz steak contains about 70g of protein, a burger, 30g, and a slice of bacon, around 3g.

However, the low protein diet should
not be forever. The professor’s study found that while protein is
dangerous mid-life, it is good for health in old age.

Those
aged 66 and over who ate the most protein were 28 per cent less likely
due die over the course of the study than those who ate the least. 

Moderate amounts of protein were also beneficial. It is thought this is because the elderly body finds it harder to absorb protein and so more is needed to prevent frailty.

Levels of IGF1, the suspect hormone, also fall with age. With
this in mind, the professor recommends that pensioners up their protein
intake to 0.55g of protein per lb of body weight per day.

For a nine-stone woman, this equates to around two chicken breasts.  Someone of 12 stone would be allowed an 8oz steak.

It is thought the protein does the damage by fuelling a hormone called IGF1. It helps our bodies grow but may also feed cancer and accelerate ageing

He also stresses that people shouldn’t make extreme changes that lead to them losing weight or becoming malnourished. 

But others questioned both his findings and the comparison with smoking. 

Heather
Ohly, an Exeter University nutritionist, said: ‘Smoking has been proven
to be entirely bad for us, whereas meat and cheese can be consumed in
moderation as part of a healthy diet, contributing to the recommended
intakes of many important nutrients.’ 

Dr Carrie Ruxton, an independent
dietician and spokesman for the industry-funded Meat Advisory Panel,
said the result may been due to those who ate non-animal protein getting
more fibre from fruit and vegetables.

She added that meat provides vital vitamins and minerals.

Professor Tim Key, a Cancer Research UK
scientist based at the University of Oxford, said the study was small
and more research is needed to confirm the link between eating lots of
protein in middle age and cancer deaths.

He added: ‘There is, however, strong
evidence that the following things can help reduce your risk of cancer:
giving up smoking, keeping a healthy weight, drinking less alcohol and
staying physically active.’

 

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Comments (127)

what you think

The comments below have not been moderated.

Joy,

Bridgetown,

moments ago

You’d better tell the French then?

meinwen71,

Depths Of Dorset,

moments ago

Getting so sick and tired of hearing this isnt good for you nor is that. what is left for us to eat then?

Melvill,

Wales, United Kingdom,

6 minutes ago

I keep giving things up only to find my comfort alternatives are also dangerous. I might just as well choose the ones I like best and keep doing those.

Trent Steele,

London, United Kingdom,

7 minutes ago

Lol. Can’t do anything nowadays. Can’t eat, can’t drink, can’t smoke, can’t have sex, can’t do dangerous sports, can’t climb trees. What CAN we do?

jackie,

Exeter, United Kingdom,

7 minutes ago

If it is just as dangerous as smoking do we make middle aged people stand in the street to eat now?

Meldrew,

Ex-pat, Canada,

7 minutes ago

If I didn’t eat all of what the experts told me not to eat I would be dead already.

Primalist,

Safely over the Border, United Kingdom,

8 minutes ago

Oh for goodness sake…an observational study, the most unreliable type dependent on the accurate recall of the participants…inconclusive results….in other words TOTAL RUBBISH!! Want to know what really does cause diabetes, contributes heavily to cancer and Alzheimers – GRAINS, in particular WHEAT.

marc,

chelmsford, United Kingdom,

10 minutes ago

I foolishly started to read the article, then I saw the photos of CM, KK and J-Lo this made me stop reading as it reminded me this was a nonsense article in a nonsense newspaper.

JM,

Notts,

11 minutes ago

Oh just shut up. In fact, shut up, shut up and shut up again. Got it? Shut up!

TheFarAwayOne,

OompahLoompahLand, Christmas Island,

16 minutes ago

If ALL you eat is meat and cheese then sure, it likely isn’t good for you. If, however, you eat these in moderation, say a small piece of cheese in a sandwich 2 or 3 times a week and occasionally some lean red meat with vegetables then you are doing no harm whatsoever!

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