Protein Restriction, Discretion Promote Healthy Aging
A sweeping review of more than 350 studies suggests that the protein boom may be overselling what many people actually need. Eating less protein appears to improve metabolism, reduce inflammation and cellular damage, and activate pathways linked to healthier aging and longevity.
The researchers conclude that protein restriction can improve metabolism, alter the way cells react to nutrients, limit cellular damage, and help cells maintain normal function.
“There are benefits of protein to muscle growth and exercise response of active individuals,” says Dudley Lamming, the paper’s author, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “But because most people are relatively sedentary, many people are likely consuming more protein than they actually need, which probably has negative health consequences.”
Scientists have long known that reducing calorie intake can lengthen lifespan in many organisms and lower the risk of age-related illnesses such as cancer. In practice, however, following a calorie-restricted diet over the long term is extremely difficult for most people.
Protein restriction may offer another route. Earlier studies found that flies and rodents lived longer when they consumed less protein, even when their overall calorie intake did not decline.
Recent human clinical trials have also produced promising results. People who lowered their protein intake lost weight and body fat and showed improvements in fasting blood sugar, despite often consuming more total calories.
Protein Is Beneficial
The evidence is not one-sided. Other studies indicate that higher protein intake can support weight loss and help older adults preserve muscle, particularly when combined with exercise.
Those findings contributed to updated US dietary guidance this year. The new recommendations call for daily protein consumption of 1.2-1.6 grams per kilogram of body weight (0.5-0.7 grams per pound), nearly twice the previous amount.
As Americans consume more protein than ever and older adults are increasingly advised to raise their intake, Lamming and his colleague reviewed decades of evidence to better understand the relationship between protein, metabolism, and aging.
Their analysis of more than 350 papers identified several recurring biological mechanisms that could explain why protein restriction may improve health and promote longevity. Across the research, lower protein intake was linked to better metabolic function, altered nutrient signaling, reduced cellular damage, and improved maintenance of healthy cells.
Restricting Protein Stimulates Hormone Linked to Longevity
One important factor is fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), a hormone that increases when protein intake falls. FGF21 can raise energy expenditure, improve blood sugar regulation, and reduce inflammation.
Mouse studies have shown that animals with elevated levels of FGF21 lived longer than typical mice. The effect was stronger in male mice than in female mice. Lower protein intake also increases FGF21 levels in humans.
The review also focuses on several amino acids, which are the individual building blocks of protein. Methionine, isoleucine, and valine appear to play especially important roles.
Research suggests that excessive intake of these amino acids may activate biological pathways that encourage growth. When those pathways remain highly active, they may increase the risk of obesity, inflammation, and other conditions associated with aging.
“These studies show that the amount of protein sedentary people are eating today may have negative health consequences, at least at the population level,” Lamming says.
Protein Needs Vary From Person to Person
Some groups clearly require more protein. Pregnant women and certain older adults, for example, may have higher nutritional needs. For many sedentary adults, however, protein-fortified foods may not offer the health advantages they expect.
Athletes often consume large quantities of protein without developing metabolic disease. Lamming suspects that regular physical activity may offer protection by directing protein toward the development and maintenance of strong, healthy muscle.
“Recent recommendations have encouraged people to eat more protein, but they’ve also encouraged people to exercise more,” Lamming says. “We probably need to personalize protein recommendations based not just on age, but also on how physically active people are.”
The findings suggest that protein guidance may be most effective when it takes both age and activity level into account, rather than applying the same recommendation to everyone. (This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging, the Wisconsin Partnership Program, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.)
Deadly Proteins Fuel Neurodegenerative Disease
Proteins also play a definitive role in the onset of neurodegenerative disease, which is another important reason to manage protein intake wisely. Prions are a deadly form of protein that promotes Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Prions migrate, mutate, multiply and kill with extreme efficiency. Prions convert healthy forms of protein into deadly prions. As such, protein intake demands scrutiny to avoid prion contamination.
We know that most forms of neurodegenerative disease are more accurately described as prion disease. The medical term for prion disease is transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE). As the name implies, TSE is transmissible.
The most common forms of TSE includes Alzheimer’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease (GSS), Huntington’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) likely falls under the TSE umbrella. No two cases are identical in terms of pathology, but they all are fatal and incurable.
According to Dr. Stanley Prusiner, a Nobel Prize Laureate, all are forms of prion (PREE-on) disease. TSEs are caused by a toxic protein known as a prion. Some TSEs are triggered by genetics and head trauma, but most are caused by prion contamination.
TSE is a spectrum disease that varies in severity and symptoms. It depends on which region of the brain is impacted first and by what prion mutation. Few cases are identical in terms of symptoms and diagnoses. When the presenting symptom is memory loss, the diagnoses flow along the following chart.
Prion disease consumes the brain. This build-up of toxic proteins spreads throughout the body — infecting bodily fluids and tissue, including blood, mucus, saliva, skin and organs. Prion disease is a serious threat to neurologists, caregivers, family members and others.
This infectious waste creeps into our lives and in some cases it is dumped into our lives. Prions are impossible to neutralize once unleashed from the body of victims.
The biggest difference between different forms of prion disease is the region of the brain that’s under attack. If the prions start their attack in the hippocampus region of the brain, the person will experience memory issues. This will likely generate a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
If prions begin their attack in the cerebellum region of the brain, the person will likely experience motion and coordination problems, which will likely generate a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
Most forms of neurodegenerative disease will eventually spread throughout the brain and body, which expands the range of symptoms.
According to neuroscientists Dr. Laura Manuelidis, at least 25 percent of Alzheimer’s diagnoses are actually CJD, which is further up the prion spectrum. CJD, without dispute, is extremely infectious to caregivers and loved ones, but it has not been declared a reportable disease across the U.S. and many other nations.
Millions of cases of deadly CJD are being misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease. Millions of patients and caregivers are being misinformed, misguided and exposed to an aggressive prion disease.
Prions are such a formidable threat that the U.S. government enacted the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002, which included a provision to halt research on prions in all but two laboratories. It classified prions as select agents that pose an extreme risk to food, water and health systems. Unfortunately, the Center For Disease Control quietly took prions off the list about two years ago because the classification threatened to criminalize some multi-billion dollar industries and many industry practices.
Victims should be quarantined because prions are in the urine, feces, blood, saliva, mucus, skin and cell tissue of all victims–all human byproducts that are washed, dumped, or flushed down sinks and toilets. One can assume that the waste is extra infectious when it comes from funeral homes, nursing homes, hospitals, dental offices, veterinarians, slaughterhouses and some laboratories.
There are many sources and pathways for deadly prions. However, we can’t ignore the biggest pathways. The cruel irony of prion disease is that victims become part of the greater problem. Studies confirm that people and animals dying of prion disease contaminate the environment around them. Infectious prions are in the urine, feces, blood, skin, mucus and saliva of each victim. These infectious bodily fluids are contributing to the rapid spread of Alzheimer’s and other mutations of prion disease.
Many factors are contributing to the epidemic. Prions are now the X factor. Industry and government are not accounting for prions or regulating them. They are ignoring the threat completely, which violates the Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 in the United States. Other nations also are ignoring laws developed to protect food, air and water.
Prion disease is now the fastest-growing cause of death in the world. The truth is more elusive than a cure. Many factors are contributing to the surge, including misinformation, disinformation and reckless public policies.
Contrary to popular belief, neurodegenerative disease is not a normal part of aging, but age is a factor. Longevity increases our exposure to prions and other neurotoxins. Consuming protein also increases our exposure to deadly prions.
There are proven strategies to help avert neurodegenerative disease, including nutrition, exercise and prion aversion. There is not a cure for prion disease.
