Recently, a new study led by Dr. Babak Razani from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, explores the effects of the popular high protein diets on the cardiovascular health of a person. Its findings show a concerning link between a higher risk of heart attack and such diets.
Previously, research has identified a number of benefits associated with diets high in protein. Many people have followed similar diets and have found them to be helpful in improving a number of problems such as weight loss issues.
In fact, many famous trainers, beauty gurus, and bloggers have promoted high protein diets by explaining how it has helped them in both losing and gaining weight as well as especially in muscle built-up.
Consequently, more and more people are turning towards adding more protein and cutting down carbohydrates with a diet specifically while joining a gym. While it has indeed made muscle built up and losing weight easier, recent studies have started looking at its potential negative impact.
Just like every exercise does not fit in every person’s fitness goals, the effectiveness of diets can also vary from one person to another.
Therefore, high protein diets may also not work for every person and can even instead be problematic if the person suffers from chronic health conditions.
In the new study, whose findings appear in the journal Nature Metabolism, looks further at the impact of consuming a diet with a high amount of protein on the health of the heart.
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Dr. Razani states that “animal studies and some large epidemiological studies in people have linked high dietary protein to cardiovascular problems.” He further adds that “We decided to take a look at whether there is truly a causal link between high dietary protein and poorer cardiovascular health,”
To explore the link between cardiovascular health and high protein diets, the researchers looked at lab mice models who were divided into two groups. One of the groups had a high protein and high-fat diet while the other had high fat and low protein diet.
The researches explain the diet patterns in mice in the words “To see if the protein has an effect on cardiovascular health, we tripled the amount of protein that the mice receive in the high fat, high protein diet — keeping the fat constant. Protein went from 15% to 46% of calories for these mice,”
After the observatory period, the researchers noted that mice with a high amount of protein as well as fat in their diet had a thirty percent higher buildup of plaque in arteries in a comparison with mice who had a low protein and high-fat diet.
In addition, the researchers explained that the plaque was ‘unstable’, which means it had the ability to break the arterial wall and may significantly increase the risk of blocked arteries and even a heart attack.
These findings may suggest that high protein diets may be beneficial for weight loss but can increase the risk of certain health conditions in the longer run. However, further research is needed to explore the link further.
