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High Protein Diet - Is It Really Safe? Can It Help Cut Cancer Risk?
This is interesting - is a high protein diet really good for health? Is it safe? Can it help to reduce the risk of cancer? Here is some interesting findings.
A study published in Cancer Research (journal of the American Association for Cancer Research), finds that there is indeed a reduction in the risk of cancer. The study involves injecting human tumor cells into mice. The mice were then fed with a typical western diet comprising of 55 per cent carbohydrate, 23 per cent protein and 22 per cent fat. Another group were fed a diet that contained contained 15 per cent carbohydrate, 58 per cent protein and 26 per cent fat. More than half the mice in the typical diet group developed cancer, while none of the mice in the high protein diet group did.
Of course, a study is useful, but like all studies, they are not conclusive. In other words, you shouldn't just rely on research studies and follow the test results blindly. Cancer can be caused by many factors - environment, lifestyle, diet, stress, etc. So if your goal is to obtain optimal health, don't forget that your primary goal is to get a balanced diet.
For instance, knowing that a high protein diet is beneficial to health is great. But if you follow the results blindly and ONLY eat meals with high protein, then you may be in deep trouble in the longer run. This is because a high protein diet may contain lots of meat and plants that contain high protein. What about the other foods? Foods high in carbohydrate may provide more fiber than foods that are rich in protein. So in the long run, you are actually off-balance, which may be harmful to health.
What you want to do, is to learn how to change things up. Don't just follow a single diet. This is important, so I'll repeat this again in bold.
DON'T just follow a single diet.
Learn how to change the ingredients in your meals so that you get a good mix of different foods - sometimes high protein, sometimes higher in carbs, and sometimes even higher in fat. Confused? You see, the amount of food you eat DEPENDS on the state that your body is in. And since different bodies react and respond differently, it is unwise to stick to a cookie cutter diet. Put simply, a cookie cutter diet simply doesn't work.
Your choice of foods also depend on your goals. For example, if you want to look good for a wedding or if you want to get 6 pack abs to show off during summer at the beach, then you may choose to restrict your caloric intake drastically for a few weeks. Of course, this is only for the short term because your body will eventually run out of reserves and you will need to eat more again. Get the idea? Let's look at another illustration.
Let's say you are in your mid forties and you are a computer analyst. That means you lead a rather sedentary lifestyle and you spend a lot of time in front of the computer. Over time, you manage to put on A LOT of fat reserves due to lack of exercise and poor diet habits. In fact, you put on so much weight that now you find yourself easily breathless whenever you climb the stairs. Your doctor has warned you about serious health consequences looming in the horizon.
So how do you think your diet should look like? In this case, a high protein / low carb / low sugar / low fat diet will help. Because the body has a lot of fat reserves, cutting down on fat, sugar and carbs won't cause damage to the body. In fact, it's beneficial because you are restoring balance. The protein will help to build up lean muscle mass and boost metabolism, which will in turn help to burn more fat.
It takes time to learn how to adjust your diet so that you know when to eat what. But with adequate knowledge, it can be done.
Wish that you are in the pink of health - always.
