Eating this much protein can be bad for your heart health

Updated by Nsubuga Abbey at HICGI News Agency

Experts say protein in foods such as eggs and meat are necessary for overall health, but people should be careful not to consume too much on a daily basis. Helen Sotiriadis/Stocksy

Researchers report that taking in too much protein on a daily basis can produce heart health issues.
In particular, they note, consuming more than 22% of daily calories from protein can increase the risk of atherosclerosis.
Experts say some daily protein is necessary to maintain good overall health, but they advise that some of that protein should come from plant-based foods.

Consuming more than 22% of daily calories through proteins may increase the risk of atherosclerosis and even worsen the condition, according to a studyTrusted Source completed at the University of Pittsburgh and published today in the journal Nature Metabolism.

To reach their conclusions, the researchers used human trials along with experiments involving mice and cells in Petri dishes. The human studies had a total of 23 participants.

Researchers used two different study set-ups for the human studies. Both involved asking participants to have two liquid meals – one with standard protein and one with high protein – about one to two weeks apart.

The first set-up involved 14 participants. The standard meal had 10% of total energy as protein, 17% as fat, and 73% as carbohydrates. The high protein meal consisted of 50% of energy from protein, 17% as fat, and 33% carbohydrates.

The second setup involved nine participants and was designed to mimic a “real-world” scenario. In this setup, the standard meal was representative of a person’s average protein intake and had 15% of total energy as protein, 35% as fat, and 50% as carbohydrates. The high protein meal represented the upper quartile of protein intake and consisted of 22% of energy from protein, 30% as fat, and 48% carbohydrates.

The scientists noted that leucine is an amino acid that contributes to the development and worsening of atherosclerosis. They found that higher dietary protein intake, specifically intake of more than 25 grams of protein per meal or 22% of daily energy requirements, led to higher leucine levels that activated a specific pathway in immune cells that is associated with atherosclerosis.

The second part of the study involved mice.

The researchers first created diets for the mice with graded protein contents that mimicked the average (15%) and high (22%) protein intake for a typical adult living in the United States.

They reported similar results to the human studies.

They added that the same pathway was activated in mice receiving more than 25 grams of protein per meal, or 22% of total energy intake, and that these mice were also more likely to promote atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

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