Protein

[kdman95]

Is changing to almost all protein diet a good way to lose weight? 

[FitBeforeFifty]

I wouldn't consider it a "good" way to lose weight. It might work if you eat few enough calories but you would be missing a lot of other vitamins and nutrients that you would get from a more balanced diet. It can also stress your kidneys.

See the table below for the recommended protein intake based on your weight in KG 

[USAF-Larry]

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@kdman95 wrote:

Is changing to almost all protein diet a good way to lose weight? 

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There is no "magic" diet! And, diets can't be maintained long term - sooner or later you will crave some missing food and will start binging. That said, I don't believe you will be able to get the nutrition your body needs by protein alone - you will need some carbs and fiber.  Look for a balanced diet that you can maintain long term.

[JohnRi]

Actually it's not.  Too much protein damages the kidneys, liver, maybe even your hair.  Eating lots of protein puts a lot extra work on the kidneys.  You will need to drink lots of extra water to flush out the kidneys.  And just because you eat a lot of protein it won't cause weight loss.

Your body uses protein to repair and build your muscles from damage from use.  After than all extra protein is turned in to glucose.  Extra glucose is turned in glycogen.  Glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles.  Extra Glycogen is turned into FAT.

Remember you can't put on more than 1-2 lbs a month.  So you don't need a lot of protein to do that.  Most Americans it more than twice the protein they need to eat in a day.

Bottom line I see no advantage of eating a high protein diet.  Carbs is the easiest fuel you body can convert to glucose.  Protein is a very close second. 

I eat a balanced diet, around 18-20% protein, fat around 25%, and carbs around 55%.  I've lost 75 lbs in the last 10 months, while maintaining most of my lean mass. 

Bottom line the only way to lose weight, is eat less than you burn.  The macros(protein, fat, carbs) doen't really matter that much.

[Dominique]

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@kdman95 wrote:

Is changing to almost all protein diet a good way to lose weight? 

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Generally speaking, protein is satiating, which can be useful when eating at a deficit. However, you would have a hard time making your diet "almost all protein". You would also be missing out on  micronutrients, fiber etc, found in the other macronutrients, so a balanced diet would be a better choice.

You may want to watch this interesting podcast (about 25 min.) with Dr. Jose Antonio on the benefits of high protein diets:

https://youtu.be/BZpYH3HegiI

[Dominique]

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@FitBeforeFifty wrote:

It can also stress your kidneys.

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Dr. Jose Antonio (mentioned in my other reply) dismisses this as a myth and something not supported by evidence. He conducted three different studies with crazy-high protein intake, the last one spanning over a one-year period, and found no changes whatsoever on markers for liver and kidney health among the subjects of his studies (healthy recreational lifters). His take is that high protein intake stresses the kidneys of healthy people just like aerobic exercise stresses the heart of healthy people.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4715299/   

[FitBeforeFifty]

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@Dominique wrote:

... His take is that high protein intake stresses the kidneys of healthy people just like aerobic exercise stresses the heart of healthy people.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4715299/

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That study was based on 3 grams per KG. If someone is eating an almost all protein diet they are going to be higher unless they are drastically undereating. To continue your analogy, aerobic exercise at the extremes has been shown to result in biomarkers consistent with heart damage (note that it isn't known if these are transient or permanent -- they didn't open up the hearts ) -- so at some point there is a point of diminishing (or worse) returns. Whether or not 100% protein is sufficient to provide enough stress to the point of being dangerous isn't known and I certainly wouldn't want to be the case study.

[karenpelli]

Also so drink plenty of water if you consume a lot of protein to flush out the kidneys

[Ingratiate]

Think of the susainability, though. 

Can you really sustain an almost all protein diet without having a rebound carb binge in which you gain all of the weight back and more? Unlikely. Eat high protein, moderate fat and low carb. 

[kittyhuckster]

I spoke to my doctor regarding the macros that were recommended for my level of exercise and she said that the body really only uses about 30 grams of protein out of each meal. When I looked at what MyFitnessPal said I should have, then showed her, she was appalled. There's no way I could eat that much protein - which was considered to be about 40% of the recommended diet for me by MFP.

The macros recommended 40, 30, 30, but that much protein is nearly impossible to get in. I manage about 20% on a good day....about 30-40 grams per meal. Not sure whether it's good or bad at this point, but when I was on Weight Watchers years ago (before acquiring hypothyroidism), I lost 50 pounds with the same eating habits I have now. Kept off 30 of those.....

[DanielleinDC]

I don't know. A long time ago (almost 20 years), I worked for a nephrologist that was attached to a dialysis clinic. Almost all the patients were put on low-protein diets because of their kidney issues. So excess protein is NOT good for yoiur kidneys.

[Dominique]

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@DanielleinDC wrote:

Almost all the patients were put on low-protein diets because of their kidney issues. So excess protein is NOT good for yoiur kidneys.

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Yes, but do you know for a fact the patients’ kidney deficiency was specifically caused by a high-protein diet?

[DanielleinDC]

The point is, excess protein would be bad for their already compromised kidneys.

[Dominique]

I understand this, but it’s like saying that people who have the coeliac disease should stop eating foods that contain gluten: stating the obvious. I’ve been eating gluten my entire life and it looks like I tolerate it just fine: should I switch to a gluten-free diet on the fat chance I could get the coeliac disease? Likewise, my kidneys are perfectly healthy: should I switch to a low-protein diet on the fat chance my kidneys could start to fail?

[GershonSurge]

@Dominique

We should be striving for the best chance of a successful health outcome, but we must keep in mind we are working with probabilities. In many cases, we are dealing with decades of lead time before disaster strikes. 

Typically, kidney problems don't manifest until a person is about 70 years old. They are detected by a blood test measuring creatin and some other things in the blood. By the time they are detected, they are at the point where further decline can happen quickly. There is no way a one year study would show any change in kidney function.

The good news about kidney disease is the person who is likely to get it often dies of heart disease or cancer before the kidney disease becomes a problem.

"Likewise, my kidneys are perfectly healthy: should I switch to a low-protein diet on the fat chance my kidneys could start to fail?"

As I said, you have no way of knowing if your kidneys are healthy. All you know is they are functional enough for now. In response to the second part, a person could say that about any dietary changes.

If you want the science, check out this article.

[Dominique]

I know you’re fond of Dr. McDougall, so it didn’t come as a surprise the "science" comes in the form of an article written by him. However, I didn’t see evidence in that article that a high-protein diet is the cause of the chronic kidney disease. He merely advocates for a low-protein diet as therapy for patients with the disease, which makes sense.

Here is one study about the kidney disease: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23727165

The entire article is available for free on The Lancet (you just have to register).  Here is what it says (under "key messages"):

"Causes of chronic kidney disease are complex and include common diseases such as hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes, and various less common diseases that mainly affect the kidney"

"Genetic causes of specific forms of kidney disease and susceptibility to development of kidney disease in the context of other disorders are increasingly recognised"

I don’t have any of hypertension, metabolic syndrome and diabetes, and I’m not aware of anyone in my extended family who’s had kidney problems. Nowhere was it stated that a high-protein diet causes kidney failure. For me, the benefits of eating a sufficient amount of protein outweigh the risk of kidney disease allegedly caused by a high-protein diet.

[shipo]

I have a co-worker who happened to be a close enough match to give one of her kidneys to her husband who had severe kidney disease, and have heard and read some very good dissertations on the topic.  To the best of my knowledge, there are exactly zero well scientifically founded/peer reviewed studies available which correlate a high protein diet with the development of kidney disease.

Regarding comments made/written by Dr. McDougall, most folks find them fairly easy to dismiss as most of what he says/writes seems to have very little solid science to back it up.  Speaking strictly for myself, if Dr. McDougall says to avoid doing or eating something, that is exactly what I am going to do or eat; the reverse is true if he says to do something, I'm inclined to not do that very something.

[GershonSurge]

The science was in the 34 references. 

[Dominique]

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@GershonSurge wrote:

The science was in the 34 references. 

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Which of these studies established causality: that kidney disease is caused by a high-protein diet? I couldn’t find one.

Are hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes (which are strongly linked to kidney disease) caused by a high-protein diet? I don’t think so.