Swapping animal protein for plant protein 'may improve health'

Conclusion This analysis of two prospective cohort studies aimed to examine whether our intake of animal and plant protein is linked to our mortality risk. It found evidence that animal protein intake was weakly associated with higher mortality, particularly cardiovascular mortality, whereas plant protein was associated with lower mortality. However, the association with mortality was only seen in those with at least one other unhealthy lifestyle factor: smoking, heavy alcohol intake, being overweight or obese, and physical inactivity. This suggests that it's not meat alone that has the effect – it seems to be more a compound effect when high meat intake is combined with other unhealthy lifestyle factors. This reinforces the main inherent limitation of this study – it's an analysis of data from observational studies, which are unable to prove that animal protein intake has directly and independently led to an increased risk of death. The authors attempted to control for various potential health confounders. As they've demonstrated, some of them also had an influence on risk. But it's not possible to fully take account of or rule out the influence of all unhealthy lifestyle factors. The results may not be generalisable to the general population for several reasons. The two cohort studies only included health professionals, who may be more health conscious as a result of their jobs. There was not an even gender representation, as roughly two-thirds of participants were...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Lifestyle/exercise Source Type: news