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Protein and Heart Disease

Why is the intake of animal protein associated with heart disease–even independent of saturated fat—and the intake of plant protein protective?

November 9, 2012 |
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Supplementary Info

Protein and Heart Disease, 4.9 out of 5 based on 9 ratings

Sources Cited

Preis SR, Stampfer MJ, Spiegelman D, Willett WC, Rimm EB. Dietary protein and risk of ischemic heart disease in middle-aged men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Nov;92(5):1265-72.

Stamler J, Brown IJ, Daviglus ML, Chan Q, Kesteloot H, Ueshima H, Zhao L, Elliott P; INTERMAP Research Group. Glutamic acid, the main dietary amino acid, and blood pressure: the INTERMAP Study (International Collaborative Study of Macronutrients, Micronutrients and Blood Pressure). Circulation. 2009 Jul 21;120(3):221-8.

Acknowledgements

Images thanks to: National Human Genome Research Institute, Bludgeoner86, and This Girl Lel.

Transcript

We know that the quality and quantity of fat is tightly correlated with the risk of our number one killer, heart disease, but what about protein? Out of Harvard recently: “Dietary protein and risk of ischemic heart disease in middle-aged men. Independent of source, and independent of fat, do you think total protein intake was associated with more heart disease, less heart disease, or no difference. And the answer they found was, no difference. The quantity didn’t seem to matter, but what about the quality? The source of the protein?

“We observed no association between [total] dietary protein and risk of total IHD in this group of men. However, higher intake of animal protein may be associated with an increased risk of ischemic heart disease in “healthy” men, meaning those without hypertension, high cholesterol or diabetes, healthy only in quotes though given their higher risk of heart disease due to their consumption of animal protein.

They also “observed a significant inverse association between higher vegetable protein intake and risk of fatal heart disease.” Meaning the more plants and less animals one eats would appear to be better for the heart even independent of the fat issue. So the benefits of a plant-based diet may extend beyond just avoiding saturated animal fat.

But isn’t protein just protein, though? How does your body know if it’s coming from a plant or an animal? Well, proteins are made of a string of amino acids, and the there are some amino acids more common in plants than in animals, particularly glutamic acid, which a study published in the journal of the American Heart Association was found, for example, to potentially “have independent blood pressure-lowering effects, which may contribute to the inverse relation of vegetable protein to blood pressure," meaning high plants, low pressure.

Their data “generally reinforce current recommendations for a high intake of vegetable products as a part of comprehensive nutritional/lifestyle approaches to preventing and controlling major established cardiovascular risk factors and epidemic cardiovascular disease.”

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by Kerry Skinner.

To help out on the site please email volunteer@nutritionfacts.org

Dr. Michael Greger

Doctor's Note

This is another reason plant protein is preferable. Cheaper too! See Eating Healthy on the Cheap. Beans specifically have been linked to lower blood pressure (Fill in the Blank). Other healthier sources of protein, such as nuts, also lower heart disease risk via a variety of mechanisms. See for example How Do Nuts Prevent Sudden Cardiac Death?). More landmark research for Harvard in Harvard's Meat and Mortality Studies and What Women Should Eat to Live Longer.

If you haven't yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here.

For more context, check out my associated blog post, Stool Size and Breast Cancer Risk.

  • Jan

    Thank you!

  • SJSMD

    So, do you think that saturated fat, as utilized in studies, is just a marker for animal protein intake? Reason I ask is the issue of cow’s milk ghee in Ayurveda. Has saturated fat, but no animal protein. Anecdotally, practitioners in India (no formal studies I could find) are reporting reversal of coronary artery blockage when patients move to an essentially vegan diet, but uses ghee instead of vegetable oils..

    Given that Ayurveda was geared towards the promotion of longevity, would be interested to hear your thoughts.

    • Joe B

      Just curious, not trying to be confrontational, but how does ghee NOT have animal protein if it is from cow milk? Thanks!

      • mollyhorn

        Since it is clarified (separated), the milk solids and moisture are removed, leaving only the fat part of the butter behind. The solids that are removed constitute the protein, whereas the fat contains, well… fat! :)

        Incidentally, ghee contains 8 mg of cholesterol per TEAspoon, according to Wikipedia. O_o

        • SJSMD

          Agreed. Also has a ton of Vitamin K2. I’m interested in looking at this a bit further, given the huge role ghee plays in a traditional Ayurvedic Diet. Ayurveda was geared towards promoting longevity, so I assume they would’t recommend an agent if it was disease causing. However, the mechanism needs to be clarified (no pun intended).

      • http://www.facebook.com/jayquasters Jay Quasters

        I was thinking the same. I can’t believe for example that coconut products would cause health problems.

        • Toxins

          coconut milk and oil are indeed unhealthy as they contain a very high saturated fat content.

          http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/is-coconut-milk-good-for-you/
          http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/is-coconut-oil-good-for-you/

          • http://www.facebook.com/bruce.swayze.3 Bruce Swayze

            Wrong. Sorry, that’s just plain wrong. Not all saturated fats are the same. Coconut oil does not contain the long-chain fats found in animal products or lard. Medium chain fatty acids, MCFA’s, are good for you. They don’t go into your fat cells, but straight to the liver where they are converted into energy (without sugars or carbs… good for diabetics). The health benefits of coconut oil are numerous, well researched, and documented. I don’t have room here to list them all, but you can find them. Do a little research. http://www.livestrong.com/article/261372-coconut-oil-nutrition-facts/

          • Toxins

            I prefer to rely on the available science rather than look at articles on the internet. What you are suggesting about coconut oil is false.

            Coconut oil does indeed contain medium chain fatty acids and this may be metabolized differently but there are very few studies to make the conclusion that coconut oil is “ok” or that medium chain saturated fats are negligible. A tablespoon of coconut oil has about 11.7 grams of saturated fat. about 8 grams of this is medium chain saturated fat and about 3.7 grams of this is long chain saturated fat. We have an abundance of evidence concluding that that long chain saturated fats are harmful so we cannot consider this oil a healthy option based on that alone.

            As far as minerals and vitamins go, there is not one
            significant vitamin or mineral in coconut oil. The only vitamin present in a tablespoon of coconut oil is .1 micrograms of vitamin k which does not even register as a percentage of daily value. Its also absent of any
            omega 3 fats. Just looking at coconut oils nutritional profile we see that it is clearly a junk food. Junk food is by definition empty calories.
            http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fats-and-oils/508/2

            The available science on the oil is limited and does not really support coconut oil as a “superfood”.

            The evidence to prove its health benefits are scant.

            Only 1 study on weight loss:

            Forty obese women cut their food intake by 200 calories a day and exercised four days a week. Half of them used two tablespoons of coconut oil (about 240 calories’ worth) every day in their cooking and half used soybean oil. After three months, both groups had lost the same amount of weight, about two pounds.
            http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19437058

            Only 1 poorly concluded study with very mixed results on alzheimers:

            Placebo and coconut oil consumers scored no different on a cognitive impairment test when the subjects were randomized. If they weren’t randomized (which could represent stacking up the placebo group with very sick
            patients) then the coconut fat consumers scored slightly better after 45 days in the study. After 90 days though everyone pretty much evened out in cognitive improvement which does not show any real gain.
            http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/6/1/31

            Only 1 old study done to “support” heart disease:

            “In the only study done in people in the last 17 years, Malaysian researchers last year found that when they fed young men and women 20 percent of their calories from coconut oil for five weeks, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol was 8 percent higher and HDL (“good”) cholesterol was 7
            percent higher than when the participants were fed 20 percent of their calories from olive oil”

            Just because Both bad cholesterol and good cholesterol went up does not mean that coconut oil is protective against heart disease and it does not at all mean its healthy. This doesn’t make good sense.
            http://www.ajcn.org/content/early/2011/10/26/ajcn.111.020107

            After looking through the livestrong article, the only support of evidence are opinions of a couple doctors from Oprah. The opinions of doctors do not count as science. The only study that the livestrong article posts is the one i discussed about weight loss which is not significant.

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Suzette-Rene/1635880801 Suzette Rene

            I do use coconut oil…….I love it!

      • SJSMD

        Mollyhorn gave a great answer…ghee is casein and lactose “free”

  • Ed

    Colin Campbell told us almost 8 years ago that a similar relationship between animal and plant protein exists in relation to cancer. This is more reason to avoid animal protein.

  • HemoDynamic, M.D.

    I love protein too, just plant protein. Just imagine how strong you can become eating plants and how healthy you’ll be.
    Look at the fantastic pic below of one of the greats Billy Simmonds.

  • HemoDynamic, M.D.

    Just like Windows 8. Have to change things up to keep me thinking. (Argh!) Please don’t start charging for your changes, I truly appreciate what you do, and all for FREE!

    • Jo

      Here, here! This website is a true public service!

  • http://twitter.com/KoopaKid Chocolate KenDoll

    Do you think soy (namely in the form of edamame beans, tempeh, or tofu) or quinoa would yield similar results since they are high quality proteins? Tofu also has a comparably higher amount of saturated fat for being a legume (food).

  • Harold Kyriazi

    Dr. Greger, this seems to imply that adding MSG to one’s meal of animal protein would make it more like plant protein, and possibly confer the benefit of lowering blood pressure. However, I suspect the amounts of MSG added to food in a typical Chinese restaurant, for example, would greatly exceed the proportion found in plant protein.

  • http://twitter.com/butterflyikway Mary Ellen Ryall

    I am happy to eat less meat or no meat at all. It’s been nearly half a year now. I question why nutrition studies are done on men only. Don’t women get heart disease too?

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