A September 2022 study by Harvard Medical School said,
“The study showed that cutting protein intake to 0.8 g per kg of body weight was sufficient to achieve almost the same clinical results as restricting calories, but without the need to reduce calorie intake. The results suggest that protein restriction may be one of the key factors leading to the known benefits of dietary restriction. Protein restriction dieting may therefore be a more attractive nutritional strategy and easier to follow for people with metabolic syndrome,”
“After 27 days of monitoring, both groups had similar results in terms of lower blood sugar, weight loss, controlled blood pressure, and lower levels of triglycerides and cholesterol. Both diets improved insulin sensitivity after treatment. Body fat decreased, as did waist and hip circumference, but without loss of muscle mass,”
“Here, however, we succeeded in conducting a fully controlled randomized clinical trial lasting 27 days, with a personalized menu designed to meet each patient’s needs,”
“We demonstrated that protein restriction reduces body fat while maintaining muscle mass. That’s important since the weight loss resulting from restrictive diets is often associated with loss of muscle mass,”
“We only have hypotheses so far. One is that molecular pathways are activated to interpret the reduction in essential amino acids as being a signal to reduce food intake while leading to the production of hormones that typically increase when we’re fasting,”
“Studies in animal models have shown the involvement of such pathways in the effects of both protein and calorie restriction, both of which lead to fat loss.”
“Nevertheless, it’s tempting to extrapolate the results. We know research has shown vegan diets to be positive for cases of metabolic syndrome. It’s also been found that the excessive protein intake common in the standard Western diet can be a problem. Every case should be analyzed on its own merits. We shouldn’t forget protein deficiency can lead to severe health problems, as has been well-described in pregnant women, for example,”