High protein diet good for you? Some answers to common questions.

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Does a High-Protein Diet Lead to Bone Loss?
Let’s talk about the high protein diet, ingested by most Americans, but also popular with athletes and bodybuilders. A high protein diet combined with intensive resistance training builds muscle. But if you’re sedentary and already sick, there are also consequences of too much protein.

In a recent paper from France, a country noted for rich foods and healthy people, the high protein diet was evaluated in order to separate fact from myth.

• Myth: Too much protein influences calcium metabolism and can have a negative impact on bone health.
• Fact: No clinical research supports the hypothesis that a high protein diet has a detrimental effect on bone mineralization.

Bodybuilders, as a group, don’t have more osteoporosis than those on a low protein diet. In fact, my clinical experience shows that those eating a low protein, high plant-based diet have a higher incidence of osteoporosis. A low protein diet increases the levels of parathyroid hormone, which leads to less intestinal calcium absorption. It appears that low protein–induced changes in calcium metabolism are detrimental to bone health, where as high protein is not the cause of osteoporosis.

Long-term high-protein intake increases bone mineral density and reduces bone fracture incidence. The beneficial effects of protein, including increased intestinal calcium absorption and higher IGF-I levels, while lowering serum parathyroid hormone, offsets any negative effects of the acid load of protein on bone health. The research agrees: High protein intake promotes bone growth and retards bone loss, while a low-protein diet is associated with higher risk of hip fractures.

Does a High-Protein Diet Increase the Risk of Kidney Disease?

• Myth: High protein causes low pH due to increased urinary acid, which accelerates calcium excretion and may cause kidney disease.
• Fact: Too much protein does cause increased urinary acidity, but there is no data to support the concern that it causes kidney problems, except in people with existing disorders of calcium metabolism or kidney disease.

Diet can modulate kidney function, including filtration rate. High protein increases plasma concentration of uric acid and calcium, but the kidney still clears creatinine, urea, and albumin with ease. It appears that high protein intake does not impair kidney function in well-trained athletes and even in normal, healthy subjects. In fact, studies suggest that hyperfiltration in response to various physiological stimuli, including a high protein diet, is a normal physiologic adaptive mechanism.

Bottom Line
You have to have a sufficient amount of amino acids from biologically efficient protein sources to survive and thrive. The role of protein in the body is more complex than previously thought. It depends on many dietary factors and the presence of adequate nutrients in the diet, as well as exercise, and the existence of previous disease. Balance is the rule. For example, if you increase your protein intake above and beyond normal levels—as during intensive weight training—you need to take a calcium and magnesium supplements.

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Source:
Calvez J, Poupin N, Chesneau C, Lassale C, Tomé D, “Protein intake, calcium balance and health consequences.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2012 Mar:66 (3): 281–295; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2011.196; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22127335.