Nutritional Article Archive

This section of wac.net contains nutrition articles and information which have appeared in WAC Magazine. Click the titles at left to navigate through our library. Happy reading!

Higher Protein Intake Shows Promise

By Shana Hopkins, MS, WAC Nutritionist

Are you wondering where the science is to back up a higher-protein diet?

This month The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that a diet higher in protein (27% energy as protein, 44% carbohydrate, 29% fat) had positive effects in overweight men and women who also were hyperinsulinemic, meaning that they over-produce insulin to try to balance the carbohydrate entering their bodies. This diet was compared to a standard lowfat diet, which contained 16% energy as protein, 57% as carbohydrate and 27% as fat.

Each group followed one of the two diets for 12 weeks. Though the composition of the diets varied, the calories were kept at the same deficit in order to achieve weight loss. Both groups lost the same amount of weight, however, women following the higher protein diet maintained more lean tissue at the end of the study. Also, both men and women on the higher protein diet reduced their blood triglycerides (an independent risk factor for heart disease) and achieved better blood sugar control than the group on the higher carbohydrate diet.

Another positive outcome of this study was that the higher protein diet did not have any adverse effects on bone turnover or calcium excretion.