All-cause mortality rates - high vs. low animal protein diets
A major study was just published in the Annals of Internal Medicine from Harvard. In approximately 85,000 women who were followed for 26 years and 45,000 men who were followed for 20 years, researchers found that all-cause mortality rates were increased in both men and women who were eating a low-carbohydrate “Atkins” diet based on animal protein. However, all-cause mortality rates as well as cardiovascular mortality rates were decreased in those eating a plant-based diet low in animal protein and low in refined carbohydrates.
It is important to look at many actual measures of disease, including mortality, not just risk factors such as HDL cholesterol when considering a lifestyle change to a popular diet such as an Atkins diet. This is the first study that has examined mortality rates in those consuming an Atkins diet, and it confirms what many people have been mentioning, “a diet high in animal protein and fat, such as an Atkins diet, is not healthful and may shorten your lifespan.”
