Recently I came across a fascinating study that highlights the benefits of a protein-rich diet, particularly one high in plant protein for women as they age.
Researchers analyzed data from over 48,000 women and found that increasing plant protein intake by just 3% was linked to a 38% higher chance of healthy aging. This translates to fewer chronic diseases, better physical mobility, and less cognitive decline.
The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, also noted that plant protein specifically was associated with improved mental health and memory, according to lead author Andres Ardisson Korat from Tufts University.
This study was released around the same time as the film “You Are What You Eat,” which advocates for a vegan diet. However, it’s worth mentioning that the film is backed by investors in Beyond Meat and advocates for climate change. It’s always a good idea to “follow the money” to understand the motivations behind such endorsements.
Both the study and the film stress the importance of protein but don’t thoroughly address what people are replacing in their diets and what health markers are being assessed.
For instance, the emphasis on LDL cholesterol has been questioned as not being directly linked to heart disease. The study only lasted eight weeks, and anyone switching from the Standard American Diet to a vegan diet is likely to feel better initially. This improvement is often due to the reduction of processed foods loaded with artificial sweeteners, fructose, emulsifiers, and GMOs, which can cause insulin resistance and inflammation. When these harmful foods are replaced with a healthier diet, even a vegan one, chronic diseases, insulin resistance, and inflammation tend to improve. However, many people on a vegan diet feel great for the first six months until their bodies start craving essential nutrients and complete proteins only found in animal protein sources.
While plants do provide high-quality carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, our modern crops are so nutrient-depleted that it takes about 50 peaches today to equal the nutrients in one peach from 1950.
Not all proteins are created equal.
Conventionally raised beef and chicken often contain GMOs, corn, soy, and other inflammatory foods, which contribute to insulin resistance and chronic disease. Even vegan sources can be incomplete.
The studies underline the importance of protein for women, who often worry that protein will cause weight gain. On the contrary, a high-protein diet can help with insulin resistance, fatty liver, inflammation, and overall longevity.
Muscle mass, which is linked to longevity, requires high-quality protein to build effectively. But the type of protein you consume is key.
Protein is essential for a healthy metabolism for several reasons. It provides the building blocks for muscles, tissues, organs, hair, and nails. It also helps burn fat by increasing caloric burn through the “Thermic Effect.” This process generates heat in the body, burning more calories depending on the type of calorie consumed.
Protein has a higher thermic effect than any other macronutrient, with the body using 25% of protein calories just through this heat-generating process. For every 100 calories of protein consumed, 25 calories are burned during digestion and heat production. Additionally, protein supplies the amino acid building blocks for maintaining lean muscle, which contains dense amounts of mitochondria and ATP, boosting fat burning simply by existing. However, not all proteins are equal in their fat-burning and muscle-building potential.
The Worst Sources of Protein
Vegan Proteins
Plant proteins can be tricky for muscle synthesis because they often lack the right ratios of amino acids needed for muscle growth. Imagine trying to build a bicycle with two handlebars, three wheels, and no seat—you can’t.
Similarly, if amino acids aren’t in the right ratios, the body can’t use them effectively for protein synthesis, and the “leftovers” get stored as fat instead of building muscle.
While plant foods like lentils, green peas, spinach, and broccoli are high in protein, they also contain compounds like lectins, oxalates, and sulfur that can cause gut inflammation, brain fog, water retention, hypothyroidism, and a slow metabolism.
In addition to the vegan diet not providing the optimal amino acids from protein, there are many reasons that it could derail a woman’s overall health. They include:
- Leaky Gut and Inflammation. Vegan diets often fall short in providing all necessary nutrients, and they can sometimes cause leaky gut and inflammation, impairing nutrient absorption. Many “healthy” vegan foods contain compounds like sulfur, oxalates, lectins, and mold, contributing to various health issues.
Sulfur: Sulfur, found in many vegan foods, medications, and supplements, needs to be metabolized by our body’s detox pathways. Ironically, sulfur-rich foods like kale and broccoli can lead to conditions such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, arthritis, and even mental health issues. What’s worse is they can inhibit protein absorption. High-sulfur foods include cruciferous vegetables, onions, garlic, and egg yolks. Even many vegan foods hailed as healthy contain these sulfuric ingredients.
Environmental toxins and gluten, often sprayed with glyphosate, can further disrupt sulfur metabolism. Symptoms of compromised sulfur metabolism include bloating, gas, nutrient malabsorption, allergies to sulfur-containing medications, reactions to garlic or eggs, asthma, joint pain, skin rashes, and neurological imbalances.
Oxalates: Oxalic acid, a naturally occurring molecule, binds to minerals like calcium and magnesium, forming oxalates. Found in foods like almonds, spinach, kale, nuts, berries, and chocolate, oxalates can cause thyroid disease, kidney stones, arthritis, and more. They can clog detox pathways, leading to gut issues, protein malabsorption, and dysbiosis.
Lectins: Lectins disrupt digestion and weaken the immune system by creating tiny holes in the intestinal walls, leading to leaky gut and systemic inflammation. This can damage internal organs and joint tissues and contribute to protein malabsorption and autoimmune disorders. Foods high in lectins include nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, potatoes), beans, certain fruits (zucchini, pumpkins, melons), grains (wheat, oats, quinoa, rye), corn, dairy from A-1 cows, some nuts and seeds, and various oils.
Mold: Many vegan foods are prone to mold, which can lead to inflammation, liver issues, and allergies. Foods at risk include peas, grapes, mushrooms, cantaloupe, beans, corn, peanuts, and sesame seeds.
Nutritional Deficiencies: Vegan diets can lack essential nutrients like magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, selenium, vitamins A, B6, B12, D, E, niacin, and folate. Due to soil depletion, today’s crops are far less nutritious than those from decades ago. Plant antinutrients further reduce the bioavailability of these nutrients, with oxalates binding to minerals and phytates blocking the absorption of critical nutrients like calcium, iron, and zinc. For example, replacing meat with plant foods can halve zinc absorption, and vegetarians may need to increase dietary iron intake by 80% due to lower bioavailability.
Constant Hunger: The hormone CCK, which signals satiety, is triggered only by amino acids from animal protein and omega-3 fatty acids, not by vegan foods. This can lead to constant hunger and overeating.
Increased Insulin Resistance: A vegan diet often requires consuming large amounts of carbs to get enough protein, which can lead to insulin resistance. This can result in inflammation, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hormonal imbalances, and other metabolic diseases.
Hormonal Imbalances: Estrogen dominance can result from insulin resistance, excess carb consumption, pesticides on GMO crops, inflammatory grains, leaky gut, and compromised detoxification pathways—all potential issues with a vegan diet.
Hypothyroidism and Slow Metabolism: Thyroid health depends on amino acids and iodine, which are often lacking in vegan diets. Oxalates from vegan sources can also clog thyroid receptor sites, impairing thyroid function and slowing metabolism.
Weight Gain: As insulin resistance and hormonal imbalances increase, weight gain often follows. Without proper amino acids, iodine, and other nutrients, a vegan diet can lead to hypothyroidism and weight gain.
Hair Loss and Dry Skin: Low protein, B vitamins, magnesium, and other nutrients, combined with low thyroid function and increased toxicity, can cause hair loss and dry skin—common issues among long-term vegans.
Bloat and Constipation: Vegan foods high in sulfur, oxalates, lectins, and mold can cause bloat, leaky gut, and constipation. Constipation can lead to reabsorption of toxins, worsening bloat, weight gain, inflammation, and hormonal imbalances.
Fatty Liver: Fatty liver disease is caused by high consumption of glucose, fructose, and hydrogenated oils—not dietary fat. It is common among those with metabolic syndrome and can inhibit the liver’s ability to detoxify, leading to a cascade of health issues.
Supplements to Help Protein Synthesis and Longevity
Acceleradine® Iodine
Essential for Addressing Iodine Deficiency, Acceleradine® Iodine is a game-changer for tackling the widespread issue of iodine deficiency, which affects 96% of the U.S. population. This deficiency severely hampers protein synthesis and mitochondrial function, reducing ATP production from the ideal 36 to a mere 2. This leads to a sluggish metabolism and weight gain.
Benefits of Iodine:
- Improved Protein Synthesis: Iodine is needed to help the body synthesize and use the amino acids in the body.
- Optimal Thyroid Function: Iodine is critical for thyroid health and necessary for producing thyroid hormones T2, T3, and T4. Modern diets fall short, and even iodized salt doesn’t provide enough, and it risks mineral depletion and microplastic contamination.
- Boosts ATP Production: By significantly increasing ATP production in mitochondria, iodine helps increase energy levels, supporting a more active metabolism.
- Cellular Detoxification: Iodine helps detoxify cells from heavy metals, toxins, and radiation that hinder metabolism and weight loss.
- Displaces Harmful Substances: Iodine effectively removes harmful substances like fluoride, chlorine, and bromide from cells, which are known to contribute to hypothyroidism and a sluggish metabolism.
- Prevents Toxic Overload: With high-dose administration, iodine prevents new toxins from binding to cells’ receptor sites, protecting against negative effects.
- Mitigates Spike Protein Damage: It may alleviate damage caused by the spike protein, which is linked to metabolic slowdowns and weight gain.
Blood Cleansing and Hormonal Balance: Iodine aids in cleansing the blood and supporting liver detoxification, helping to eliminate toxins linked to weight gain. It also helps regulate estrogen, promoting hormonal balance and reducing estrogen dominance.
Accelerated Fast®
Accelerated Thyroid®
- Eliminate Emotional and Physical Shock: Helps clear emotional and physical shock from your body, promoting holistic well-being.
- Restore Thyroid Health: Supports the overall health and function of your thyroid gland.
- Enhance Detoxification: Facilitates detoxification from halogens, heavy metals, and radiation, further strengthening your thyroid health.
- Maintain Balance: Keeps your thyroid and parathyroid glands balanced, ensuring overall hormonal equilibrium.
- Preventing Fatty Liver: Supports metabolism and aids in weight loss.
- Accelerating Wound Healing: Promotes faster recovery.
- Strengthening Connective Tissue and Bones: Enhances structural integrity.
- Elevating Mood: Boosts your overall outlook.
- Improving Digestion: Optimizes nutrient absorption.
- Enhancing B12 Production: Supports overall health and vitality.
While more research is needed to fully understand the complex relationship between protein intake and women’s health, the growing body of evidence suggests that protein may play a crucial role in preventing chronic diseases. By incorporating protein-rich foods into their diets, women can potentially reduce their risk of conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis.
However, it’s important to consult with a healthcare professional to determine the optimal protein intake for individual needs and to ensure a balanced diet that includes a variety of nutrients. As research continues to evolve, women can look forward to a future where protein plays an even more significant role in safeguarding their health and well-being.
Sara Banta
Sara Banta is a Stanford University Graduate with a Degree in Economics and Psychology, and a certified Natural Supplement Expert & Graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Sara is the Founder of Accelerated Health Products and host of the health & wellness podcast, Accelerated Health Radio.
