Low Protein Intake is Associated with a Major Reduction in IGF-1, Cancer, and Overall Mortality in the 65 and Younger but Not Older Population

By M. Levine, Jorge A. Suarez, Sebastian Brandhorst, Priya Balasubramanian, Chia-Wei Cheng, F. Madia, Luigi Fontana, M. Mirisola, J. Guevara-Aguirre, J. Wan and 5 more. Cell Metabolism, 2014

822 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Summary Mice and humans with Growth Hormone Receptor/IGF-1 deficiencies display major reductions in age-related diseases. Because protein restriction reduces GHR-IGF-1 activity, we examined links between protein intake and mortality. Respondents (n=6,381) aged 50–65 reporting high protein intake had a 75% increase in overall mortality and a 4-fold increase in cancer and diabetes mortality during an 18 year follow up period. These associations were either abolished or attenuated if the source of proteins was plant-based. Conversely, in respondents over age 65, high protein intake was associated with reduced cancer and overall mortality. Mouse studies confirmed the effect of high protein intake and the GHR-IGF-1 axis on the incidence and progression of breast and melanoma tumors, and also the detrimental effects of a low protein diet in the very old. These results suggest that low protein intake during middle age followed by moderate protein consumption in old subjects may optimize healthspan and longevity.

Subfields: Cell Biology, Physiology, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2b0d7bbcb29edccce90eb6798d644a79c53a982a

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In Cell Biology

1. L. Galluzzi
2. Guido Kroemer
3. Jason W. Locasale

In Physiology

1. L. Galluzzi
2. Guido Kroemer
3. Brian K. Kennedy
4. V. Longo
5. C. López‐Otín
6. V. Schirrmacher
7. D. Avers

In Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

1. Guido Kroemer
2. L. Galluzzi
3. V. Longo

Citations in the corpus

• Protein intake and exercise for optimal muscle function with aging: Recommendations from the ESPEN Expert Group (2014, background): “Results of a recent study showed that low dietary protein intake can help prevent cancer and other diseases in young adults, while older adults need high protein intake to sustain healthy aging and longevity [88].”
• A periodic diet that mimics fasting promotes multi-system regeneration, enhanced cognitive performance and healthspan (2015, result): “Cell Metabolism 22, 4 days) low-calorie and low-protein diet may be preferable to continue to provide beneficial effects while minimizing malnourishment, in agreement with our recent work demonstrating opposite roles of high protein intake on health/mortality in mice and humans of middle to old and ”
• Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet: Metabolic and Molecular Mechanisms (2018, neutral): “These associations were either eliminated or diminished if people were consuming plant-based proteins (75).”
• Histone Methylation Dynamics and Gene Regulation Occur through the Sensing of One-Carbon Metabolism (2015, background): “dard practice in clinical nutrition (Levine et al., 2014) across a cohort of healthy human subjects.”
• Metabolic Control of Longevity. (2016, background): “Selective protein restriction leads to a reduction in serum IGF1 levels in humans aged 50–65 years, an effect that is associated with a reduced incidence of cancer and all-cause mortality (Levine et al., 2014).”