Also, at one time you brought up protein as very bad for health and increases aging. You gave us many articles from dieticians that explicitly stated the ill affects and consequences of aging quickly with protein; if people continue absorbing protein, when their bodies were past the ‘growing stages’. I noticed your position has noticeably softened since those days. Contrasting those views with the prevailing views at the time, was somewhat like adding gasoline to a flame that was being extinguished. The 🐄 cattle ranches in southern United States are raking in money with their endless encouragement to eat steak and potatoes 🥔 to get the old dead weight out of social security expenditures. It has taken Americans the length of our countries history to get beyond that. But now they have a new tactic, that attempts to cover up the extreme harm meat does to our bodies and spirit. They made fancy neon flashing signs on display at McDonalds,with someone holding a Big Mac taking a bite out of it as the blood seemingly drips from their mouths from the killings they are excitingly devouring. As though horror films can now be seen in short clips by the masses and enjoyed before supporting their sickening practices.
True enough Steve, you have a good memory. A few years ago I adhered to the idea that very little protein could be advantageous to health and longevity because protein and specifically some essential amino acid like leucine trigger the activity of the mTOR complex, a metabolic master switch which regulates anabolism and catabolism. When mTOR is little active, then autophagy and other mechanisms favorable to longevity are triggered.
The above is oversimplified. Too much protein can be deleterious but too little will result in loss of lean mass, or musculoskeletal tissue, or muscle mass. What I'm doing now is trying to eat the minimum amount of protein which will prevent loss of lean mass. This should be individually determined since there is not a single value valid for all, also considering the various degrees of activity we have.
Also protein per see does not govern the individual requirement, rather essential amino acids do, which cannot usually be synthesized by the body. For example, we may eat the minimum requirement for protein, but not eat the minimum requirement of each essential amino acid and that would mean trouble. That's why I studied the various indexes of protein quality and digestibility like the recent DIAAS score. I want to make sure that I'm eating a sufficient amount fo the essential amino acids.
Last, presently there are many researchers, including the anti-meat ones like Valte Longo, who underlined by epidemiological studies, that after growing older we require more protein because protein is less utilized and there is a drop in the hormone IGF-1, related to synthesis of muscle tissue. Also, there is a way around it if you lift weights regularly, since exercise triggers the release of the mechanogrowth factor MGF, which has the same signal role as the IGF-1 and requires only the mechanical stress of loading.
Sorry if I'm summarizing sometimes complex issues!
