High Protein diets increase
the amount of an amino acid leucine in the diet.
A diet with plenty of high-quality protein may
promote weight loss by increasing the amount of leucine, an amino acid, in the
diet. In turn, this will help a person to reduce body fat and maintain muscle
mass during weight loss. Muscle mass is an important part of weight loss, as it
helps the body to burn more calories.
The study involved 24 middle-aged, overweight
women who consumed diets of 1,700 calories a day for 10 weeks.
The control group ate about 0.36 grams of protein
and 1.3 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight per day, in accordance
with the USDA Food Guide Pyramid.
The study group participants ate a diet higher in
protein and lower in carbohydrates, specifically about 0.73 grams of protein per
pound of body weight per day and 0.95 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body
weight per day. Their diets included high quality proteins, which provided the
optimal level of leucine, which has been shown to be a regulator of muscle.
Though some amino acids are made by the body,
leucine is not produced naturally and must be consumed through food. Primary
sources of leucine include high-quality protein foods such as beef, dairy
products, poultry, fish and eggs.
Each day, study group participants ate nine to 10
ounces of meat, of which at least seven per week were beef, three servings of
low-fat milk or cheese, and a minimum of five servings of vegetables. They also
ate two servings of fruit and four servings of grains, pasta and rice.
Both diet groups lost about 16 pounds, but the
study group who followed the moderately high-protein diet lost two pounds more
of body fat and maintained one pound more of muscle mass than the control group.
Researchers say that the results challenge the
conventional approach of consuming low-fat foods for weight loss. While
nutrition experts have voiced concern about high-protein diets because of
saturated fat and cholesterol, the study group that consumed the moderately
high-protein diet lost fat and maintained muscles. Both groups had improvements
in total blood cholesterol levels, however the protein group also had decreased
triglyceride levels.
Moreover, women on the higher protein diet
reported being less hungry between meals and had more stable blood glucose
levels and reduced insulin response following meals than women following the
traditional diet.
Researchers plan to conduct a long-term study to
further investigate the role of leucine in metabolic control.
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