Tip The Unexpected Effect of High-Protein Diets Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness EatingSupplements Tip The Unexpected Effect of High-Protein Diets Research shows that protein does more than just help with muscle growth Check it out by TC Luoma August 20, 2017January 3, 2022 Tags Carb Control, Insulin Sensitivity, Nutrition & Supplements, Protein, Tips Protein and Peckerheads If you lift weights, you've no doubt spent far too much time fending off the well-meaning advice of friends, family members, and peckerhead bloggers who wag their fingers at you while telling you that you're ruining your health by eating too much protein. These same people, if they're feeling particularly priggish, might also tell you that weight lifting isn't the greatest of exercises and that maybe you should ride a stationary bike in a roomful of like-minded idiots while some aspiring cult leader urges you to test the limits of your ventricle walls. In the past, you had two choices as to how to respond. You could either ignore them, or give them the ol' Italian fongool with the requisite forearm gesture. Now you've got a third option. You can show them the results of a study that showed that weight lifting in combination with a high-protein diet dramatically improves health. Korean researchers recruited 18 twenty-something men who'd never lifted weights. They split them into two equal groups. Each group undertook a 12-week lifting program where they used weights that were approximately 60 to 80 percent of their 1RM. One group ate a standard diet of 60% carbs, 15% protein, and 25% fat. The second group ate a protein-rich diet comprised of 55% carbs, 30% protein, and 15% fat. Both groups, however, took in the same amount of calories. After 12 weeks, the high protein lifters had the following results: Gains in lean body mass Dramatically increased levels of growth hormone Increases in serum levels of testosterone Reduced body fat percentages The standard diet group, however, experienced no significant changes in the above parameters. You probably could have guessed all that, but the high protein group also experienced improvements in a couple of health parameters that the standard diet group didn't experience: Greatly increased insulin sensitivity Improved cholesterol ratios (higher HDL levels) The researchers concluded "...these findings suggest that there are hormonal interactions to ameliorate body composition, metabolic profiles, and energy metabolism after a long term higher protein diet and resistance exercise." All of this means that your current dietary practices and exercise choices are correct. Carry on protein brothers and sisters, carry on. Kim HH1, et al. "Interactive effects of an isocaloric high-protein diet and resistance exercise on body composition, ghrelin, and metabolic and hormonal parameters in untrained young men: A randomized clinical trial." J Diabetes Investig. 2014 Mar 23;5(2):242-7. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Supplements Heart Health Supplements 5 Strategies You Don t Know You know how to eat and exercise to keep your ticker ticking, but which heart health supplements really work? Here's the science. Magnesium, Nutrition & Supplements, Super Health, Testosterone Optimization TC Luoma November 12 Supplements Can Fruits and Veggies Help You Build Muscle A powdered fruit and vegetable blend helped lab animals build a lot of muscle, get stronger, and get faster. Can it work for you? Info here. Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements TC Luoma February 25 Supplements Beta-Alanine Creatine s Longer-Lasting Cousin This amino acid does what creatine can't – it prolongs muscle performance in activities that last longer than 60 seconds. Nutrition & Supplements TC Luoma September 23 Eating The 10 Dumbest Diet Myths Don't believe the hype! Have you fallen for one of these dietary acts of idiocy? Dietary Myth Busting, Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements TC Luoma December 8