High Protein Diets Linked With Increased Cancer And Death Risks

Those who consume the greatest amounts of meat and cheese may be at an increased risk for cancer, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Southern California.

Researchers followed 6,000 adults over the age of 50 for at least eighteen years. They 

examined through subsets including one that consumed at least twenty percent of their daily calories from proteins, those who consumed 10 to 20 percent of their calories from proteins and those who consumed less than 10 percent.

Overall, they found that those in the highest category were four times more likely to die of cancer and 74 percent more likely to die of any cause than those in the other categories. After cutting protein intake in the study pool the researchers observed sharp declines in cancer and death indicators.

"The effects we saw were about as good as we imagined," the researchers said. "We saw a big difference with low protein intake and reduction in overall mortality, cancer and diabetes."