Excess protein intake ‘can be as damaging to health as smoking’

A new study from the University of Southern California has raised concerns that eating too much meat and cheese can put a person at risk of negative health outcomes later in life.

The research tracked a large sample of 6,318 adults for nearly two decades, finding that eating a diet rich in animal proteins during middle age can make people twice as likely to die early – and four times more likely to die of cancer – than someone with a low-protein diet.

This increased mortality risk is comparable to that caused by smoking. Protein-lovers were also shown to be 74 percent more likely to die of any cause and several times more likely to die of diabetes than their low-protein counterparts.

However, the study also revealed that moderate protein intake is good for people over the age of 65, suggesting diets need to be carefully modulated and adjusted according to age.

Valter Longo, professor of biogerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology, said: "Almost everyone is going to have a cancer cell or pre-cancer cell in them at some point. The question is: Does it progress?. Turns out one of the major factors in determining if it does is is protein intake."