Eat right, live longer: Could a moderate protein diet be the coveted
elixir of youth?
Researchers decode the correlation between dietary protein intake and
improved metabolic health in mice

Date:
May 31, 2023
Source:
Waseda University
Summary:
Consuming nutritious food can improve metabolic health and delay
aging.

But what are the appropriate quantities of dietary macronutrients
that can help achieve this? To answer this, researchers fed
isocaloric diets with varying amounts of protein to young and
middle-aged male mice. They found that the mice were metabolically
healthier when fed moderate- protein diets. These findings could
provide valuable insights into developing nutritional interventions
and improving metabolic health in people.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Consuming nutritious food can improve metabolic health and delay
aging. But what are the appropriate quantities of dietary macronutrients
that can help achieve this? To answer this, researchers from Japan fed isocaloric diets with varying amounts of protein to young and middle-aged
male mice. They found that the mice were metabolically healthier when fed moderate-protein diets. These findings could provide valuable insights
into developing nutritional interventions and improving metabolic health
in people.

As the proverb "You are what you eat" goes, the type of food we consume influences our health and longevity all through our lives. In fact, there
is a direct association between age-related nutritional requirements
and metabolic health. Optimal nutrition according to age can help
maintain metabolic health, thereby improving the health span (period
of life without diseases) and lifespan of an individual. Different
nutritional interventions involving varied calorie and protein
intake have been known to improve the health and lifespan of rodents
and primates. Furthermore, recent studies have also reported the
association of dietary macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates, fats)
with cardio-metabolic health and aging in mice. However, the amount of
protein that must be consumed to maintain metabolic health is not known.

In a new study published in GeroScience on April 28, 2023, a team of researchers led by Assistant Professor Yoshitaka Kondo from Waseda
University, Japan, investigated the amount of dietary protein needed to
improve metabolic health in mice approaching old age. The team, which also included Dr. Takuya Chiba, Faculty of Human Sciences, Waseda University,
Dr. Akihito Ishigami, Molecular Regulation of Aging, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Dr. Hitoshi Aoki, Research and Development Division, Nichirei Foods Inc, and Dr. Shin-Ichiro Takahashi, Department of Animal Sciences and Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate
School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo. They
recruited young (6 months old) and middle- aged (16 months old) male
C57BL/6NCr mice who were fed isocaloric diets with varying protein
content (5 to 45 %) for two months. After two months, the effect of
varying protein diets was assessed based on measurements of skeletal
muscle weight, liver and plasma lipid profiles, and self-organizing map
(SOM) cluster analysis of plasma amino acid profiles.

When asked about the motivation behind their study, Kondo explains,
"The optimal balance of macronutrients for ideal health outcomes may
vary across different life stages. Previous studies show the possibility
of minimizing age- specific mortality throughout life by changing the
ratio of dietary protein to carbohydrates during approach to old age
in mice. However, the amount of protein that should be consumed to
maintain metabolic health while approaching old age is still unclear."
The team observed that the consumption of a low-protein diet led to
the development of mild fatty liver, with increased levels of hepatic
lipids in middle-aged mice as compared to young mice. In contrast, a moderate-protein diet led to reduced blood glucose concentrations and
lipid levels in both liver and plasma. These findings indicate that a moderate-protein diet (25% and 35%) kept both young and middle-aged mice metabolically healthier.

On examining the effect of varying protein diets on plasma amino acid concentrations in mice of both age groups, the researchers observed
that the plasma concentration of individual amino acids varied with age
and varying dietary protein content. This was further validated using
SOM analysis of the plasma amino acids. Furthermore, the plasma amino
acid profiles revealed using SOM analysis showed the correlation between different protein intake and the varying amounts of hepatic triglycerides
and cholesterol levels.

Discussing the impact of their study on public health, Kondo remarks,
"Protein requirements change through the course of life, being higher
in younger reproductive mice, reducing through middle age, and rising
again in older mice as protein efficiency declines. The same pattern
is likely to be observed in humans. Therefore, it could be assumed that increasing daily protein intake in meals could promote metabolic health
of people. Moreover, ideal dietary macronutrient balance at each life
stage could also extend health span." In conclusion, a balanced diet with moderate amounts of protein could be the key to a long and healthy life.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Health_&_Medicine
# Nutrition # Healthy_Aging # Diet_and_Weight_Loss #
Fitness
o Plants_&_Animals
# Mice # Genetics # Cell_Biology # Molecular_Biology
* RELATED_TERMS
o Calorie_restricted_diet o Low-carb_diets o Dieting o
Soy_protein o Atkins_Diet o Mediterranean_diet o Nutrition
o Vitamin

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Waseda_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Yoshitaka Kondo, Hitoshi Aoki, Masato Masuda, Hiroki Nishi,
Yoshihiro
Noda, Fumihiko Hakuno, Shin-Ichiro Takahashi, Takuya Chiba, Akihito
Ishigami. Moderate protein intake percentage in mice for maintaining
metabolic health during approach to old age. GeroScience, 2023;
DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-00797-3 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230531101947.htm

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