Protein: eat less to live longer, but less protein means fewer children

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 18 February 2008 07:53

Science - Health

According to the USYD statement, new techniques developed by Professor Simpson and Professor David Raubenheimer (Auckland), the team “showed in the fruit fly that calorie restriction is not responsible for extending lifespan: rather the balance of protein to carbohydrate in the diet was critical”.

Professor Simpson said that: "Flies lived longest when the diet contained a low percentage of protein, and died sooner the more protein they consumed. But protein is needed for reproduction - so flies are faced with a conundrum: eat less protein and live longer, or eat more protein and lay more eggs?"

So, Professor Simpson said his team 'asked' the flies what they preferred.

Simpson said that: "When offered a choice, flies behaved like nutrient-seeking missiles, unerringly mixing a relatively high protein diet that maximised their lifetime egg production. In other words, flies preferred to achieve maximum evolutionary fitness rather than live as long as possible."

Simpson continued that: "In demonstrating the role protein plays in determining both lifespan and reproduction, my co-authors and I have united a body of apparently conflicting work within a common framework and provided a new platform for studying ageing in all organisms”.

The USYD statement notes that the research has just been published online in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America), although a thorough search of the PNAS site uncovered no link to the online study, however we have no reason to disbelieve the University of Sydney.

While there has been no response from the world’s meat, livestock and other protein industries, we can only wonder what they make of the statement that eating less protein means a longer life, and would nevertheless probably continuing to urge us all to ‘Feed the Man... Meat!”.