Tweet
Josse AR et al. Increased consumption of dairy foods and protein during diet- and exercise-induced weight loss promotes fat mass loss and lean mass gain in overweight and obese pre-menopausal women.
J Nutr. 2011 Sep; 141(9):1626-34.
If you adhere to the Food Guide Pyramid or follow mainstream dietary, you know it's sacrilege to recommend that people consume more than 15% of their daily calories as protein. However, as more data supports higher-protein diets and their beneficial effects on everything from body composition and blood glucose control to support for persons with ADHD, sacrilege may become sacrosanct.
Consider a study that placed 90 overweight and obese adult women on either a low-dairy diet following the RDA for protein (15% of total calories as protein, and less than 2% of total calories from dairy products, respectively), an RDA protein level and moderate-dairy diet (7.5% of calories from dairy), or a high-protein (30%) and high-dairy diet (15%), in combination with daily exercise for 16 weeks. The results clearly support a higher protein and dairy diet for significant improvements in body composition.
Specifically, the high-protein and high-dairy diet significantly decreased fat mass and increased lean body mass better than the other groups.
Notably, only the high-protein and high-dairy group realized an increase in lean body mass, whereas the moderate-dairy and low-protein/low-dairy groups actually had no change or a significant reduction in lean mass.
The Bottom Line:
Eat your protein! High-protein, high-dairy diets - when combined with daily exercise - produce better results than low-protein, low-dairy diets for losing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass.
Practical Application:
If you're beginning a calorie-restricted exercise and diet program, consume 6-7 servings of low-fat dairy per day, and select your foods so that 30% of your total daily calories come from protein.
J Nutr. 2011 Sep; 141(9):1626-34.
If you adhere to the Food Guide Pyramid or follow mainstream dietary, you know it's sacrilege to recommend that people consume more than 15% of their daily calories as protein. However, as more data supports higher-protein diets and their beneficial effects on everything from body composition and blood glucose control to support for persons with ADHD, sacrilege may become sacrosanct.
Consider a study that placed 90 overweight and obese adult women on either a low-dairy diet following the RDA for protein (15% of total calories as protein, and less than 2% of total calories from dairy products, respectively), an RDA protein level and moderate-dairy diet (7.5% of calories from dairy), or a high-protein (30%) and high-dairy diet (15%), in combination with daily exercise for 16 weeks. The results clearly support a higher protein and dairy diet for significant improvements in body composition.
Specifically, the high-protein and high-dairy diet significantly decreased fat mass and increased lean body mass better than the other groups.
Notably, only the high-protein and high-dairy group realized an increase in lean body mass, whereas the moderate-dairy and low-protein/low-dairy groups actually had no change or a significant reduction in lean mass.
The Bottom Line:
Eat your protein! High-protein, high-dairy diets - when combined with daily exercise - produce better results than low-protein, low-dairy diets for losing body fat and increasing lean muscle mass.
Practical Application:
If you're beginning a calorie-restricted exercise and diet program, consume 6-7 servings of low-fat dairy per day, and select your foods so that 30% of your total daily calories come from protein.
Comment