Marinated chickpeas in New York on June 6, 2023.RYAN LIEBE/The New York Times News Service
Protein plays a key role in healthy aging.
The vital nutrient is needed to maintain strong bones, preserve muscle strength and physical mobility and support the immune system.
Research has also hinted that getting enough protein helps maintain cognitive function in older age.
Not all types of dietary protein are considered equal, though.
New research from Tufts University and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health gives plant protein top marks when it comes to healthy aging.
According to the findings, women who ate more plant protein in their 40s and 50s increased their odds of aging healthily. Here’s what to know.
Midlife protein intake and healthy aging
Past studies have linked higher intakes of plant protein in older age to protection against muscle loss, hip fracture and frailty.
The latest research, however, is unique in that it examined the relationship between protein consumption in midlife and indicators of healthy aging three decades later.
For the study, researchers analyzed diet and health information from 48,762 participants of the Nurses’ Health Study collected from 1984 to 2016. In 1984, women were between the ages of 38 and 59 and in good health. (The Nurses’ Health Study, established in 1976, is one of the largest investigations into risk factors for chronic diseases in women.)
Dietary data, obtained every four years, was used to calculate participants’ intakes of total protein, animal protein, dairy protein and plant protein. Protein intakes were very consistent across the 32-year follow up period.
Healthy aging, assessed in 2016, was defined as being free from 11 major chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure and cancer (except skin), having no impairment in memory or physical function and being in good mental health.
Participants who did not meet this healthy aging definition, or who died before 2016, were considered usual agers.
Plant protein deemed healthy aging winner
Consuming an additional 12 to 15 g of plant protein per day in midlife was associated with a 46-per-cent greater likelihood of healthy aging. Increasing plant protein further provided additional benefits.
For perspective, you’ll find 12 to 15 g of plant protein in three-quarters of a cup of lentils, 85 g of extra firm tofu, one half-cup of almonds, 12 ounces of soy milk and 1.5 cups of cooked quinoa.
On the other hand, a 12 to 15 g increase in animal protein per day (e.g., 1.5 ounces of chicken or beef) was tied to 6 per cent lower odds of aging healthily.
Protein from dairy products was not significantly associated with healthy aging.
To arrive at these finding, the researchers controlled for numerous potential risk factors including age, education, smoking status, alcohol intake, physical activity and total calorie intake.
The study was observational and therefore doesn’t prove that eating plant protein helps with healthy aging.
Even so, the study’s large sample size and very long duration add confidence to the findings.
The study population included mostly white females. It’s unknown if these associations hold up in males, ethnically-diverse populations or in groups that eat a mainly plant-based diet.
How plant protein may protect
Dietary protein stimulates muscle protein synthesis, a process that becomes blunted when older. Increasing muscle protein synthesis is associated with improved physical function in older adults. (Resistance training is the most potent stimulus of muscle protein synthesis.)
Plant protein has also been tied to favourable levels of risk factors for chronic disease, including reduced LDL cholesterol, lower blood pressure, improved insulin sensitivity and decreased inflammation.
It’s also possible that dietary components other than plant protein play a role in healthy aging. Fibre and protective phytochemicals, found in plant foods but not animal foods, may have contributed to the strong protective effects of plant protein.
Plant protein dietary swaps
To sneak more plant protein into your diet, sub out refined grains, animal protein and/or unhealthy fats for plant-based options.
For example, replace white pasta with pasta made from chickpeas, lentils, black beans or edamame. You’ll get 20 g of protein per 1.5 cups cooked.
Replace half the meat or chicken in your next stir-fry with shelled edamame, firm tofu or cashews.
Swap white rice for a higher protein whole grain such as farro, bulgur or quinoa. Each supplies 8 g of protein per one cup cooked.
Instead of spreading butter or cream cheese on your toast, try a nut or seed butter made from peanuts, almonds, cashews or pumpkin seeds. You’ll find 6 to 7 g of plant protein in two tablespoons.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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