AI Summary
5 min readProtein-Maxxing: Is It Actually Bad For Us?
When Science Vs producer Rose Rimler confessed to her colleague Wendy Zuckerman that she had started adding protein powder to her yogurt, it felt like a vulnerable moment. "Wow, I can't believe you share something so personal," Zuckerman deadpanned. But Rimler's confession is hardly unique—protein is everywhere these days, from lattes to popcorn to cottage cheese flying off shelves. Polls show people are actively trying to get more protein into their diets, and some are going hard with "protein maxing." Then came the headlines that turned everything upside down: "New research is challenging the high protein craze." Decades of data, animal studies, and human research asking whether eating less protein could help you live longer. So which is it—should we be protein maxing or protein mining?
The Case for Protein Restriction
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **The Protein Craze and a New Challenge** - Host Wendy Zuckerman introduces the episode and the recent headlines questioning the high-protein trend.
- 2 (03:19) **The Scientist Behind the Headlines** - Senior producer Rose Rimler introduces aging biologist Professor Dudley Lamming, author of a recent review paper on protein restriction.
- 3 (06:49) **Animal Evidence for Protein Restriction** - The core animal data showing protein restriction extends lifespan in multiple species.
- 4 (07:55) **The Human Evidence: A Small Study** - Details of a short-term human trial on protein restriction.
- 5 (10:20) **The Proposed Mechanism: Brown Fat and FGF21** - How protein restriction might work in the body.
- 6 (12:38) **The Second Mechanism: mTOR and Autophagy** - Another longevity pathway linked to protein restriction.
- 7 (14:11) **The Counter-Argument: The Danger of Protein Restriction** - Exercise physiologist Dr. Stuart Phillips pushes back on the protein-mining headlines.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Protein is everywhere — tons of us are trying to cram more of it into our diets, and it's showing up in our lattes, our snack bars, even our popcorn. But just as we’re getting on board with protein-maxxing, a bunch of headlines have started saying the opposite: that eating LESS protein could actually help you live longer. So what's going on here?? Should we be piling on the protein — or pulling back? And could going too low actually be dangerous? We talk to biologist Prof. Dudley Lamming and exercise physiologist Prof. Stuart Phillips to find out.
Note: This episode mentions calorie restriction. Please take care when listening, and here are some resources:
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD) helpline: 1(888)-375-7767
Crisis support:
United States: US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Dial 988 (Online chat available); https://www.crisistextline.org/text-us/ Text “HOME” to 741741
Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14 (Online chat available)
Canada: Call or text 988
United Kingdom: Samaritans 116 123 (UK and ROI)
Full list of international hotlines here
Other help available: spotify.com/resources
Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsProteinMaxxing
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) Protein-Maxxing or Protein-Minning?
(02:15) Restricting Protein Makes You Live Longer??!?
(09:20) A Tale of Brown Fat and mTOR
(13:45) What Could Go Wrong?
(21:20) So What the Hell Should We Be Eating?
This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, with help from Meryl Horn, Michelle Dang, and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Wendy Zukerman is our executive producer. Fact checking by Marlowe Starling. Video editing and sound by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bumi Hidaka, Peter Leonard, Emma Munger and Bobby Lord. Thanks to the researchers we spoke to for this episode including Prof. Edward Giovannucci, Prof. Holly Brown-Borg, Prof. John Speakman, Dr. Mingyang Song, and Dr. Jessica Biesiekierski. And thanks as well to Humdinger Studios in Melbourne and Wolff Island Studios in New York City.
Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. More from this podcast