In the part you mention, her opinion is that one must be doing a fairly extreme amount of day-long exercise to overcome the need for higher protein, a lot of walking and farming is her example. This would be a far cry from what most modern people in the industrialized world (your target audience?) can realistically incorporate, although I agree it's a good vision to lead us. The odd thing is that she mentions the Blue Zones specifically. I don't picture these people doing boatloads of strenuous exercise so much as being in more or less constant movement, but I haven't looked into it in any depth. Perhaps the majority really are farmers from sunup to sundown.
Good observation. Dr. B's recommendation for daily movement along with low protein recommendations is a GOAL with the acknowledgement that most people need more protein as they heal underlying damage and work towards this lifestyle. Dr. B seems to be working on addressing root causes whereas Dr. Lyon is dealing head on with an “unwell” population.
The other thing about her perspective here, if I understand it right, is that by 'lower protein' with exercise she would mean at least 30 grams per meal. That is her low protein, not what the anti-mTOR perspective would have it be. (Stay tuned for a another take on this.)
Listen again. It starts at 17.30. She clearly states that those who move more need LESS protein. The exception is athletes looking for recovery post-workout, but even then she says they can get away with less as they are stimulating muscle protein synthesis with movement. Certainly paradoxical. According to Dr. Lyon, the more you move the less protein you need. The description of 30 grams per meal is what she eats, not what Blue Zones people eat.
After finishing the talk with Dr. Lyon that you linked, I decided to move on to the researcher she learned from, whom she claims (true? I don't know) is the world expert in protein metabolism, Don Layman. This turned out to be very interesting. I'm not sure if you or Dr. Bredesen have seen these; if so, they'll be here for anyone else interested.
Thanks for this! It’s very interesting to see the significant divergence between Dr. Lyon and Layman. It's also interesting to think of insulin resistance starting in the muscles. This makes a sense to me as our muscles have the ability to store more glycogen than our liver. This also helps to explain how exercise upregulates mitochondria and promotes metabolic flexibility connecting lots of dots. This underscores the importance of strength training as we age as well as the importance of maintaining insulin sensitivity.
I personally appreciate of all of the animal protein discussions we’ve recently had on the site. This is a topic near and dear to my heart. I’m definitely one of those *along with MOST people* who needs higher amounts of protein. I have underlying GI stuff (SIBO despite repeated treatment) and CIRS (need to recheck levels.) When I drop protein too low, I become noticeably weaker and my complete protein on my comprehensive metabolic panel drops below the reference range. Gundry apparently uses this to gauge adequate protein intake. In addition to at least 4 miles of daily walking and running, I also do daily strength training and try to incorporate movement into my daily schedule. I’m working to reframe household
chores into
opportunities to be strong.
I’m also actively working to increase my protein from animal sources.
I suspect that many of the anti-aging effects from animal protein are really effects of a methionine imbalance. I’m using a nose-to-tail approach to avoid methionine excess, strategically incorporating organ meats and bone broth to balance muscle meats. The clearance of each molecule of excess methionine requires at least two molecules of glycine which can easily lead to an imbalanced amino acid profile if one only eats muscle meat. Glycine regulates macrophages, the immune cells that effect the primary inflammatory response. Hence, lower glycine levels create a greater vulnerability to inflammation, and other chronic conditions rooted in inflammation, including type 2 diabetes. See this
rebuttal to a recent BJM paper correlating red meat with T2D.
I’m not sure what manual you're working on, but I'm sure wrestling with making all the variables both accurate and accessible to your target audience is a worthy part of your AD prevention protocol, XO.
Thanks! I’m helping Dr. B and his integrative physician wife, Dr. Aida LaSheen Bredesen, write the sequel to The End of Alzheimer’s which will feature a handbook on implementing the protocol. All of our recent protein chatter is helping us to better message this important topic. Thanks, all, for sharing your perspectives.