Monday 12 August 2013

Protein reduces endurance (in mice), food processing vs food refining & Schrödinger.

I saw the following study via Twitter. Dietary protein decreases exercise endurance through rapamycin-sensitive suppression of muscle mitochondria.
Mmm, protein!
Hmmm! In mice, a high protein diet significantly decreased the amount of muscle mitochondria, the mitochondrial activity and the running distance at 50 weeks, although it increased muscle mass and grip power.

A mouse's natural diet is fruit or grain from plants, though mice will eat virtually anything, including Kevlar insulation on wiring. Fruit & grains aren't particularly high in protein, so it's quite possible that eating a sub-optimal diet results in sub-optimal health.

If the results do translate to humans, we have a choice between endurance, and muscle mass & strength in our old-age. I know which I would choose. You'll have to prise the proteins from my cold, dead fingers!

More from TwitterA Major Communication Challenge of Our Times: What on Earth Do We Say About Processed Foods? The word "refine/refined" doesn't appear in the above article. I don't have a problem with food processing. What I do have a problem with is food refining. Just after the Mid-Victorian period, it became fashionable to eat foods that had been stripped of "impurities". Goodbye essential co-factors. Hello, degenerative diseases.

Finally, today is the 126th anniversary of Erwin Schrödinger's birthday. I have only one comment:-
Blatantly stolen from http://memegenerator.co/instance/31138345
:-)

5 comments:

LeonRover said...

Mmmmmm,

"La chatte etait toujours morte".

George said...

High protein chow? Was that with extra casein? I can't be bothered finding out. But I bet they weren't fed steak.
At my place mice only eat stored grains and pasta, they ignore fresh fruit, potatoes, lying in open. Mice are Neolithic.
Whereas rats eat the mice and birds and leave the stored stuff alone. Rats are Paleolithic.
They all eat the Kevlar though.

Nigel Kinbrum said...

Quoi?

Nigel Kinbrum said...

I'm not paying US$20.00 to find out. I bet they weren't offered a wafer-thin mint, either.



I don't see any mice or rats where I live, so I have no idea what English rodents prefer to eat.

John Smith said...

Both are equal :)


importance of dairy