While many believe that a high-protein diet can help with weight loss, a new study finds it might actually prevent an important health benefit that comes with slimming down.
The research found that when you lose weight on a high-protein diet, there’s no improvement in what doctors call “insulin sensitivity” — a factor that could lower your risk for diabetes and heart disease.
In type 2 diabetes, cells gradually lose insulin sensitivity — their ability to respond to the metabolic hormone.
This often occurs with rising obesity, so improved insulin sensitivity can be one of the byproducts of weight loss.
However, “we found that women who lost weight eating a high-protein diet didn’t experience any improvements in insulin sensitivity,” said study principal investigator Bettina Mittendorfer. She’s a professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.