We all know getting more protein can be physically very beneficial.
But can it also benefit us mentally?
Well, it looks like a new study explored just that.
So in this video, we'll take a closer look
and see if our mental health can indeed benefit from more protein.
Now, science has shown that what we generally eat can affect our mental health, like how eating more
whole foods tend to improve mental health whereas processed foods tend to worsen it.
But, with the results of this new study, mental health researchers might want to
start looking at specifically protein a bit more seriously.
Let's take a closer look.
In this 8-week trial, 60 obese subjects, both men and women, were randomly assigned to one of
two groups that consumed either a standard 12% or a high 30% of their total intake as protein.
Both groups also aimed for a 750-calorie daily deficit in attempts to lose weight.
The primary measured outcomes were scores on the mental health symptoms of depression,
anxiety, and stress as assessed by the DASS-21 mental health questionnaire.
Now, let's get right to the results.
First, the standard-protein control group reported improvements in anxiety scores
in the first 15 days and then maintained that improvement the rest of the trial.
The high-protein group followed a similar pattern but improved anxiety scores even further.
For stress, the control group observed virtually no change,
but the high protein group observed a gradual stress reduction over time.
And for depression, the control group again did not observe much at all,
but the high-protein group observed a marked improvement in the first 15
days and then maintained it the rest of the way.
Based on these outcomes, the researchers concluded that,
compared to a standard protein diet, a high-protein diet paired with a calorie
deficit can indeed improve depression, anxiety, and stress in obese people.
Now, I know this might seem quite optimistic, but we do need to take a step back,
because unfortunately, this study does run into a few issues when it comes to the data.
Or, rather, the lack of data.
More specifically, the researchers did not report a major factor to any nutrition-based research,
and that is how much the subjects actually adhered to their assigned diet.
We don't know if the subjects consistently
consumed the right amount of protein or even calories.
And the thing is, the researchers likely have this data since food adherence was evaluated,
but for some reason chose not to report it.
Second, they also measured changes in other outcomes like bodyweight, fat,
and muscle mass, but again, decided not to report it.
And these are just some examples of missing data,
data that can be very useful to help us better understand the overall findings.
And that's another thing.
Even if we take the findings at face value,
we can't really explain why more protein led to greater mental health benefits.
In fact, while using this very same intervention,
the researchers conducted another study but on the topic of sleep quality.
And there, they found that high protein intake generally led to better sleep quality.
So, could have the better sleep quality play a bigger role on mental health,
or vice versa, than the protein itself?
And, of course, we don't know if we'll see the same outcomes
with diets without a calorie deficit nor for people that are not obese.
So ultimately , being a protein advocate myself,
it pains me to say this, but because of these unanswered questions about the data,
we cannot confidently say that protein can improve mental health just yet.
But, the silver lining for this study is that it did
discover this interesting interaction between protein and mental health,
which might just attract enough attention for even more research on this topic in the future.
And that's what's great about science.
As for now, sure I wouldn't recommend more protein specifically to improve mental health,
but of course, we do know it has many great physiological benefits.
And if more protein does make you feel better mentally,
then we'll just think about it as a nice little bonus for now.
But let me know what you think in the comments.
Other than that, if you enjoyed this video,
please give it a physiological thumbs up and share it with your protein-loving friends.
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As always, thank you for watching and don't forget to get your protein!