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Comment by 0daystock | Hacker News Reader

A study by a pill manufacturer whose business is sickness, promoting a sick diet for more obedient consumer customers.

Adult humans require surprisingly little protein. So little, in fact, it's virtually impossible to be protein deficient eating an adequate isocaloric diet with even a modicum of variety. This is a very well cited page which explains most misconceptions and falsehoods about protein in diet https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/apr/protein.htm

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McDougall promotes a vegan fad diet. Not sure why I would trust his literature when there's plenty of contrary scientific evidence today. Also, it's been 16 years since that article was written. Scientific consensus has advanced considerably.

Just because humans survive on very little protein doesn't mean there are not negative implications, notably on muscle mass and development.

Fad diet? Until recent history, and coincidentally before the prevalence of vast diet-related disease, most of the world lived on a mostly vegan diet. You are welcome to cite some of this advanced scientific evidence refuting McDougall or suggesting protein deficiency is a concern anywhere in the Western world.

McDougall's diet promotes low dietary cholesterol. Scientific evidence supports dietary cholesterol has no link to blood serum cholesterol. One easy example of promotion of non-evidence-based dietary restrictions. Also, extremely low fat recommendations, far below scientific concern levels. What's left is carbs and fiber for satiety, which is going to be extremely difficult to adhere to.

McDougall has also promoted his diet for treating diabetes, cancer, and other non-diet-related ailments.

Yes, I think it's fair to call it a fad diet. Nothing specifically wrong with reasonable vegan diets, but his seems full of specious claims.

You're confusing requirements vs thriving. Yeah humans can essentially starve themselves for months and survive, that doesn't mean it's optimal.

You miss the point: reducing protein intake to the small required amount is what is optimal for health.

Except, low protein intake is correlated to problems in elder age. As you get older, you need more protein to support muscles from atrophying (explicitly a point the main article discusses). Muscle weakness and atrophy is a huge problem for elderly, and leads to numerous health risks, quality of life problems, etc. Stronger older individuals are better at caring for themselves, much more likely to survive accidents such as falls, and generally going to be more mobile.

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