Research
Macro partitioning
Higher diversity of protein sources (specifically 'count' of sources) is weakly associated with a marginally higher risk of CVD, while 'dissimilarity' of sources shows no association.
Don't assume that eating many different types of protein (e.g., chicken, beef, fish, beans, tofu) will protect your heart. This study suggests that having a high count of protein sources might be weakly linked to higher risk, possibly due to what those sources are (e.g., processed meats).
GoodQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
When we evaluated protein source diversity, the protein count, but not protein dissimilarity, was marginally associated with a higher CVD risk (HRs (95% CI); for each one additional count of total protein sources, the hazard ratio was 1.02 (1.00–1.04)
Why this rating
Same robust cohort and methodology as N1.
Source
Protein Consumption and Risk of CVD Among U.S. Adults: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
Ji Yun Tark et al. · Nutrients · 2024
DOI 10.3390/nu16213773
cohort · n=5879Cited 3×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Higher total protein intake (up to ~116g/day) is not significantly associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), coronary heart disease (CHD), or stroke in middle-aged adults.Good
- Higher percentage of energy from plant protein is associated with a lower risk of stroke, but not overall CVD or CHD.Good
Related findings · Macro partitioning
- Total daily protein intake of 1.6 g/kg/day is sufficient for maximizing resistance training-induced muscle gains, with an upper confidence interval of 2.2 g/kg/day.Strong
- Resistance exercise training combined with sufficient dietary protein intake acts synergistically to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with protein intake saturating around 1.6 g/kg/day for general populations and potentially requiring 2.0-2.2 g/kg/day for resistance-trained individuals.Strong
- Trans fats should be completely eliminated from the diet, as they increase LDL cholesterol, decrease HDL cholesterol, and are directly associated with increased coronary risk.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →