Macro partitioning
Usual intakes of animal and plant protein are not adversely associated with all-cause, cardiovascular disease, or cancer-related mortality risk in adults.
You do not need to restrict your protein intake, whether from animal or plant sources, to avoid increasing your risk of death from all causes, heart disease, or cancer. The data suggests that typical protein intakes within recommended ranges are safe and not linked to higher mortality.
Our data do not support the thesis that source-specific protein intake is associated with greater mortality risk; however, animal protein may be mildly protective for cancer mortality.
Why this rating
Large sample size (N=15,937), long follow-up (median 174 months), and use of sophisticated statistical methods (MCMC) to estimate usual intake, though it is an observational study.
Source
Animal and plant protein usual intakes are not adversely associated with all-cause, cardiovascular disease–, or cancer-related mortality risk: an NHANES III analysis
Yanni Papanikolaou et al. · Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism · 2025
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