Balancing protein intake may be key to long life

Getting the correct balance of proteins in our diet may be more important for healthy aging than reducing calories, new research funded by the Welcome Trust and Research into Aging suggests.

Researchers state in the journal Nature, "We've shown here that in flies -- and this is likely to be the case for other organisms -- the balance of amino acids in the diet can affect health later in life. If this is the case for humans, then the type of protein will be more important. "It's not as simple as saying 'eat less nuts' or 'eat more nuts' to live longer -- it's about getting the protein balance right."

Bonnie - the reason I recommend complete proteins (predominately from animal sources) as opposed to incomplete proteins (plant sources) is that all the amino acids are available to the body to use.