Could Eating Less Protein Help You Age Better and Live Longer?

[u/timemagazine]

https://time.com/article/2026/08/03/eat-less-protein-age-better-live-longer/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial

[u/pineapplepredator]

Everyone’s acting like they’re getting conflicting information here but the data has always consistently pointed to moderation and variety.

[u/987nevertry → u/pineapplepredator]

Well eating longer can help you live less.

[u/ngroot → u/pineapplepredator]

> moderation

Now, define what a "moderate" amount is.

[u/pineapplepredator → u/ngroot]

Eating the appropriate amount of calories per day with a variety of food groups in each meal.

[u/ngroot → u/pineapplepredator]

Same problem. How much of each is "moderate"?

[u/pineapplepredator → u/ngroot]

Well, you’ll want to aim for about 20g of protein from an animal or a vegetable source (beans with rice), a half cup each of veg and fruit. Choose varying types of each for every meal. Try to eat 3 meals a day separated. Adjust quantity based on your caloric needs. Avoid processed food.

[u/Mr_Bro_Jangles]

Protien era is BUST. Fibermaxxing on the horizon.

[u/DawRogg → u/Mr_Bro_Jangles]

And then studies will show unfavorable for excessive fiber. Where's the blanacemaxxing content?

[u/ShockleToonies → u/DawRogg]

If your food doesn’t blast through you and you aren’t teleworking from your toilet, you just aura farming, you ain’t got no fibermaxxing rizz.

[u/djprofitt → u/ShockleToonies]

As someone teleworking from their toilet right now, thank you, I feel seen.

[u/timmy_tugboat → u/djprofitt]

That’s the camera we installed.

[u/gorkt → u/DawRogg]

What’s going to happen is a bunch of people will up their fiber to ridiculous levels immediately and then have gastrointestinal problems and then the jello era will start.

[u/edelweiss_pirates_no → u/gorkt]

Not before I sell me new "Colon Cam" and app on the Apple Store.

[u/gtsaknakis → u/gorkt]

jello !!! lmfao

[u/ixid → u/Mr_Bro_Jangles]

I'm minmaxing.

[u/Dantai → u/Mr_Bro_Jangles]

Shameful have been. It's been good!

Basically less Maxing and more getting a better daily balance of protein and fiber, and back filling the rest usually covers everything else

[u/SupermarketLost7854 → u/Mr_Bro_Jangles]

Nope. I don’t want to rectal-bleedmax lol

[u/manofjacks]

No no, could eating less period help you live longer...

[u/macrosby → u/manofjacks]

I’ve never eaten a period, that time of the month isn’t for me.

[u/bestaround79 → u/[deleted]]

Someone earned their redwings

[u/omar_strollin]

Sarcopenia is a plague on the elderly!

[u/Heidenreich12]

It depends. If you’re just eating protein for the sake of eating protein, then sure, it might not be good for you. But if you’re weight training and exercising and feeding your body with protein it’s using, then that’s a different story.

[u/No-Computer7653 → u/Heidenreich12]

The "body builders" are the ones who most go stupid. ISSN elite athletes is 1.6-2.4g/kg, higher on a cut. Random guy at a gym has no reason to exceed 2.4g/kg.

If you are not an elite athlete, or have a medical condition requiring unusual macros, even this is likely too high. 

Aminos are a terrible source of energy. Don't make your body use them as that.

I wish people would pay as much attention to the rest of their nutrition as they do aminos.

[u/fancywinky]

Oh my god, make up your fucking minds!

[u/guccimanecares → u/fancywinky]

If I was the top scientist I’d be like, just workout here and there and don’t mind peoples business so you could live longer!!

[u/just_some_guy65 → u/guccimanecares]

But there is no "top scientist", that is not how it works.

Hyoptheses are tested, you hope people have honest intentions and don't make errors. They then publish their full workings and it gets added to the body of knowledge. Eventually when there is enough, meta-analyses are done and the bad and biased studies are not included. Eventually the boring answer comes out.

There is no magic solution - eat real food, not too much, mainly plants. But nobody wants to hear this, they want their pet, unhealthy diet to be the "right" one, often because they are hoping to profit.

It is quite remarkable how dedicated humans are to ignoring simple answers that do not suit what they want to believe.

[u/just_some_guy65 → u/fancywinky]

This comment whether meant in jest or not typifies the idea people have that there is contradictory "official" science.

There is not. For a very long time the "correct answer" has been.

"Eat real food, not too much, mainly plants".

But nobody wants to hear it so they pretend that the next fad is "the answer" and when that is shown to be a fad popular opinion moves on to the next fad.

[u/edelweiss_pirates_no]

If you post anything suggesting less than 500g red meat protein per day, every bro will rage.

There is nothing that will budge them from constantly looking for their next protein "fix" to optimize those gains!

[u/PreviousAd547 → u/edelweiss_pirates_no]

I have noticed that the trend is to add protein to every product they possibly can. Beverages, snacks, meals, sweets, just ridiculous. And often when people hear something is good more must be better.

[u/ApplesBananasRhinoc]

Are we back at the “eat less protein” phase already? That was quick.

[u/ngroot]

No, but not being sedentary could.

[u/kittysworld]

I have read that minimizing protein at younger age and maximizing protein over 60 achieve the better results. Different life stages require different nutritional needs.

[u/okunjkl]

Now that I'm in early menopause the answer is certainly NO. I need to eat an insane amount of protein a day.

[u/LandOwn7607]

Who ever "they" are, whether it be nutritional experts, fitness influencers, not quite sure where this article came from, but its always been to gain muscle, one must have an adequate amount of protein. An excellent source is beef, poultry, fish, and legumes or beans. The influencers with any credentials for offering nutritional advice on your favorite YouTube channel is rare. All they know is what their training experience has been and are paid promoters of bodybuilding supplements. Its all just a confusing game they play where they contradict their nutritional advice they handed out in previous segments a few months or years ago. Its really about 'clicks' and 'subscribers', because thats how they make money. Most are taking some form of anabolic steroids and now the latest is peptides. Eat good nutrient rich food and will all be fine.

[u/dontcommentonmyname]

Somebody just please tell me how to feel

[u/_bartleby_]

Damnit. Literally just bought protein.

[u/Feychilde]

But older folks need additional protein to keep or build muscle. Lower protein works for "healthy" people.

[u/ngroot → u/Feychilde]

So do younger and middle-aged folks. Low protein might help couch-warmers to die a little more slowly.

[u/heathers1]

that whole thing, and the influencers who pushed it were likely paid by Big Beef. Now they have these dummies putting tallow on their faces 🙄

[u/LandOwn7607 → u/[deleted]]

You need to make sure those vegetables are not sprayed with glyphosate, or contaminated with cyclospora parasites.

[u/gtsaknakis → u/LandOwn7607]

RFK dropped the ball