The harm of protein diets, why a protein diet is harmful to the body. What are the dangers of protein diets? The harm of a protein diet for men.

Why is it dangerous? This question should be asked by all girls who dream of losing weight and use radical methods for these purposes. Many people know that protein or protein plays an important role in the body. With its help, muscle mass increases. That is why protein-rich meals form the basis of the diet of professional athletes. Protein is not stored as fat; it is almost impossible to gain weight from such food. Excess protein in a healthy person is eliminated naturally. Such properties of protein foods have always attracted nutritionists and athletes, which is why low-calorie protein diets have gained enormous popularity. Few people think about how dangerous they are, because the developers of such diets claim that with their help you can lose 10-15 kg in a month.

You can really get a quick result, but along with it you will face many health problems. protein foods are not as harmless as we think. When building a healthy diet, the balance of all substances and types of foods is important. If the body does not receive enough of something, it will react to it negatively. The consequences of a protein diet may be irreversible.

The essence of the protein diet is to give up carbohydrates in favor of proteins. The basis of the diet is poultry, rabbit, nutria, veal, beef, lean white fish, eggs, low-fat dairy products. Sample menu for the day:

  1. Breakfast – a portion of cottage cheese or a steam omelette of two chicken proteins;
  2. Lunch – baked or boiled chicken breast;
  3. Dinner – a glass of kefir or low-fat unsweetened yogurt.

Such a meager menu does not replenish daily energy losses. A significant calorie deficit arises, and the body begins to actively waste fat reserves. In the first weeks of losing weight, the effect is amazing. The kilograms are melting away very quickly. But over time, the rate of weight loss decreases, and various unpleasant sensations arise.

You can last 3-5 days on this diet without any loss to your health. If the diet is designed for a month, then by the end of this period the person will be excessively exhausted. Long-term refusal of carbohydrates and fats leads to disruption of the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

With a protein diet, considerable attention is paid to the quality of products. Considering that most fermented milk products are produced in factories with the addition of palm oil and other trans fats, and poultry meat contains antibiotics, there will be no benefit from such a diet.

Expected effect

Protein diet fans
claim that active consumption of proteins entails an increase in muscle mass and the displacement of adipose tissue. But we all need to understand that muscle growth is only possible with active and regular exercise in the gym. If you only use dietary restrictions when losing weight, then the effect will be, but not at all the one you expect.

Descriptions of such diets indicate that weight loss is 3-5 kg ​​per week. Dramatic weight loss is fraught with serious health problems, because the body simply does not have time to rebuild.

Adherents of protein diets claim that while losing weight you will feel light throughout your body. Those people who tried to lose weight in this way claim that they always felt tired, apathetic and irritable. The expected effect does not always coincide with reality. You need to prepare for this in advance.

Restrictions and contraindications

The creators of protein diets claim that such methods are suitable for almost everyone. There are still some restrictions. The diet is contraindicated:

  • People with gastrointestinal diseases - gastritis, colitis, ulcers;
  • Patients with endocrine disorders;
  • Patients with diabetes mellitus;
  • Patients with cancer.


If you study the diet and meal schedule recommended in the protein diet, it becomes clear that it is not recommended for anyone. Even the healthiest person cannot survive a month under such strict restrictions. You must understand what this means.

Protein really forms the basis of an athlete’s diet, but the main emphasis in creating a menu is on the balance of all the required components - proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

Chicken meat, eggs, and whole milk are strong allergens. If you are prone to allergic reactions, you should not significantly increase the volume of such products, even if you previously consumed them freely. It is impossible to say for sure how the body will react to such sudden changes.

Rational, healthy nutrition, based on the real needs of the body, will bring significantly more benefits than any popular diet.

Potential threat

You should know the dangers of a protein diet for women. Refusal of carbohydrates and fats leads to metabolic disorders. Animal and vegetable fats help increase the elasticity of the skin and blood vessels. Most of the essential vitamins that you need to get into your body every day are fat-soluble.

Carbohydrates are responsible for energy and mental work. If there are not enough long-term sugars, you feel constantly depressed, tired, and productivity at work drops. When playing sports, carbohydrates are essential. They give strength for the training process. If you eat only proteins, you will quickly reach a state of overtraining, from which it is extremely difficult to get out.

Protein without fiber is very difficult to digest. If the diet consists only of meat and fish, then these products linger in the stomach for a long time, simply beginning to rot there. In this way, an impressive amount of toxins enters the bloodstream, and poisoning is possible. Without carbohydrates, the intestines cannot function normally. A person who is on a protein diet develops constipation. Due to metabolic disorders, the kidneys and the entire excretory system suffer. There is a high risk of developing inflammatory processes, kidney stones, cystitis, and bacteriuria. In women, the menstrual cycle is disrupted, and even early menopause is possible.

On a strict protein diet, the body does not receive many useful substances - vitamins, minerals, amino acids. Because of this, the immune system suffers. Any infections immediately cling to you.

Due to a significant calorie deficit, at first you actively lose weight, but the brain perceives such changes as stress. As soon as nutrients begin to actively enter the body in normal amounts after completing the diet, they all go into reserve. That means you gain even more weight. It is extremely difficult to stabilize your weight later.

We can conclude that a long-term strict low-calorie protein diet is ineffective and dangerous for the body. The process of losing weight must be approached competently. There is no need to expect great results in a month. You didn’t gain excess weight right away, which means you need to lose it gradually.

Alternative to protein diets

The only healthy alternative to a protein diet is a balanced, proper diet. Proteins are given a special place in the diet, but they are necessarily supplemented with carbohydrates and fats. To speed up metabolism and speed up metabolic processes, you can use the principles of carbohydrate-protein alternation. Such techniques also come from professional sports. This express diet lasts 3 days. It can be used no more than once every 1-2 months. Its essence is as follows:

  1. In your daily life, you adhere to the principles of healthy eating;
  2. The day before the start of carbohydrate alternation, you can arrange an unloading;
  3. The first two days you eat exclusively protein foods;
  4. On the third day, give yourself a cheat meal, that is, eat whatever you want, including sweets, any prohibited foods, but within reason;
  5. Then you return to your usual diet.

On the day when proteins are replaced by carbohydrates, it is necessary to arrange the most active training. The incoming energy must be burned.

Such events will help to establish metabolic processes, but the alternation method is also a kind of stress for the body, so you should not abuse it.

You should not believe the creators of strict low-calorie diets that promise huge weight loss in a short period of time. The extra pounds will return later, and restoring your health will be much more difficult. Instead of strict protein diets, just stick to the rules of a balanced diet.

Losing weight at any cost is the goal of many women who have tried all sorts of techniques and methods and have not achieved a pronounced or lasting result. As a rule, those who have already mastered many diets do not differ in willpower, which leads to a quick abandonment of the chosen method of losing weight. Meanwhile, changing one diet to another leads to a malfunction of all organs and systems, especially since most fashionable diets are harmful in themselves, and some are even life-threatening.

When choosing a diet as a way to lose weight, you should definitely consult a doctor and switch to a new diet under the supervision of a nutritionist. Well, we provide a list of the most dangerous diets and will try to explain what their potential risks are.

What are the dangers of a protein diet?

The main danger of a protein diet is oversaturation with proteins and the lack of high-grade fats, without which the normal functioning of the body is impossible. In addition, a diet consisting primarily of protein products contributes to slagging of the body, acidification of environments, and its premature aging.

The menu includes non-starchy vegetables and greens, but many exclude them, believing that they thereby contribute to improved results, bringing the desired weight closer. In fact, such arbitrariness leads to the fact that the gastrointestinal tract cannot cope with the incoming volumes of protein, without fiber as assistants. This is fraught with digestive disorders in the form of constipation, the formation of stones in the kidneys and gall bladder, and intoxication, since poorly digested food accumulates in the intestines, poisoning the body.

Only the presence of fruits and vegetables, cereals can improve metabolism and relieve the intestines, and preference for protein leads to disturbances in the enzymatic composition and overloads the body, especially the liver and kidneys. Don't forget about another risk - excess protein thickens the blood, which leads to thrombosis.

It is also important that those with a sweet tooth, deprived of sugar, intensively use various substitutes, which are pure chemicals, and thereby damage the kidneys, liver, and pancreas. Isn’t it true that diseases of such important organs are too much to pay for harmony, which is unlikely to last long?

Why is the Dukan diet dangerous?

The next high-risk diet is the Dukan diet. Why is the Dukan diet dangerous? It is already known for certain that the world-famous “nutritionist” Pierre Dukan has nothing to do with dietetics and the diet he developed is just part of a well-planned marketing that brings in fabulous income (selling books and releasing other branded products).

The dangers of his diet are not speculation; this is the official conclusion of the British Dietetic Association, which brought charges against Dukan that he is profiting from people’s problems without caring about their health.

At its core, the Dukan diet is a high-protein diet with a complete exclusion of fats and a maximum restriction of carbohydrates.

The fundamental provisions of the Dukan diet are filled with factual errors and unscientific justifications, and the proposed list of products dooms the body to metabolic disorders: with such a diet, fat-soluble vitamins will no longer be absorbed, which threatens a deficiency of calcium and many other minerals.

Dukan’s other mistake can also be costly – he suggests saturating the body with carbohydrates from vegetables, believing them to be chalked, but sugar from some vegetables is absorbed faster than pure sugar, which can worsen the condition of diabetic patients who trust Dukan. In addition to such risks, it is worth saying that almost eighty percent of those who lose weight return to their original weight within a couple of years.

What are the dangers of a salt-free diet?

Another diet that brings great harm to the entire body is salt-free. At first glance, it is difficult to understand why a salt-free diet is dangerous, because all doctors unanimously say that salt is poison. However, even without the required 5-6 g of salt per day, our metabolism begins to experience difficulties, especially if the body has previously been accustomed to receiving iodized salt, which often serves as the only source of iodine in areas poor in this microelement. In this case, the transition to such a diet should be combined with taking iodine medications and consulting with an endocrinologist.

Complete exclusion of salt from the diet also leads to disruption of the water-salt balance, which can cause diseases of the blood vessels and heart, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and change the composition of the blood. In a word, a lack or complete absence of salt in food is just as harmful as its excess. This is worth remembering even when you choose to use diuretics for weight loss. In both cases, the electrolyte composition of the blood should be constantly monitored.

Losing weight on a salt-free diet is indicated only with constant monitoring by an endocrinologist and nutritionist; only then will this diet bring benefit and not harm.

In order to lose weight without harm to your health, you need to know which products have the properties and create your own menu from them.

Those who are interested in their health know that they exist, which is an undoubted help in losing weight.

People with a sweet tooth love honey, and it has been proven that with its help you can achieve the desired slimness! How?

Why is the buckwheat diet dangerous?

The popular buckwheat diet also raises many questions, so why is it dangerous? Eating on this diet is especially at risk for those who have high blood clotting, since buckwheat thickens the blood even more, since this product is extremely rich in iron.

It is also dangerous for everyone, without exception, that the buckwheat diet leads to dehydration and digestive disorders in the form of constipation - almost everyone notes severe dry mouth and intestinal problems.

Why is the kefir diet dangerous?

The kefir diet is considered one of the easiest, which is why many people like it so much, however, it can also cause various disorders in the functioning of organs and systems, like any of the mono-diets.

Why is the kefir diet dangerous? The kefir diet will cause the greatest harm to those who have various problems in the gastrointestinal tract, especially those who have acquired gastritis with high acidity, ulcers, kidney stones or gall bladder. The acid of this dairy product can easily provoke an exacerbation of chronic diseases or lead to their appearance if you abuse the diet and violate the duration of the weight loss period.

Why is the Kremlin diet dangerous?

Literally five years ago, the weight-loss community went crazy over the so-called Kremlin diet, but today all those who ate by counting points have long since returned to their original weight, burdening themselves with a bunch of ailments associated with the liver, stomach and kidneys. And the point here is not even the initial harmfulness of the diet, but the wrong approach to it - most excluded high-index carbohydrates from the diet, preferring more protein foods with a low index, trying to overcome hunger.

A huge risk is that the Kremlin allows an unlimited amount of fat. All this leads to disturbances in the functioning of organs. Doctors say that this diet can cause infertility, the formation of kidney and gallstones, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease and other dangerous conditions.

What are the dangers of a low-carbohydrate diet?

Do its supporters take risks and what are the dangers of a low-carbohydrate diet? Any complete exclusion from the diet of one of the components of our usual diet, be it fats, proteins or carbohydrates, will cause a certain imbalance in the body.

In the case of a carbohydrate-free diet, the main burden will be on the kidneys, liver, and vascular system, since by removing carbohydrates from the menu, you can replace them with fats and proteins without restrictions. This is a very attractive diet for gourmets, since it is quite acceptable to eat fried meat, fish, lard, that is, everything that in most diets falls into the section of prohibited foods. However, such a diet will inevitably lead to increased acidity (gastritis and ulcers), hepatosis (fatty degeneration of the liver), gallstones (the bile will be very thick, lithogenic), kidney stones (they simply cannot cope with the excretion of the increased content of amino acids).

The above examples once again clearly show that diets are harmful, and the only sure way to lose weight is a combination of a balanced diet and physical activity.

Good afternoon, dear readers! Let's take a closer look at the topic - why is a protein diet dangerous for women? The roots of the protein diet go back to sports nutrition. There it was used by bodybuilders while preparing for competitions. They needed to lose weight, dry out excess fluid from their bodies, and gain muscle mass. Nutritionists became interested in professional nutrition and began recommending a protein diet to women.

What is the principle of a protein diet

Probably, the confidence of nutritionists is based on the fact that they simplified the diet, made their own adjustments to it, and added carbohydrates. In this form, the protein diet is today advertised as the simplest method for reducing weight for people who do not exercise.

The protein diet works in such a way that when using it, body weight and figure volume are really quickly lost. This is how she got women interested.

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Proteins quickly remove the liquid contents accumulated in the intercellular space. Body weight falls initially from this. A protein diet reorganizes digestion to a different principle.

Due to excess protein, a deficiency of fats and carbohydrates is formed. Daily household stress burns carbohydrate reserves and calories are lost. Protein products are digested in the digestive system for a long time, due to which a person does not want to eat for a long time. The results of the diet are visible immediately.

It is recommended to follow the diet for no longer than 2 weeks. Even during these weeks, protein nutrition can cause problems in digestion and kidney function. The protein diet, according to reviews, is chosen by those who love meat and fish; they agree to give up any bread products, pastries, and sweets.

Even nutritionists do not consider a diet based on protein products to be completely balanced. Excess protein causes kidney dysfunction, especially when a woman is predisposed to kidney disease.

For such women, a protein-based diet will only be harmful. At the same time, hair rashes and skin irritations appear.

A woman, switching to a protein diet to lose weight, does not think about the possible negative consequences. And from the first days of her diet, she is faced with sleep disturbances, rapid fatigue, and nervousness.

There are many contraindications for the diet. It cannot be used if the body has gout, dysbiosis, pancreatitis, diabetes, heart and vascular disease. The disadvantages of using the diet include pregnancy, breastfeeding, old age and childhood.

It is not advisable to use it for people with any chronic diseases. But if a woman has decided to adhere to this method of eating, she should take care of maintaining fluid balance, for which purpose drink at least 1.5 liters of water per day.

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If you want to lose excess weight, the diet suggests basing your diet on eating foods high in protein. These include lean poultry and animal meats, all types of fish, milk, and eggs.


Here is an example of a protein diet:

  1. It is preferable to use beef, veal, turkey, and chicken breast. The structure of this meat is tough, so it is recommended to subject it to long-term heat treatment. Boiled, stewed dishes, steam cutlets are prepared from it.
  2. River fish and seafood are used fresh, frozen, and canned. The benefits of fish include low cholesterol. You can cook fried, boiled, baked dishes from it. Caviar from sturgeon and other fish is included in the diet.
  3. Eggs can be consumed no more than 5 eggs per day. Their advantage is that they contain many useful substances.
  4. Side dishes include white beans, rice, buckwheat, and all types of oatmeal and cereal. Porridges are prepared without butter; it is excluded from this diet.
  5. Kefir and cottage cheese are essential foods in the diet; they contain proteins, calcium, and vitamins.


During the protein diet, it is allowed to load yourself with physical education and training on exercise machines. It will be noticeable how muscles grow, which is provided by proteins.

Those who want to lose extra pounds without any special restrictions in their usual home diet must realistically assess the harm of the diet. But people like the proposed method of losing weight, since they don’t even have to eat without meat.


The essence of the protein diet is taken from the famous Kremlin and Dukan diets. It is imperative to give up sweets, pure sugar, and eliminate simple carbohydrates from your diet.

Reducing the amount of fatty foods and reducing calorie intake gives a noticeable weight loss literally every day. But diets require a significant increase in the amount of protein foods. Undoubtedly, eating with a lot of protein is good for muscles, their relief, and strength.

Proteins are the basis of muscle density; they provide strength to supporting tissues, hair, and nails. They are contained in immune bodies and protect a person from infection. Nature has designed the body in such a way that it does not accumulate proteins in its tissues and needs to constantly receive them from food.

But excess proteins lead to a deficiency of fats and carbohydrates, and these are important sources of energy necessary for the normal functioning of organs and the growth of new cells. A deficiency of these substances causes dysfunction in the brain and respiratory system.


The deficiency of important substances is replenished from its resources, glycogen accumulated in the muscles and liver is consumed, and fat deposits are consumed.

Is it possible to lose weight with this diet?

Undoubtedly yes. But you should evaluate the consequences that a protein diet can cause in the body. Is it possible to ignore the load on the kidneys if the diet excludes from the diet what the kidneys require, what foods are necessary for them to perform their functions.

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A large amount of protein foods forces the kidneys to work to the limit of their capabilities. They wear out quickly, because they remove particles of protein breakdown.

Excess protein acidifies the urine and increases the excretion of oxalates. Even in a short period of following dietary protein nutrition, oxalate stones, characterized by a spiky shape, can form in the genitourinary organs of a woman. And women need to take care of their kidneys, even those who have already given birth.


A diet containing proteins increases cholesterol levels in the blood and bile. This fact significantly increases the risk of developing heart and vascular diseases, leading to heart attacks, strokes, atherosclerosis, and ischemia. High cholesterol content in bile leads to the growth of stones in the gallbladder.

Protein foods do not contain fiber-rich foods. It is so necessary for the intestines and its normal functions.

Poor digestion of food retains it in the intestines, undigested food breakdown products stick to the intestinal walls, this causes a bad smell during a protein diet. The woman loses her appetite and intoxication develops.


Other consequences:

  • dehydration causes stress in a woman;
  • the formation of ammonia increases nervous excitability;
  • calcium deficiency is compensated by its leaching from bone tissue, which causes their fragility;
  • Women have difficulty conceiving because elements of protein breakdown accumulate in the genitals, and this reduces fertility function; excess protein interferes with fertilization;
  • excess protein causes muscle cramps;
  • lack of vitamins reduces immune strength and leads to the formation of vitamin deficiency;
  • resources in the body are depleted;
  • general condition and appearance deteriorate.

The body requires carbohydrates to replenish energy reserves and to feel full from food. The woman no longer has the strength to attend her usual workouts due to lack of energy.

Eating protein foods is a fashionable development of modern nutritionists. It has already shown its effectiveness and has received many admirers. But you can only follow the diet for 2 weeks. Then you need to wisely switch to a rationally calculated diet so as not to gain weight.


To effectively exit a protein diet, you need to:

  • divide meals into 5 times, eat small portions;
  • be sure to have breakfast in the morning;
  • have dinner no later than 3 hours before bedtime;
  • drink at least 1.5 liters of clean water per day, preferably drinking water before meals;
  • include raw and cooked vegetables, as well as raw fruits in your diet.

Food with a varied content of microelements will give the body energy and vigor.

What you can eat:

  1. animal products,
  2. different types of meat combined with vegetable side dishes and salads;
  3. fermented milk products to restore intestinal flora and the entire digestive system.


For fruits, give preference to citrus fruits, bananas, persimmons, and pears.

You need to eat, gradually increasing the calorie content, for this you need to introduce bread, rolls, pasta, sauces. Sweet dishes are also gradually being introduced, and side dishes from potatoes and grain crops are becoming more varied.

At the same time, you need to pay attention that the weight does not go away, it remains at the same level. What is not allowed when leaving the diet is the same fried, spicy, smoked foods. You should not oversaturate your stomach and intestines with a mass of harmful foods.

When everything is in order in the woman’s condition, after a while it will be possible to repeat the course of the diet, be sure to follow all the rules. Protein nutrition includes low-calorie dishes; they are easily digested.


You should remember why a protein diet is dangerous for women.

A protein diet is certainly effective and helps to get rid of extra pounds even in cases where other nutritional systems are powerless. But few people think about what this effectiveness is connected with, and what harm protein nutrition causes to the body.

Why this diet helps you quickly lose fat is stated in the article “Why is a protein diet effective?” Here we will analyze in detail the reasons for the negative effects on the body and describe actions to reduce harm.

We emphasize that harm can only be reduced. It is impossible to make protein nutrition absolutely harmless, so it should be temporary.

Attention!!!
People with kidney and cardiovascular diseases need to be extremely attentive to their well-being and follow the recommendations below only after consulting a doctor.

Harm

How to reduce harm

Low fiber
  1. Without enough fiber, the speed at which food moves through the gastrointestinal tract is reduced.

  2. normal intestinal microflora is disrupted
  1. add vegetables
  2. add probiotics, kefir and other fermented milk products.
Lots of protein
risk of deposits of kidney stones, salts in joints (risk of gout) we remove metabolic products by drinking 2 liters or more of free liquid per day, in the absence of contraindications, on an empty stomach, in the intervals between meals, and a little before bedtime
Lots of purines
(if the protein is from meat, poultry and fish)
a large number of products of protein and purine metabolism disrupt the normal acidity of urine and can contribute to the deposition of kidney stones and salts in the joints (risk of gout)
  1. alkalization of urine (consumption of vegetables, fruits, berries with the exception of cranberries and lingonberries). For fruits, we give preference to non-sweet ones and exclude bananas and grapes due to their high carbohydrate content.
  2. cook the meat, because... up to 50% of purines goes into the broth
  3. ban on meat broths, meat by-products, mushrooms
Lots of cholesterol
(if the protein is from eggs and fatty meat)
increased risk of atherosclerosis add vegetable oils or nuts, because contain polyunsaturated fatty acids and lecithin. They cause cholesterol to be in the blood in a state (emulsion) in which it cannot be deposited on the vessel wall
Lots of calcium
(if the protein is from dairy products)
With excess calcium content
  1. salts are deposited
    in the skin
    subcutaneous tissue,
    internal organs,
    walls of blood vessels,
    kidneys,
  2. blood clotting increases;
  3. excess calcium displaces phosphorus, magnesium, zinc from the body
We eat more phosphorus than normal. With an excess of phosphorus, insoluble calcium compounds (in the form of phytins) are formed in the intestines, which are excreted in the feces.

Excess fat forms non-absorbable calcium oils and would also help get rid of excess calcium, but such a recommendation for those wishing to lose weight would be more than strange. It’s just that if excess fat accidentally forms on some days, then you shouldn’t worry too much.

There is a lot of phosphorus, magnesium, zinc in pumpkin seeds, as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are necessary for “neutralizing” cholesterol. Therefore, the inclusion of pumpkin seeds in the diet is highly desirable.
May be few vitamins and vital elements
a number of vitamins and vital elements are found mainly in plant foods (mainly carbohydrate foods) we drink vitamin complexes (!) without calcium (!)
Heavy load on the liver and excretory systems
this harm cannot be reduced

The result achieved with the help of protein nutrition can be maintained and improved only on the basis of the principles

The protein diet has gained popularity due to its effectiveness: following a dietary diet can result in the loss of 4 kg of excess weight in a week. Eating protein foods helps satisfy hunger and satiate the body.

As the name suggests, the protein diet is based on consuming relatively large amounts of protein foods and almost completely avoiding carbohydrates and fats. With such nutrition, the body finds itself in “stressful” conditions, a deficiency of nutrients (in particular fats and carbohydrates) occurs, which in turn causes the consumption of carbohydrates and the breakdown of excess fat deposits.

First of all, fluid loss occurs in the body. Then glycogen (the main storage carbohydrate of animals and humans) begins to break down. A little later, the body begins to use up reserves of fat and muscle mass for its vital functions.

Most often, a protein diet refers to one of four weight loss methods: the Kremlin diet, the egg diet, the protein-vitamin diet and the Atkins diet. Different methods of protein weight loss offer their own diet. What is common is the almost complete rejection of carbohydrate foods and the consumption of foods containing the maximum amount of animal protein. Any types of meat and fish, eggs, low-fat dairy products can be consumed in unlimited quantities. Meals should be taken 4 – 6 times a day. Moreover, it is recommended to have breakfast 30 minutes after getting up, and to have dinner 3–4 hours before bedtime. A specific protein diet leads to a sharp restructuring of metabolic processes in the body.

Such an unbalanced diet makes many people think about the question of what a protein diet is: benefit or harm? What can be achieved by adhering to a protein diet: losing weight and improving the health of the body or harmful effects and disruption of vital processes?

A protein diet is suitable exclusively for healthy people. For diseases and disorders of the heart, kidneys and liver, a protein diet is contraindicated. Therefore, it is highly advisable to undergo a medical examination before making a decision to lose weight. Also, pregnant women should not follow a protein diet.

The main benefit of a protein diet is its effectiveness, rapid weight loss in a short period of time. The effectiveness of the protein diet has been experimentally confirmed by scientists at the Rowett Research Institute.

Another undoubted advantage of protein nutrition is the variety of permitted products. Sticking to a protein diet is undoubtedly easier than consuming unlimited quantities of oatmeal or cucumbers for several days in a row. The main thing is to completely avoid starchy and sweet foods and eliminate alcohol. Protein foods are digested rather slowly. That is why during a protein diet there is practically no feeling of hunger and there is no desire to snack, which is also important.

It is also significant that the results of the diet last a long time. But this does not mean that after completing the weight loss stage, food can be consumed in any quantities and combinations. It’s better to stick to a certain regime that is good for your health and figure.

A protein diet saturates the body with proteins - vital nutrients involved in almost all life processes. A lack of protein in the body can lead to serious disruptions in the functioning of organs and systems of the body.

A protein diet is very popular among athletes and bodybuilders, because an excessive amount of protein in the body helps to quickly build muscle mass. Athletes successfully combine maintaining a protein diet with strength training in gyms.

No matter what, the harm of a protein diet and its negative impact on the functioning of various body systems exists.

This fact was scientifically substantiated by Swedish and American scientists. Scientists have found that a high-protein diet increases the risk of developing serious diseases of the cardiovascular system, such as stroke and heart attack. Moreover, danger arises even with short-term adherence to such a regime. It was also noted that women are more susceptible to such negative effects than men. The study was carried out over 16 years. According to its results, the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people eating protein foods is 28% higher than in other subjects. According to scientists, a protein diet has a right to exist if their diet primarily includes proteins of plant origin (nuts, beans, etc.). The use of animal proteins leads to a significant increase in the level of bad cholesterol in the blood, which provokes diseases.

Another target of a protein diet is the human intestine. The protein diet is almost completely devoid of fiber, which can cause painful constipation and the development of dysbiosis.

Carbohydrate metabolism also suffers from diet. Ketoacidosis develops - poisoning of the body with ketones. Symptoms of ketoacidosis: unpleasant odor of acetone from the mouth, loss of appetite, increased nervous excitability.

With prolonged protein nutrition, the likelihood of developing intestinal cancer increases.

A protein diet leads to disruption of the acid-base balance in the body, massive oxidation of cells and their death. In addition, with protein nutrition, the body becomes intoxicated with protein breakdown products - oxalates and urates. This leads to excessive stress on the kidneys and liver. In other words, a protein diet poisons the body.

A protein diet is especially dangerous for girls. Nitrogen formed during the breakdown of protein can accumulate in the genital tract, as a result of which fertilization processes are disrupted.

A protein diet is an effective way to lose weight, allowing you to lose excess weight in a short time. However, the price for the acquired slimness is not commensurate with the number of kilograms lost. A protein diet has too negative an effect on the human body. So, whether to lose weight or not is everyone’s individual choice. Of the diets listed, the easiest is the Atkins method. According to experts, it is not so dangerous, because in addition to proteins, it includes additional intake of nutritional supplements, vitamins and fiber. Protein weight loss should be carried out only by healthy people under strict medical supervision.