Having read through the complete paper and having examined the five tables, therein, I have come to the conclusion that the entire show was almost a total joke.   There is actually hardly anything for advocates like myself of a Mid-High Carbohydrate diet to be concerned about.  Nor, is there anything for advocates of a High Protein diet to be bragging about.  This is one case where reading the entire paper, versus the abstract, did make a big difference!!! The original news story that had attracted my original interest is located at:  http://www.mercola.com/article/Diet/carbohydrates/protein.htm Its headline: High Protein Diet Found Beneficial is absolutely without foundation.  What had attracted me to this story were two key phrases adverse effects and adequate protein.   The news story concluded with the findings of the abstract that stated: Long-term intake of high protein diets did not increase variables of oxidative stress.  Ooooh, sounds bad don't it?   Well, you are WRONG! This conclusion turns out, in my opinion, to be ONLY a word game being played by the authors of the research study. The news report, as well as the abstract, totally ignores three major (in my opinion) findings of the paper which are as follows. 1)Rats fed both the moderate and high protein levels did NOT gain significantly more body weight than rats fed the adequate protein diet; i.e.,High Protein Diet Found NOT Beneficial. 2)Skeletal muscle protein concentration was slightly but significantly higher in rats fed the Moderate Protein diet. Whereas in the High Protein diet the protein seemed to end up in the liver, rather than in muscle mass where it belongs; i.e.,High Protein Diet Found NOT Beneficial. 3) As expected, amino acids taken up in excess in the Moderate Protein and High Protein diets were oxidized.  Protein oxidation occurred in all 4 groups.  Protein oxidation was 47% and 90% greater respectively in the Moderate and High diets compared to the Adequate diet; i.e.,High Protein Diet Found NOT Beneficial. This is where the authors were playing word games.  Which is worst:  'Protein Oxidation' or ''Oxidative Stress?  Take your pick.  I would choose  'Protein Oxidation' since ''Oxidative Stress has nothing to do with protein. The abstract is at: http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/130/12/2889 Petzke KJ, Elsner A, Proll J, Thielecke F, Metges CC. Long-term high protein intake does not increase oxidative stress in rats. J Nutr. 2000 Dec;130(12):2889-96. PMID: 11110842 Both the abstract and the entire paper are in themselves a real joke.  They are clearly more interested in jerking you around than in resolving issues. These people are always interested in leaving the door open for further research.  In other words, follow the money!!!! This rat study is applicable to humans because dietary protein provides 12 to 15% of the total energy intake of human adults consuming Western diets. And, in earlier rat studies, it was shown that a dietary protein concentration of 10 to 15% is required for maximum growth in young rats. The primary problem here is that the actual researchers talk entirely about protein percentages, while virtually ignoring FAT and Carbohydrates!!!  It turns out that each of the four protein diet groups received the same identical absolute amount of FAT, which was 5 grams per 100 grams of food. The complete picture of the ' Adequate Protein' diet is defined as follows: 13.8% protein, 72.2% carbohydrates, 11.9% fat, and 2.1% other.  The 'other' figure is the result of the diet breakdown in their table 1 which refers to Casein being 86% crude protein. Doesn't this picture strike you as being totally laughable.  The rats were on an very low fat diet that contained a whopping 72.2% carbohydrates!!!! My own diet information documents that carbohydrates clearly become EXCESSive at 68%.  Only a mad person would consume a diet of 72.2% carbohydrates!!!!  Clearly the ''Oxidative Stress reported was due to an EXCESSive amount of carbohydrates, NOT the amount of Protein in the Diet.  Up the FAT to a recommended 30% low fat Diet and bingo your ''Oxidative Stress will disappear with an   adequate protein  diet.   Ergo, I, hereby, retract my previous comments about upping my recommended protein recommendations by 5%.  I will add a comment, however, to the effect that any reported oxidative stress reported in   adequate / inadequate protein  diets are due mostly  to clearly EXCESSively high levels of carbohydrates and EXCESSively low fat levels. Gee, I guess I was wrong.  If you want to know for sure, read the entire paper, like I did. Spending money was well worth the peace of mind that it bought!  

If you want to know for sure, read the entire paper, like I did. John Gohde, You can read. Now learn to interpret. Larry

Casein being 86% crude protein. Doesn't this picture strike you as being totally laughable.  The rats were on an very low fat diet that contained a whopping 72.2% carbohydrates!!!! My own diet information documents that carbohydrates clearly become EXCESSive at 68%.  Only a mad person would consume a diet of 72.2% carbohydrates!!!!  Clearly the ''Oxidative Stress reported was due to an EXCESSive amount of carbohydrates, NOT the amount of Protein in the Diet. John Gohde, I misread John's comments. His referents are somewhat screwed up, as he fails to make clear that the rats he is referring to are only those on the adequate protein diet , though that inference is deducible from the entire context of his remarks. In any case, John, if the oxidative stress was due to the carbohydrate load, the carbohydrates must certainly have been lesser percentages in the higher protein arms of the study, as fat was held constant. Your argument is completely without merit. Comments about reading and interpretation, made in my other reply, also apply here. Larry

This rat study is applicable to humans because dietary protein provides 12 to 15% of the total energy intake of human adults consuming Western diets. And, in earlier rat studies, it was shown that a dietary protein concentration of 10 to 15% is required for maximum growth in young rats. Doesn't this picture strike you as being totally laughable.  The rats were on an very low fat diet that contained a whopping 72.2% carbohydrates!!!! My own diet information documents that carbohydrates clearly become EXCESSive at 68%.  Only a mad person would consume a diet of 72.2% carbohydrates!!!!  Clearly the ''Oxidative Stress reported was due Are you talking about rats or humans?