12/31/2020
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Jillian Michaels, best known for her coaching in the āBiggest Loserā TV show, is a celebrity whose reach is beyond any of my colleagues (although is on pace pass her up soon, oooh š). Jillian made quite the splash earlier this month when she dished out a bunch of protein myths that made the evidence-based community facepalm themselves into a coma.
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One of her most memorable claims was that protein beyond 30% of total kcals can cause bone loss via acidifying the body, causing it to leech calcium from bones to buffer that acidity. Folks, when I heard her say this, I felt like I entered a time warp into the 1980ās. She used the RDA of 0.8 g/kg to establish a minimum intake, which based on her bodyweight of 53 kg, amounts to 42 grams of protein (the RDA for protein sucks for most productive purposes, but thatās another topic). She then claims that protein should never exceed 30% of total calories, because bad things including bone loss will happen. Based on her 1800 kcal intake, a 30% maximum intake would be 540 kcal, which amounts to 135 grams of protein. Based on her 53 kg bodyweight, this amounts to 2.5 g/kg. THE HORROR!!!ā ļø
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The attached pic is a relatively recent study (one of several) led by Jose Antonio () showing that a high protein intake (averaging 2.8 g/kg) over a 6-month period in trained women had no harmful effects on bone mineral content or density. Again, this is one of several trials that heartily b***k the claim that high protein intakes are an inherent threat to bone health.
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Iām sure Jillian means well, and is genuinely trying to help her audience. However, wrong is wrong, and it would be great if everyone (especially celebs with huge audiences) had the guts to own up to dishing out misinformation.
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REFERENCE:
Antonio J, Ellerbroek A, Evans C, Silver T, Peacock CA. High protein consumption in trained women: bad to the bone? J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018 Jan 3115:6. [PMID: 29434529]
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