The Study
Association of Major Dietary Protein Sources With All‐Cause and Cause‐Specific Mortality: Prospective Cohort Study
This study watched what women ate for 18 years and saw that those who ate more plants and nuts tended to live longer, while those who ate more processed meat and eggs tended to die sooner. But it didn’t make people change their diets — so we can’t say the food itself caused the difference.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Not all proteins are the same—some foods with protein help you live longer, others might shorten your life.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 560 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes—switching just a few bites of meat or eggs to nuts daily could meaningfully lower your chance of dying from heart disease, cancer, or dementia.
- 2Eating more plant protein (like beans and nuts) lowers death risk by 9–21%.
- 3Replacing meat or eggs with nuts cuts death risk by up to 47%.
- 4Eating eggs or processed meat raises death risk by 10–24%.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of the American Heart Association
Year
2021
Authors
Yangbo Sun, Buyun Liu, Linda G. Snetselaar, Robert B. Wallace, Aladdin H. Shadyab, Candyce H. Kroenke, Bernhard Haring, Barbara V. Howard, James M. Shikany, Carolina Valdiviezo, Wei Bao
Related Content
Claims (6)
Eating more or less total dietary protein does not change the risk of dying from any cause or from heart disease.
In postmenopausal women, eating eggs is linked to a higher risk of dying from heart disease, cancer, or any cause, but a lower risk of dying from dementia.
In postmenopausal women, replacing 5% of daily calories from animal protein with plant protein is linked to lower rates of death from all causes, heart disease, and dementia.
In postmenopausal women, replacing 2 ounces of red meat, eggs, or dairy with nuts each day is linked to a lower risk of dying from any cause, heart disease, or cancer.
In postmenopausal women, consuming more plant protein is linked to lower rates of death from all causes, heart disease, and dementia.
In postmenopausal women, eating processed red meat is linked to a 6% higher risk of dying from any cause and a 20% higher risk of dying from dementia.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.