 We know that the quality and quantity of fat is tightly correlated with the risk of our number one killer heart disease, but what about protein? Out of Harvard recently, dietary protein and risk of ischemic heart disease in middle-aged men. Independent of source and independent of fat, do you think total protein intake was associated with more heart disease, less heart disease, or no difference? The answer they found was no difference. The quantity didn't seem to matter, but what about the quality? It was the source of the protein. They observed no association between total dietary protein and the risk of total heart disease in this group of men. However, higher intake of animal protein may be associated with increased risk of ischemic heart disease and quote-unquote healthy men, meaning those without hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes, healthy only in quotes, though given their higher risk of heart disease due to their consumption of animal protein. They also observed a significant inverse association between higher vegetable protein intake and risk of fatal heart disease, so more plants, less heart disease, meaning the more plants and fewer animals one eats would appear to be better for the heart, even independent of the fat issue. So the benefits of a plant-based diet may extend beyond just avoiding saturated animal fat. But isn't protein just protein, though? I mean, how does your body know if it's coming from a plant or an animal? Well, proteins are made up of a string of amino acids, and there are some amino acids more common in plants than in animals. Particularly glutamic acid, which a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association was found, for example, to potentially have independent blood pressure lowering effects, which may contribute to the inverse relation between vegetable protein to blood pressure, meaning high plants, low pressure. Their data generally reinforced current recommendations for high intake of vegetable products as a part of comprehensive nutritional lifestyle approaches to preventing and controlling major established cardiovascular risk factors and epidemic cardiovascular disease.