3 minute video

[nutritionfacts.org]

Sources Cited

Allen NE, Appleby PN, Davey GK, Kaaks R, Rinaldi S, Key TJ. The associations of diet with serum insulin-like growth factor I and its main binding proteins in 292 women meat-eaters, vegetarians, and vegans. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002 Nov;11(11):1441-8.

Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients). A Report of the Panel on Macronutrients, Subcommittees on Upper Reference Levels of Nutrients and Interpretation and Uses of Dietary Reference Intakes, and the Standing Committee on the Scientific Evaluation of Dietary Reference Intakes. Institute of Medicine. 2005.

Note: eating vegan protein reduces IGF-1

Extra notes:


Contribution to aging

It is now widely accepted that signaling through the insulin/IGF-1-like receptor pathway is a significant contributor to the biological aging process in many organisms. This avenue of research first achieved prominence with the work of Cynthia Kenyon, who showed that mutations in the daf-2 gene double the lifespan of the roundworm, C. elegans.[12] Daf-2 encodes the worm's unified insulin/IGF-1-like receptor. Despite the impact of IGF1-like on C. elegans longevity, direct application to mammalian aging is not as clear as mammals do not form dauer like developmental stages.

Insulin/IGF-1-like signaling is conserved from worms to humans. In vitro experiments show that mutations that reduce insulin/IGF-1 signaling have been shown to decelerate the degenerative aging process and extend lifespan in a wide range of organisms, including Drosophila melanogaster, mice,[13] and possibly humans.[14][15][16][17] Reduced IGF-1 signaling is also thought to contribute to the "anti-aging" effects of Calorie restriction.[18]"

cancer

The IGF signaling pathway has a pathogenic role in cancer. Studies have shown that increased levels of IGF lead to increased growth of existing cancer cells.[23] People with Laron syndrome have also recently been shown to be of much less risk to develop cancer.[24]