--- title: Living Longer: The Best Protein to Eat for Longevity description: We know that fats from plants are better for your health than animal fats, but researchers now say the same may be true for proteins canonical: https://time.com/4431562/animal-protein/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-01T15:00:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:17.482Z article:section: Health og:title: This Kind of Animal Protein Helps You Live Longer og:description: We know that fats from plants are better for your health than animal fats, but researchers now say the same may be true for proteins og:url: https://time.com/4431562/animal-protein/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27ea8f48d89d3b71/69887215bc6cfc65f73da7a4/50-healthiest-foods-wild-caught-cod.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2100 og:image:height: 1181 og:image:alt: healthiest foods, health food, diet, nutrition, time.com stock, cod, fish og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Kind of Animal Protein Helps You Live Longer twitter:description: We know that fats from plants are better for your health than animal fats, but researchers now say the same may be true for proteins twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27ea8f48d89d3b71/69887215bc6cfc65f73da7a4/50-healthiest-foods-wild-caught-cod.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Kind of Animal Protein Helps You Live Longer > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=16db785d-ce60-47ae-bf53-0d3d0b7a87cf&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Should I Eat Pork? [Watch (HLS stream): Should I Eat Pork?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/pApjZewf.m3u8) (1:56)  _Published 2015-05-13. Should I Eat Pork?_  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Aug 1, 2016 3:00 PM UTC  Danny Kim for TIME  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Aug 1, 2016 3:00 PM UTC There’s more evidence that a [plant-based diet](http://time.com/4411754/fat-mediterranean-diet/) has a host of health benefits; it’s linked to a lower risk of [heart disease](http://time.com/4411754/fat-mediterranean-diet/), diabetes and certain cancers, and some studies even suggest it may help contribute to [longevity](http://time.com/3706705/what-diet-helps-people-live-the-longest/). Most of the evidence for this plant benefit focused on the beneficial fats found in plants. They’re generally unsaturated, and therefore they don’t tend to build up in heart vessel walls and cause problems. But in a new [study published in _JAMA Internal Medicine_](http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.4182), researchers investigated whether the proteins in plants can have different effects on health than animal proteins, even apart from the effects that fats can have. Dr. Mingyang Song from Massachusetts General Hospital and his colleagues analyzed data from two large ongoing studies: the Nurses Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, which involve more than 170,000 people who have been followed for an average of 28 years. Based on what the people reported they ate, Song and his team calculated the amount of protein they were receiving from animal and plant source and found that people who consumed more plant proteins had a lower risk of dying during the study than people who ate more animal proteins. That’s not surprising, since previous studies have shown the benefits of a plant-based diet. But what surprised Song was the fact that the benefits seemed to be greatest among people who had at least one risk factor for early death, such as smoking, being overweight or obese, drinking alcohol or being physically inactive. That suggests that plant proteins may be offsetting some of the adverse effects that some risk factors may have on health. In addition, the group found that the type of protein also matters. People who ate mostly a certain type of animal protein—from fish and chicken—had a lower mortality rate than those who ate more [red and processed meat](http://time.com/4092378/red-meat-hot-dogs-and-the-war-on-delicious/?iid=sr-link2). In fact, while their death rates were still slightly higher than those who ate mostly plant proteins, they still were closer to the rates of plant-eaters than those who ate more [red meat](http://time.com/3668154/should-i-eat-red-meat/?iid=sr-link3). Song says the findings hint that the benefits of eating plant proteins may go beyond simply sparing the body the influx of vessel-clogging fats. So based on the findings, “if you have a choice between animal and plant protein, we would say plant protein is preferred and a better source,” he says. “But if people have to choose between different animal protein sources, then fish and chicken are probably better sources compared to processed red meat.” ## Transcript This little piggy went fo market. But does that mean you should take it home? We asked five experts to answer the tough question and most of them gave you permission park pork on your plate but with a lot of caveats. A lean cut like pork tenderloin is actually as lean as a chicken breast, says Kate Patton. A typical three ounce serving of pork has more than 20 grams of protein. And it's rich in vitamins and minerals. It's one of the best sources of zinc. With 17 % of your daily recommended intake in every three ounce serving. It also has vitamin B12, a hard to get nutrient that maintains healthy red blood cells in the body, says Christy King. But there's more to our food than just nutri- Nutrition says David Catz. Pigs are smarter than the average dog. So, raising them in factory farms and putting them on our plate while treating Fido as family doesn't really make much sense, he says. You can eat pork says, Orvagie Rangdon, but a 2013 consumer reports investigation found concerning number of antibiotic resistance strains of bacteria on the pork it's studied. Overusing antibiotics lessens the effectiveness of these drugs for all of us she says. Make sure to cook pork properly to kill off pathogens. If you want to buy better produced pork, look for labels reading organic, global animal partnership or animal welfare approved, she says. And no fall for the no hormones added. And label. Legally, hormones aren't even allowed in pork production. So, what's the bottom line on swine? Barry Estabrook was so fascinated by pork and pigs that he wrote a new book called Pig Tales. He concluded that pork is either the worst meat you can eat from pretty much any perspective or the very best, he told us. It all depends on how it's raised, so make sure to find out before picking pork. 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