A new report presented at the Military Health Research Forum shows that fighter pilot performance and mental acuity is superior on a high-carb or high-fat diet when compared to a high-protein intervention. This challenges the claims of many in the low-carb diet fad world who claim that high-protein diets improve mental function.
According to news reports, the researchers compared the results on standardized tests of neurological function after four day dietary interventions. Diets were matched for caloric intake and micronutrient content. Flight performance, sleep, and memory were all significantly worse after the high-protein intervention than after other dietary interventions.
This is hardly a definitive study. The group surveyed is likely to be much more intelligent and much better physically conditioned than the average American population. It may be that less extreme outliers may not see the subtle differences in function as acutely. Still, it is hard to see how these results could be consistent with a hypothesis that high-protein improves performance.
My former students know that there are few dietary fads that I take more delight in debunking than the protein faddists, so this news makes my week. I hope the authors publish their results in a peer-reviewed journal soon so the rest of the world can see them.