Processed Junk Information is any information that makes your life harder than it is while setting you up to fail long term. It uses your labor to monetize alternative products and services.
Protein-sparing modified fast is considered by many people and charlatans in the nutrition industry to be a great way to lose fat while maintaining lean mass. The hypothesis is that by increasing the protein intake, you are not only inducing satiety but also ensuring that you won't lose any muscle while you're losing fat. Similar to practically every diet, protein-sparing modified fast, when it comes to fat loss, works on the merits of reducing energy intake.
However, the problem with protein sparing modified fast is that due to its restrictive nature, it is not sustainable for most people and ends up as a colossal failure for most people, as noted by this study(1) that followed 1403 people for 5 years. Out of those only 879(63%… nearly half dropped out!) even started the protocol. By the end of the 5 years, those who stuck around lost only 3% more weight but by year 4, there was no difference between the protein-sparing modified fast group versus other diets! The tiny results only remained for the first and third years of the protein-sparing modified fast intervention. In other words, charlatans use these buzzwords and coolness factors of a novel intervention to make your life more challenging while giving you no long-term results. Instead, the focus should be on eating better foods rather than going on diets like protein-sparing modified fast which set you up to fail.
Another nail in the coffin for this sort of fasting is the claim that you won't lose lean mass. In this new study(2), though the direct assessment wasn't on protein-sparing modified fast, following a very low-calorie diet with either 52 grams or 77 grams of protein per day simulated the protein-sparing modified fast very well. Surprisingly, the attrition rate was similarly at 22% in both groups after 8 weeks! Both groups equally lost body weight, fat mass, lean mass, and resting metabolic rate. In other words, increasing protein by about 25 grams did not have a protective effect against lean mass loss.
Processed junk information and charlatans are everywhere. The solution to obesity, diabetes, and other chronic conditions will not come from throwing people into unsustainable junk lifestyles and diets. It will come from improving our modern processed foods and smart consumerism. We need foods like Energy Pods that are on a quest to create better foods, agnostic to fad diets and lifestyles. Go get some Energy Pods and help re-shape the food, nutrition, and health landscape.