Protein Poisoning Case

[sbeaudry]

My wife found this article today and I immediately thought of protein poisoning (lack of fat) which of course is missing from the versions of the article I have read. Instead what is blamed is too much protein but they discovered she had a rare disorder (upon death) that inhibited her ability to break it down. I'm wondering if it isn't just actually a classic case of protein poisoning brought on by a lack of fat in the diet and this is being overlooked because fat is 'bad'/taboo.

http://nypost.com/2017/08/14/bodybuilder-mom-dies-from-too-much-protein-before-competition/

Meegan Hefford, a mother of two and bodybuilder, died after an overconsumption of protein shakes, supplements and protein-rich foods.

Hefford was found unconscious in her apartment in West Australia and was quickly transported to the hospital, where she was declared brain-dead. She passed away two days later.

Hefford, who had been competing as a bodybuilder since 2014, was also ramping up her gym routine in the weeks before her death. The 25-year-old mom and paramedic trainee had put herself on a special restricted diet while she was preparing for a bodybuilding competition in September.

Upon her death, doctors discovered Hefford had been living with a rare disorder — urea cycle disorder — which stops the body from being able to break down protein. The disorder can lead to fatal levels of ammonia in the bloodstream and excessive fluid on the brain.

Her final cause of death was ruled an “intake of bodybuilding supplements” in addition to the undiagnosed illness, reported Perth Now.

Hefford’s mom, Michelle White, told the site that she warned her daughter to take it easy. “I said to her, ‘I think you’re doing too much at the gym, calm down, slow it down.’” Hefford had started going to the gym twice a day to exercise, which her mom thought was the reason for the lethargy and fatigue that Meegan had complained about. White says she didn’t even know her daughter was using protein shakes or supplements until after Hefford’s death, when she discovered half a dozen containers of protein shakes in her daughter’s kitchen. White believes the supplements and shakes were purchased online where there are not enough restrictions, which she wants to end.

“I know there are people other than Meegan who have ended up in hospital because they’ve overloaded on supplements,” White told Perth Now. “The sale of these products needs to be more regulated.”

So, interestingly enough the mother, clueless, wants bodybuilding supplements to be regulated rather than wanting to look into the 'rare' illness.


Anyway, they talk about the ammonia build up and too much protein but blame supplements when it seems like protein poisoning due simply to bad nutritional understanding.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_poisoning

It has been observed that the human liver cannot safely metabolise much more than 221–301 g of protein per day (for an 80 kg/176 pound person,[3] and human kidneys are similarly limited in their capability to remove urea (a byproduct of protein catabolism) from the bloodstream. Exceeding that amount results in excess levels of amino acids, ammonia (hyperammonemia), and/or urea in the bloodstream, with potentially fatal consequences,[4] especially if the person switches to a high-protein diet without giving time for the levels of their hepatic enzymes to upregulate