Consumer Health: Are high-protein diets safe for weight loss?

For most healthy people, a high-protein diet generally isn’t harmful, particularly when followed for a short time. Such diets may help with weight loss by making you feel fuller.

However, the risks of using a high-protein diet with carbohydrate restriction for the long term are still being studied. If a high-protein diet is followed for an extended time, several health problems may result, including nutritional insufficiency, constipation and increased risk of heart disease.

Learn more about high-protein diets from Katherine Zeratsky, a Mayo Clinic registered dietitian nutritionist.