High-protein (keto/paleo) diets increase your inflammation in the long-run!
- Feb 8
- 3 min read
High-protein diets can help in the short-term!
A high-protein diet can be helpful in specific situations, especially when it reduces constant sugar intake or frequent carb-heavy snacking. Many people notice quick improvements when they increase protein because it can:
keep you full longer
reduce cravings
create steadier energy
reduce impulsive snacking
support structure and recovery (especially when under-eating was a pattern)
And yes: in the short term, increasing protein can help in specific situations... For example, some people temporarily feel better when they reduce sugars and refined carbs (sometimes even when they’re trying to “starve” yeast/candida symptoms).
So if a high-protein approach helped you at the beginning, you’re not imagining it.
But how about their long-term implications?
What happens to your system over time:
Through the Ayurvedic lens, food doesn’t just have calories or macros - it has qualities. And when you repeat one set of qualities for too long, the body starts showing the consequences.
Remember the famous principle "like increases like"?
High-protein diets tend to increase Pitta qualities - heat, intensity, and metabolic demand.
High-fat diets tend to increase Kapha qualities - heaviness, density, and stagnation.
This doesn’t mean protein or fat are “bad.” It simply means they push the system in a certain direction. And the longer you stay in that direction, the more your body adapts to that state…
What can happen long-term on a high-protein diet
Over time, many people start noticing signs of excess heat in the body: more inflammation, more “sharpness” in the system, and sometimes symptoms like reflux, skin flare-ups, irritability, overheating at night, or the inner feeling of being “wired.”
At the same time, high-protein eating often becomes high-fat eating without realizing it - more cheese, more meats, more protein bars, more nuts, more heavy breakfasts.
And that can slowly create the opposite issue too: heaviness and stagnation. Digestion becomes slower, you feel heavy after meals, motivation drops, congestion increases, or weight starts feeling “stuck.”
So you get this strange combination: heat + heaviness, intensity + sluggishness.
High-protein diets require strong digestion
Protein is not light food.
It requires strong stomach acid, strong enzymes, strong bile flow, and strong digestive fire. If your digestion is genuinely strong and your lifestyle supports it, you may do fine.
But many people are already eating under stress, eating late, snacking too often, drinking cold drinks with meals, and living with a nervous system that’s always “on.” In that reality, a high-protein diet can become a constant demand on the digestive system.
And here’s the twist: your digestion doesn’t become stronger from being pushed.
Sometimes it becomes overworked.
When your digestive fire slows down, Ama (undigested residue / toxins) increases. That’s when people start getting symptoms even though they’re eating “healthy.”
Common signs of this pattern can look like: bloating even on clean meals, fatigue after eating, constipation or irregular elimination, brain fog, cravings that return, mood swings, and skin inflammation.
So yes - a high-protein diet can start as a fix and later become a burden, depending on your constitution, digestion strength, stress levels, and daily rhythm!
So… should you stop eating protein?
No, we are not anti-protein here. It is about not following trends without adjusting them first to our particular cases.
For some people, higher protein is supportive. For others, the more Ayurvedic move is: moderate protein, simpler meals, warmer foods, and stronger digestion support, so that the body can actually absorb what you’re giving it.
Would you like to decode what your body REALLY needs, based on your symptoms, constitution and imbalances?
