This entry was inspired by an email I received about my prior entry concerning whey-producing fungus, so apologies for harping on this subject.

The food world has been in a bit of a protein hype cycle for the past few years, with seemingly every category of food offering protein-enhanced alternatives, usually at a significant price premium.

Tortillas, Breads. Drinks. Cereals. Everything comes in +protein variations1.

So there is a bit of fatigue on the topic. Whenever discussions arise about protein options on sites like Reddit — say discussing a new protein drink, for instance — invariably the top ranked replies will be some variation of “I’m so sick of all this protein stuff. You are all getting enough protein already so cut it out with this silly fad”. Like clockwork.

I think most people would be shocked at how little protein they actually get in an ordinary Western diet. While many people might hit the 0.8g/kg RDA minimum (largely via low quality proteins), few hit the optimal 1.0 - 1.2g/kg RDA (1.2 - 2.2g/kg for athletes). And this is a heightened concern for older adults where 1.2 - 1.5g/kg is necessary to avoid sarcopenia. Ideally high in glycine and leucine.

I’m about 78kg, and auditing my own diet — a reasonably healthy diet by most standards — I was nowhere near 78g of protein per day on average, much less the optimal 93g. And note that I eat lots of meat, eggs, cheese, milk, and so on.

I started paying more attention to protein in my diet, and increasingly supplemented protein drinks and bars when I find I’m falling short of targets. I more conscientiously considered protein as a macro in meals.

Your body can create carbs (e.g. glucose) from fats or some proteins, but your body can’t create proteins from oils or carbs. It is essential.

If you aren’t actively targeting a level, you’re probably falling short as a result of incentives in our food supply chains.

Protein is the expensive macronutrient, while carbs and fats are incredibly cheap. This yields supermarkets that have the bulk of their floor space occupied by negligible protein products: There are an endless number of ways to remix flour, sugar, oil and flavourings into an unending array of products, and these are what many people end up filling their daily caloric intake with. When products cut costs, invariably it is the protein that is downsized, the space filled in with carbs and fats.

Many people would benefit from increasing their protein intake, ideally without increasing their saturated fat consumption.

Footnotes

  1. I can’t broach this topic without noting RFK Jr. and his MAHA movement, where they claim they’re going to “end the war on protein”. Which is a weird claim to make in the middle of a protein craze. I suspect their original slogan was that they were going to “end the war on saturated fat”, but cooler heads prevailed. ↩

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