Is protein finally a 'thing' now?

_sirenofthesea_

I also laughed at the article @SonicDeathMonkey quoted.

56g of protein a day is what the RDA value is for an adult male. I almost had that with just my lunch today. My lunch was 50g of protein. My typical breakfast, when I am not travelling, has 35 to 40g of protein.

I'm a chubby girl and I eat 150 gms a day!

sardelsa

All I know is that if you eat those stupid protein bars, yr gonna get fat. Found out the hard way a couple years ago. And that was within a 1200 calorie a day diet.... bleh. Eat real food. Processed bars still end up being junk in the final analysis.

:huh: ... I guess my body didn't get the memo.

Slacker16

Yeah, protein is definitely the next dietary fad.

All things being equal, you can get rabbit starvation both by going excessively low-fat or excessively high-protein... I guess we'll just have to see how this turns out. High-protein is more expensive than low-fat, so people are probably less likely to take it to extremes.

As for the "need 'bout tree-fiddy grams of protein a day" thing, the magical leprechaun that lives on the railtracks by my apartment building told me there's some placebo effect involved... but he's been wrong before.

ETA : my main complaint about protein bars is that most are too sweet for me.

Mr_Bad_Example

Ugh, I hate that protein is a thing. American diets are so heavy in protein--we (and our kidneys) do not need supplementation. I was in the hospital last week for an intestinal blockage from PROTEIN SHAKES. Just...ugh.

That's because you were trying to drink the shakes from the wrong end.

bellaa_x0

It is a "thing" they do seem to be advertising.
That said, whenever I hear the amount of protein I laugh and say "you think THAT'S high protein?"

Like those Oscar Meyer P3 thingies??~! 14 grams is NOT high protein.

This. My favorite is the "protein bar" with 8 grams.

this x2 :laugh:

dcresider

Whatever happened to eating just plain protein (meats, poultry, fish, cheese, etc.)???

cosmiqrust

i'm fine with it except all the junk that isn't even high protein. i'm pretty sure i saw an ad for a payday bar saying that it's a great high-protein snack. wow, seven whole grams of peanut protein, i'm gonna get f*ckin Ripped.

cosmiqrust

Whatever happened to eating just plain protein (meats, poultry, fish, cheese, etc.)???

we found out we could shove all that protein into a delicious cookies and cream flavored candy bar and rolled with it.

MinnieInMaine

Has anyone else noticed all the 'protein' products that keep appearing? Cereal, granola bars, heck pasta (which is hilarious, Barilla plus advertises 17g of protein per serving as being great, except their 'serving' is 3.5oz and not 2, so it doesn't even have more protein than the whole grain kind).

Is that the new 'thing' after low fat? Would be a pretty nice change, if you ask me (except obviously most 'protein' products still really don't have enough protein).

Yup! I checked the new Cheerios Protein out of curiosity and saw the serving is larger (1.25 cup vs 3/4-1 cup for other flavors). Granted, it's got 4-5 more grams of protein than other flavors BUT the label says 11 grams of protein. If you read the fine print, it's actually only 7 grams per serving. You only get 11 grams after adding 1/2 cup of skim milk. It's amazing what they can get away with...

lifeskittles

I'll be the oddball and say I love it. HEB makes a protein fortified milk with 50% less sugar than regular milk. I chug that stuff on the daily. Plus I occasionally eat the protein snacks...I get low blood sugar easily so having a good carb+ protein snack is key for me. I get bored, so having a variety is fabulous. Although I generally eat real food, I like the idea of being able to eat crackers or cereal with protein if I want a carby snack. Hate if you must, but its a much better fad than atkins or "gluten free"...at least protein is actually good for you.

lifeskittles

Oh and if you're having kidney issues from excessive protein its because you aren't drinking enough water or consuming enough of the other macros. Protein in itself does not cause kidney problems with healthy adults and normal kidneys. Its an abundance of protein with a deficiency in water or carbohydrates, that might. Also, If it makes you constipated then you simply need more fiber, or you likely have a deficiency in your intestinal flora.

reachingforarainbow

Oh and if you're having kidney issues from excessive protein its because you aren't drinking enough water or consuming enough of the other macros. Protein in itself does not cause kidney problems with healthy adults and normal kidneys. Its an abundance of protein with a deficiency in water or carbohydrates, that might. Also, If it makes you constipated then you simply need more fiber, or you likely have a deficiency in your intestinal flora.

Well. I have apparently fallen into the "trap". I legitamitely was convince that you could have kidney problems with excessive protein. But then I researched for a minute, and apparently there is not any real proof that it does anything to your kidneys (of a healthy adult)..... Good thing, because I love protein bars, meat, dairy etc.

ValGogo

You know why....because now "lifting" is the "thing." Not that it was ever out of style, but it's REALLY mainstream now. And I have to say, that's one fad I'm happy about. Well, aside form not-know-it-alls that become experts in three weeks, but it's good that fitness is huge!

WalkingAlong

I'm reading the Michael Mosley book on his 5:2 diet and he's pretty anti-protein. He said he cut out his morning lattes because he was getting too much protein and he feels it increases your cancer risk, or something. He says the USDA rec of around 50g a day is generous and plenty. I'm not saying I agree or disagree but I'm comfortable staying around the 40-50g/day general rec.

I noticed Starbucks has some 'protein pack' snack on the menu, or something.

I was also re-reading some Michael Pollan recently and he says the food marketers will always embrace any new fad that gives them a new trendy label claim.

autopilot_off

I'm reading the Michael Mosley book on his 5:2 diet and he's pretty anti-protein. He said he cut out his morning lattes because he was getting too much protein and he feels it increases your cancer risk, or something. He says the USDA rec of around 50g a day is generous and plenty. I'm not saying I agree or disagree but I'm comfortable staying around the 40-50g/day general rec.

I noticed Starbucks has some 'protein pack' snack on the menu, or something.

I was also re-reading some Michael Pollan recently and he says the food marketers will always embrace any new fad that gives them a new trendy label claim.

I'm no expert, but in my opinion generalizing about anything relating to our bodies is a slippery slope. And you've got it right on, it's the "next thing" just like the OP said. It's a marketing strategy to capitalize on people's innate belief that there must be some easier, faster way for them to reach their goals.

We are all human; some of us are male, some female but we're also very different. Some people might feel just fine only getting 50g of protein a day. Some people want to be super fit and compete and do amazing things with their bodies. Some people just want to not be fat (hint: I'm in this category).

So while I think a person's goals influence what they eat and how much, I also believe that differences in a person's perception of their bodies (how they feel) factors in heavily (no pun intended...well, maybe).

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Whatever happened to eating just plain protein (meats, poultry, fish, cheese, etc.)???

I don't really like any of that stuff. I eat it, because protein, but none of those foods are things I particularly enjoy (or the ones I do are mostly fat, like ribs. Mmmmm ribs) and I actively hate eggs.

If I can have a protein bar for the same calories as a chicken breast then that's what I'd rather do.

WalkingAlong

Mosley's footnoted article for high-protein diets being linked to higher cancer rates doesn't address it at all but there is stuff out there to google.

http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/abstract/S1550-4131(14)00062-X

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