Every food commercial, advertisement, and packaging in the US is currently protein obsessed. I just bought 3 burritos, and the most noticeable thing on the entire package is its protein content. TV commercials about waffles are advertising that they have X amount of protein per serving. The products in my jobsite’s vending machine have protein all over every package.
Did America have a protein thing recently?
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One reason is that our dairy industry needs to find a way to sell a gazillion tons of excess whey protein.
Congratulations, you’ve discovered the nature of advertising.
A while back during the gluten-free craze my laundry detergent proudly had “gluten-free” on the packaging.
EDIT: I learned it’s possible for plant-based detergents to have contact with gluten, so for those with zero tolerance it can be a concern.
GMO free water is my favourite
I would very much like to know if that’s true. Removing every pollutant from water isn’t easy.
GMO=genetically modified organism. Non-GMO designations have nothing to do with pollutants or purity.
Probably should have been able to put that together myself. Thanks!
So while it sounds insane for detergent to label itself gluten-free, for people with severe gluten sensitivity toiletries, cosmetics, and other non-consumable items can still cause them symptoms with exposure, or so I’ve been told by someone I know with gluten intolerance. Whether this is an exaggerated concern or not, there is demand (albeit small) for such products.
I stand corrected.
The detergent I used was supposed to be eco-friendly so its target audience might be looking at plant-based cleaners.
I only just found out that I have a severe gluten intolerance, but not coeliac.
My wife and I used to make fun of all the random products that had GF labels, but now we understand the reason for them. There’s so many household items that just contain gluten as a thickening or binding agent and the labels are actually a huge help.
There are probably more, but this is the first thing I found
There isn’t really any evidence for gluten sensitivity. You’re likely reacting to something else, and it’s getting blamed on gluten. Celiac of course is a real thing. But there haven’t been any studies finding gluten sensitivity to have any tangible evidence. But, as always, do what makes feel better.
No, they have to ingest it. These people are stupid
It depends on the type. Celiac is gut based, but there are other intolerances and allergies. Some are contact based.
My dog shampoo proudly states that it has not been tested on captive animals… so I’m left wondering if they’ve tested it on free animals, or if I should think twice about using it on my dogs.
Animal testing typically involves injecting chemicals or rubbing directly into purpose-made abrasions or the eyes of animals. It is MUCH more brutal than it sounds.
Im sure they washed dogs with the final formula.
Animal testing typically involves injecting chemicals or rubbing directly into purpose-made abrasions or the eyes of animals
Man…why are we like this…
Animal testing doesn’t even guarantee that it’ll react the same way in/on humans. We have so many other options and yet we continue cruel practices because tradition. Ugh.
Or they’re taking the approach of software companies nowadays: don’t test, just make the users test in production
Although my dogs have protested loudly about being bathed with this shampoo, I can confirm that they survived and were cleaner as a result.
I just had a great mental picture of some scientists chasing down and tackling a wild dog to try and shampoo it.
I always thought this meant “this specific product was not tested on animals but the research it is based on maybe probably involved animal testing.” Like there’s some foundational knowledge that forms the basis of “how to make a shampoo”, and that knowledge may be gotten through some unethical means.
From Celiac.org
Do I have to use special gluten-free soaps, shampoos and lotions if I have celiac disease? Can gluten be absorbed through the skin?
No. Gluten cannot be absorbed through your scalp or skin. It must be ingested to affect those with Celiac disease.
https://celiac.org/2016/05/20/9-questions-about-celiac-disease-answered/
I drink my laundry detergent so this is important for me.
my laundry detergent proudly had “gluten-free” on the packaging.
I wonder if this has anything to do with Tide Pods and tiktok… Lmao
Is that even a concern for people with celiac disease? I know you’re not supposed to spend a lot of time in a bakery just because of airborne flour, but how much fucking gluten were they putting in detergent to begin with??
My local garage has gluten free oil changes.
As a gluten-intolerant, I’m pretty thankful for the marketing that made GF ‘cool’ for a bit. So many more options. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll continue drinking my GF beer.
As a vegan, it’s annoying. This obsession makes everyone concerned “where I get my protein.”
But no one seems to track their fiber, sodium, iron, riboflavin, etc. and would be miffed if I constantly asked people about it.
“Oh, I’m good on protein intake. Thank you. But now that you mention it: I have been wondering how to bring up my concern for your possible riboflavin deficiency…”
You gotta try riboflavinmaxxing
Beans. The answer to all of the above is beans.
Fiber was the latest crazy a long time ago.
Remember Colon Blow? https://youtu.be/Ku42Iszh9KM
Fiber however is something most Americans actually don’t get enough of. Like, to the tune of 95% of Americans don’t get enough. We eat way too much meat and ultra processed low fiber foods, and not nearly enough leafy greens, legumes, or fresh fruit (not juice)
As someone on a zero fibre diet, I would argue that there is no such thing as too little fibre. Those people have a problem of eating low quality food and food shaped stuff, the fibre is incidental
Congrats on the hemorrhoids, but I’m not sure why you would want to advertize that.
That’s not a problem I have ever had. Shit is easy on the no fibre diet
Do you want to know how I know that you’re twenty-five or thereabouts, and definitely under thirty years old?
Shit is easy on the no fibre diet
Go on
You want fiber if you dislike hemorrhoids and like shitting quick and easy.
People’s diets generally consists of meat and carbs so they think a vegan will eat the same minus the meat.
Gym brahs often have vitamin deficiency and the increase in colon cancer under 30 is really disturbing.
Do you even colostomy, bra?
Wouldn’t you get most of the other nutrients fairly easily as long as you eat a varied diet? Accounting proteins/carbs/fats (and their sub-category types) seems harder
A varied diet provides protein as well.
Science time! Proteins are made up of amino acids. Certain chains of amino acids form “complete proteins,” which are what most people think of as “protein.” However, the constituent amino acids connect with each other in our bodies even if they’re obtained from different sources. So two sources of “incomplete” proteins can still provide “complete proteins” if both are consumed. Which means it’s a lot easier to get your protein from a varied, vegan diet than most people might think.
TLDR: eat both cereals and legumes.
Amino acids are consumed by the body in a certain proportion, and excess goes down the drain. Both cereals and legumes contain amino acids, but both lack some of the ‘essential’ acids. However, as luck would have it, they complement each other in this regard.
You might be interested in my reply above then. Essentially, thats part of why the obsession exists. I’m finding it hard to state it in a none conspiracy theorist way, but it’s largely right wing anti science grifters winning an argument against health.
Honestly, while probably annoying, that is not a bad first question. It shows concern for your wellbeing and (hopefully) willingness to learn.
I track my fiber and protein. Protein because I’m physically active and trying to build muscle, and good god I have to eat a lot of it. I would not eat enough without tracking.
Fiber because I had ass issues recently, and found out the hard way how important fiber is. Yeah I know, I’m a dumbass, but I’m doing better now.
High fiber/high protein diet is a great way to help with weight loss too.
99% of packaging that mentions "high protein!! have way less protein than various unprocessed nuts…
Its not because of obsession, it’s because it’s literally the starting point for nutrition knowledge, and it’s the most obvious thing that would be lacking in a vegan diet. When people think substantial protein they think meat first and dairy and eggs second.
It turns out the answer is realy very long, but it’s a hell of a ride. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K35FtbuyTh4
TLDW:
It’s a right-wing grift. The Leftist Cooks argue that carnivore and “protein-maxxing” diets are not about health; they’re tied to masculinity, control, grift, and far-right politics. They use figures like Jordan Peterson and the Liver King to show how restrictive meat-heavy high protein diets can become symbols of power, identity, and pseudo-scientific authority.The broader argument is food is never just food. Dietary choices can carry cultural meaning, political signaling, and ideological pressure, and that high protein culture is part of a larger ecosystem that can normalize authoritarian, anti-science, and anti-egalitarian thinking.
The video is excellent though. It’s basically a miniseries on the various causes and effects of this and it’s incredibly well put together, even if it is 6 hours long. 😱
Haha I watched this a couple weeks ago.
Another really important point they make is that even among athletes, extra protein intake does not really help. Athletes only have higher protein intake because their overall caloric intake is higher. Studies show that increased protein intake is only associated with higher athletic performance when it is alongside increased intake of other nutrients (carbs). I was looking at a meta analysis a few days ago. I don’t have the link but I took this screenshot.
So a “protein shake” is not likely to help you unless you were already protein deficient, which as somebody else pointed out in this thread, is not likely for Americans who over consume meat.
Disclaimer: I am not an expert.
it really depends on the athlete - for an endurance athlete in particular, you don’t need a crazy amount of protein. Dancers/gymnasts too or really any sport more reliant on cardiovascular endurance or coordination than maximal strength or power.
bodybuilders/powerlifters are on the far other end of that spectrum, they probably have the highest demand for protein intake out of any athlete. The general consensus is the muscle-building benefits of more protein flatten out around 0.8g protein per 1lb body weight. so about 120g of protein for someone who weighs 150lb. You can definitely eat more or less without issue, that’s just roughly the threshold where more protein doesn’t seem to help you athletically.
The nutritional guidelines under RFK’s administration were changed to recommend 1.2-1.6g protein/lb of body weight for EVERY American, which is fucking ridiculous. It is fine to eat the high end of that range, but you have to be very careful to get enough carbs and fats without introducing too much caloric surplus. There is a valid argument that protein tends to keep you satiated longer and eating a lot of it might be good if you’re looking to lose weight. I don’t think it’s a great idea for everyone though, and most Americans get enough protein for their basic needs anyhow.
but you know what’s even better at keeping you satiated that most Americans are actually super deficient in? that’s right fuckin FIBER baby. Protein is just in fashion right now, especially among conservatives, many of whom are meeting this through red meat probably because they think lentils are icky and woke. and we’re god awful at health education so various nutrients get touted as THE THING YOUR BODY DESPERATELY CRAVES or THE THING THAT IS LITERALLY KILLING YOU on a rotating basis. e.g. electrolytes, carbs respectively.
(I can get more specific academic references for the earlier points, but I encountered much of it in Eric Helms’ The Muscle and Strength Pyramid books, which line up with opinions of other credible trainers I’ve encountered. those books are also just a great read on this topic)
Oh, I have another much much shorter video that summarises a meta analysis that backs this up. It says that more proteins may actually even lead to marginally reduced muscle gains. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j1bx0GMofYw&pp=ugUEEgJlbg%3D%3D
It really depends. If you’re actively working out, you need more protein than most people eat in a day. It doesn’t have to be from meat obviously, but I need to target around 140g and I was no where near that until I changed my diet. There’s plenty of science behind protein ratios for active people without dipping into right wing grifters.
The shake is pretty much a necessity for me since I’m also trying to lose weight. If it weren’t the shake it’d be chicken or fish but that’s a lot of extra cooking.
I reread this and your interpretation seems pretty off the mark. Of course you’re going to get more endurance performance from a higher carb diet, carbs are what give you raw energy. Anyone who’s ever done an endurance sport like long distance running knows they load you up on pasta for a reason.
Endurance performance is absolutely not the same as athletic performance, which is far more general. There’s no way high protein diets aren’t beneficial to people who need more raw strength than endurance. This meta analysis does not back up your comment.
I’m not sure which of us misunderstood it, but my interpretation of their findings is that overall, increased protein intake was not associated with increased athletic performance. However if you look ONLY at endurance, it was actually associated with high performance, though only when alongside carbs. Maybe counterintuitive.
Their total sample size was around 300 or 400 iirc. Pretty big, but could be better.
I came in here to link this video too! Its very good
That’s also why they like AI. Thinking is emasculating, better make a machine that thinks for you instead.
i assumed it was the popularity of gym culture moving into every day life
I also think this is it. I have a couple of friends that buy these kind of products, and they are also the only gym goers I know. So for my tiny sample it’s an absolute one to one correlation.
Aside from people working out protein isn’t really going to make a difference.
It does, it makes your farts smell way worse.
Isn’t going to make a difference in… what?
Protein is absolutely important to your diet and makes a big difference to your body whether or not you’re a bodybuilder
Going out of your way to gain more than you need is what all this extra protein does. Just urea at the end of the day.
Protein doesn’t make you gain weight, that’s just a matter of the calories you eat. Protein intake effects how much of you weight gain goes to your muscles
Protein keeps you sated. It’s not just a muscle thing. Eat more protein, and you’ll eat less overall, and get less fat.
GLP-1, Ozempic or weightloss drugs.
heres a youtube video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4y3r5vyac8
havent watched it. this discussion just popped up in another forum a few hours ago.
probably something about the lower calories intake while still getting enough proteins or smth like that.
It’s this, the weightloss drugs. Protein AND fiber products are being pushed everywhere.
Fiber atleast you cant get too much of, and the majority of people don’t get enough to begin with.
thats… not true. as always, the dose makes the poison.
I was referencing mostly that people already by and large get more protein than they need, and that it is easier to get to an amount of protein where it starts being bad for you (at least if you eat a regular western diet). Of course anything in excess is bad for you.
For sure! Especially millennials - there’s way too many of us dying from colon cancer these days.
Yeah, you’d think the least pleasant sounding type of cancer would convince people. I know reducing my cancer risk and having better digestion have made eating beans and fruit a no brainer. And the psylium husk has been a massive boon.
Protein on the other hand. If you don’t have a reason to suspect it’s too low you’re probably getting enough.
On the contrary, getting too much fiber is quite easy, especially if supplemented, and getting too much of it can have highly negative consequences.
Yeah I’m sure if you go eat a bunch of psylum husk it will clog you up. Almost nobody is doing that. Statistically speaking (at least if you are American or European) you aren’t eating enough fiber in your diet and you are getting more protein than your body requires.
(Also most dietary supplements aren’t that great for you and are never as good as just eating better)
And yet, there’s cases like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MggKIfEld4
Fiber atleast you cant get too much of
You aren’t realistically ever getting too much protein either, unless you eat exclusively protein powder and very lean meat
Im guessing it also has something to do with all the noise around lowered testosterone in men lately. Protein dude bro think
Lowered testosterone is about fatter people.
Fucking yanks and their fad diets, no one else does this, everyone else is healthier eating proper portions of food from a diverse diet.
Macho culture -> bulking-> protein
Lmfao at this whole thread of nonsense answers.
It’s not a weird obsession.
If you want to be muscular, then you need to eat a lot of protein.
If you want to be muscular and have a low body fat percentage, then you need to eat a lot of protein, and eat a lot of protein / calorie you eat.
If you’re old and want to slow down how quickly your muscles waste away to maintain your physical health, you need to eat a lot of protein.
And protein is generally one of the more expensive parts of food, so companies constantly try and cut back and replace it with carbs and sugar instead… All leading to people seeking out food with high protein content
Agreed, although I’ll add a few things. Protein has a much higher thermic effect of food (TEF), meaning your body expends more energy processing it. Protein and carbs both contain around 4 calories/gram and fat around 9, but TEF is roughly 20–30% for protein, 5–10% for carbs and 0–3% for fat. In other words, your body burns roughly that percentage of the calories from each just processing them.
More importantly, protein supplies the amino acids your body needs to maintain and rebuild muscle; carbs can’t substitute for the essential amino acids you have to get from your diet. That’s particularly useful during a caloric deficit, when you’re trying to lose fat while preserving muscle, and as you get older and age-related muscle loss becomes a concern.
Protein also tends to be more satiating than carbs or fat and affects appetite hormones like ghrelin, GLP-1 and CCK. So while there’s no magic number of calories that adding protein will make you eat less, the evidence supports protein making it easier to feel satisfied on fewer calories.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32768415/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8878356/So protein helps you maintain muscle, makes you feel fuller per calorie, and costs your body more energy to process. There are pretty good reasons people trying to lose fat, build/maintain muscle, or stay healthy as they age to seek out higher-protein foods. The marketing obsession didn’t come out of nowhere, even if companies take advantage of it by plastering the protein content across the front of the package while leaving things like carbs, saturated fat, and total calories much less prominent.
It’s a weird obsession because people are trying to eat significantly more than they need.
People misunderstood grams per kilogram and just switched it to grams per pound without actually converting units
Lmfao, no they didn’t, you misunderstood the difference in recommended intakes for maintenance (/kg) vs gaining muscle / slowing it’s atrophy in old age (/lb).
People eat more than they need because modern society makes it incredibly easy to, and we’re removed from the survival conditions that made high-energy foods so attractive to us in the first place. The American lifestyle is particularly bad in this regard, with our car-dependent cities, sedentary lifestyles, abundance of cheap, calorie-dense food, and food companies that spend heavily on advertising and lobby politicians to keep regulations and labeling requirements favorable to them.
The “people are trying to eat significantly more than they need” was referring to protein
As in people are drinking 300 calorie protein shakes when they aren’t hungry so they can hit their “protein target”
What protein shake is 300 calories? All the decent ones are around 110-130
Americans eat too much everything. Protein won’t fix that.
Actually one of the biggest problems that Americans and Europeans have when it comes to obesity is high carb diets. Compared to carbohydrates, protein helps keep you feeling fuller, longer. So higher protein diets would absolutely have an impact on fixing that problem.
That is a completely retarded statement. Protein is exactly what will fix that. it keeps you much more sated than carbs and sugar, and unless you track it, you probably aren’t eating enough of it.
You assholes call us fat, then say shit like this.
If you want to be muscular, then you need to eat a lot of protein
But dumbasses think protein is only in meat. Internet thinks protein = meat.
https://www.greatveganathletes.com/athletes/sport/bodybuilders/
And let’s just ignore colon cancer rates in <30 coincident with the protein fad.
But dumbasses think protein is only in meat. Internet thinks protein = meat.
No, the vast majority of bodybuilders and gym bros use whey protein powder which is dairy based.
Also, if we’re talking normal food, you have to eat 6 full cans of beans to get the same protein as 1lb of chicken or fish. Meat is not the only way to get protein but the fact of the matter is that for most people (assuming they ignore the morals and ethics) it’s gonna be easier and tastier to get a substantial amount of protein from meat.
And let’s just ignore colon cancer rates in <30 coincident with the protein fad.
Lmfao thanks random internet person for your rough feeling of correlation. Glad no actual researcher would have ever possibly thought to check that in their study! /S
Lmfao thanks random internet person for your rough feeling of correlation. Glad no actual researcher would have ever possibly thought to check that in their study! /S
White meat certainly seems fine from everything I can find, but beef and red meat are 100% linked to colon cancer. The carnivore diet may not explicitly state to eat only red meat - but every single person I’ve met that pushes it IRL seems to immediately talk about eating steak or ground beef for every meal. Joe Rogan pushed it by suggesting he was ‘experimenting’ by eating only eggs, ground beef, and elk. Jordan Peterson literally only consumed beef, salt, and water.
To say this is a right-wing chud fad in recent years is not inaccurate - and to assume causation for the rise in colon cancer is also supported by science.
Yes you can probably do the carnivore diet on nothing but chicken and fish, that simply doesn’t match reality as far as most practioners of the carnivore diet are concerned.
Yeah there’s a huge difference between the powerlifters living off chicken, rice, and spinach and the modern adherents of the carnivore diet.
If you’re old and want to slow down how quickly your muscles waste away to maintain your physical health, you need to eat a lot of protein.
Btw, high protein intake lets you age quickly.
If you want to be muscular, then you need to eat a lot of protein.
This statement is not supported by science. There are no shortcuts, if you want big muscles you have to exercise more.
Obviously. But you have to eat enough protein on top of that.
Exercising is the easy part of body building. Eating and sleeping well enough is the hard part.
Sleep is the endgame boss for me. Diet I’ve gotten fairly good at. But I’ve struggled with sleep for a long time and it’s so fragile. One thing can be off and it’ll screw up the whole night, which messes with the next day etc. It’s very easy to fall into a bad sleep cycle.
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Influencer slop. That’s literally it.
Marketing & the obsession of a healthy lifestyle promoted by influencers.
If you want to build muscles you need proteins. => You need proteins to build muscle.
But also if you want to lose weight, you have to reduce carbs and eat more proteins. => Your body needs more energy to break down the proteines and convert it to energy than for carbs and fats=> You feel full longer & “burn” more calories when digesting.
Unfortunately, people don’t realize that fibers are more op than proteins. And just eating proteins how some influencers are promoting is kinda BS for your longterm digestive system. => TLDR eat beans over just meat. Also, look forward to the high fiber fad that is about to be started.
Yeah dark leafy greens and lots of beans (with rice). They’re filling, nutritious, low calorie, and once your digestion acclimates you’ll feel great. Also non-fried potatoes are great as well
If you’re building muscle, you want your protein to have the right amino acids
In the darkness they lurked, until their time to rise once again.
Waiting.
Watching.
Weight Watchers.
It’s the prevalence of drugs like Ozempic. They cause people to eat a negative calorie diet so it’s very important that they keep their protein intake at or above their requirements. If they don’t, they will lose muscle at a dangerous rate.
Pretty sure these drugs are just creating huge heart health problem we’ll see in the future.
i think that might only have a weak correlation, because iirc the “trend” with high protein products started before ozempic became available.
i would say it is only the normal marketing cycle, like how 15-40 years ago it was the phase of low sugar
so i would predict that in 5-10 years we will enter a cycle with maybe high (healthy) fats/low sugar or something similar again
You will also feel like shit without it
A lot of Americans have been convinced lack of protein is why they keep gaining weight and aren’t muscular. Testosterone is in a similar position. These can be concerns for people who are low in them, or for people struggling at high levels of fitness. But it’s largely just influence from diet influencers repeating gym bro advice.
There’s also a straight line between bro culture, testosterone supplements, and fascism
I’d love to see the link between those cause you seem to be implying high testosterone = bro = fascist and I really hope that’s not what you think.
You don’t have to look far to find the far right’s obsession with testosterone (read: gender affirming care for cis men), whether it’s giving it to the military or Elon Musk’s weird cybertruck shaped body. Then look at who else is pushing that shit nonstop.
Though I did learn there’s a weak study that they like to cite, described by Vice here. Emphasis on weak
I understand, fascist bros (the manosphere basically) push the idea that “weak” men just have low T and by taking more they’ll become “alphas” or whatever. Not that people with high T are more likely to be fascists.
As the article points out repeatedly, that study linking high T with Republican voting (it never mentions fascism) is so flawed as to be useless but I guess that doesn’t matter if chuds aren’t going to read it anyway.
If you need testosterone supplement, it would imply that you have low testosterone to begin with. Or that you just want more. But you are completely changing the meaning by changing “testosterone supplement” to a generalized “high testosterone”.
you seem to be implying high testosterone = bro = fascist
I think it’s more that obsession with testosterone and projected/performative masculinity (i.e. machismo, toxic masculinity) is very much associated with fascist leanings.
There are a whole lot of fat, angry, unhappy middle-aged men who want to feel powerful and intimidating. Most of them don’t want to do the actual work of getting fit. They don’t want to go to a doctor, because that’s for weak people, like women and effeminate men. They don’t understand that their excess adipose tissue is messing up their hormones. Ads tell them that they just need more protein and sunlight on their testicles and finally they’ll feel powerful. They post passive-aggressive meat breakfast photos on Instagram and glare at people from their pickups, while listening to an ad telling them to buy some unregulated supplement that will boost their testosterone for only $29.99 per month.
There are also a bunch of young men who have grown up watching toxic influencers. They’re taking steroids and trying to get huge. It’s all toxic masculinity and masked insecurity.
Incidentally, I’m not in any way saying that fitness or masculinity are inherently toxic or fascist. It is, however, a popular pipeline for recruiting men into far-right and fascist ideologies these days.
I agree with you 100%
Only on Lemmy can you find a link between protein powder and fascism
This place is beyond brain fucked 🤣
Because you can slap on a ‘30g protein’ label on junk food and charge double for it
Candy bars bad, protein energy bars good brah.
Same fucking thing.
A lot of people have gone on GLP-1’s recently. You’re advised to eat a lot of protein when you go on those.
I thought protein was last year and fiber was this year
It goes back and forth. Fiber was also big in the 1990s, and protein big maybe like 2004-2016 because of the Atkins diet trend that ended when it turns out that’s not a great thing to do long term, and doesn’t prevent you blocking your arteries with cholesterol.
We’ve literally had this trend before, recently.
Genuinely, fiber is always important. It’s something we actually don’t get enough of on average. Forget the trends and influencers, just make sure you’re eating plenty of fiber.
