In the early 1950s, “Hi -Protene” powder, one of the first modern protein supplements, came on the market. Initially it tasted terrible. But after his maker, Bob Hoffman, added The taste improved in the chocolate of Hershey. (He used a canoe peddel to stir his mixture into a gigantic barrel.) Protein products have since taken a long way. Maybe they came too far: last weekend, in the gym, I was offered a can of lemon flavor “protein. “The summery, yellow striped packaging advertised 15 grams of protein per can, or about the same as what you could get from three eggs.
Apparently protein shakes and protein bars no longer cut it. Americans are so obsessed with proteins that even an Arnold Palmer comes with it. Perhaps protein iced tea was inevitable. When something is trendy, the food industry cannot help, but things push to the limit-“vegetable” peanut butter (as if the spread was not already vegetarian) and gluten-free pumpkin dog cookies. But even compared to other food trends, the protein situation got out of hand. Last week, Starbucks announced That it controls a protein with a protein, banana flavor cold foam. There is protein water, Kardashian brand protein popcorn and “macho“Protein pasta sauce. If you want to get drunk while you’re on bulking, consider a protein summary Pale ale or a “swolleberry” pointed protein Seltzer. Nothing is safe for the protein premises. Name a food, and its protein version probably exists.
Even if, like me, you don’t try to maximize your protein intake, all these products are difficult to escape. They infiltrated every centimeter of the supermarket: on Monday I went shopping with the mission to find the most ridiculous protein -enriched ingredients. While preparing my meal I cracked on protein-tortilla chips with ranch flavor (13 grams) and narrowed from a bottle of protein water with grapefruit flavor (20 grams). The dinner started with a salad made from “Organicgirl-protein green”, with a range of mixed greens, including natural protein-rich sweet pea leaves (5 grams). My main course was chickpea white paste (20 grams) and salmon (40 grams). I covered it all with a frozen peanut butter-banana bar as a dessert (another 5 grams).
In total I ate more than 170 grams of protein on Monday, or the equivalent of 31 medium -sized eggs. According to the recommendations of the federal government, that is almost four times what someone of my building and activity level needs to be a “Nutritional adequate“Diet. The official nutritional guidelines suggest that a person needs at least 0.36 grams From protein per pound of body weight to stay healthy. That is not that many proteins. Before my dinner experiment I was going through the day without thinking about my protein consumption and I had already surpassed my recommended amount in more than 30 percent. The average American adult regularly exceeds the federal recommendation.
So why does proteins appear in iced tea? Some health experts think that the current federal recommendation is insufficient. They believe that for optimally Health – to move forward meeting Fundamental nutritional needs – we must consume the recommended amount double, if not triple. Some people – those who, for example, the Strength Training – certainly benefit from an increased intake. But for the average person, most experts do not see the point of getting wild with proteins, as my colleague Katherine J. Wu has written.
What makes protein so attractive is that it is offered as an answer for the nutritional goals of many people. Do you want to build muscles? Eat protein. Do you want to feel fuller longer? Eat protein. Do you want to lose weight? Eat protein. The nutrient is indeed possible staff With all those, but sometimes the claims are absurd. Cargill, the food giant, recently suggested that proteins can help solve broken marriages: “Protein helps individuals to become better parents, partners and employees,” the company wrote in a report This spring. In other words, protein has become synonymous with ‘healthy’. The message seems to resonate: last year, 71 percent From American adults they said they were trying to consume more.
For food companies, adding proteins to almost everything is an easy way to make their products more attractive. No Starbucks director will present a new line of “fat -amplified” cold foam or iced tea with extra carbohydrates. But extra protein – certainly. And so we end up in a world of protein mania. The protein shake has given way to proteins coffee and protein matching and protein energy drinks and protein soda. The protein bar is pressed in the same way in madness: last week, Hershey’s announced A “protein bar with double chocolate flavor” that looks like his normal chocolate bar (Hoffman would be proud). For the purists there is the recently launched David BarNamed after Michelangelos, who invoices itself as ‘the most effective portable protein on this planet’. You can eat vanilla with proteins glazed donuts For breakfast, cover double cheeseburger with protein-lease ketchupand complete the day with protein powder mixed with melatonin that promise A good night’s sleep.
If you are suspicious of these products, it is for a good reason. Shoppers can do that think That certain foods are healthier now that they have made a protein label. Some of the new products are really good for you but the food of a ton of protein-packed candy (or even a lot of red meat) comes with health risks that can compensate for the dubious benefit that everything that added can offer protein. A snickers bar with 20 grams of protein Is still a snickers bar.
By the time I finished my protein dinner, I started to feel blown up. Yet I was not completely ready. I have the trailer for Egg whiteA movie that debuted In British cinemas last weekend. The film tells the story From “an obsessed serial killer” who “kills a local drug dealer and eats” for what else? protein. I took a bite of a protein-on-protein building with double chocolate and hit “Play”.
#proteinmadness #begun