Why are we so obsessed with protein? A new book looks for answers

Protein
Samantha King and Gavin Weedon
Duke University Press

I knew protein mania had hit the mainstream when an advert for reality star Khloé Kardashian’s protein popcorn popped up (no pun intended) on the same day I heard comedian Stephen Merchant earnestly discuss the nutrient on a witty podcast.

Protein plays an important role in many aspects of our health, from building muscle and fighting infections to regulating hormones. That isn’t to say it is more important than other nutrients like carbohydrates or fat, but it is definitely having its moment in the wellness sun. So the release of the book Protein: The making of a nutritional superstar feels perfectly timed.

Its authors, Samantha King at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, and Gavin Weedon at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, are both sociologists who specialise in sport, health and the body. Here, they dig into how the cultural obsession with protein came to be. The trouble is, they don’t also answer the questions that I, and probably most readers, are looking for.

Instead, they start by explaining at length the nuts and bolts that went into discovering amino acids (the building blocks of protein) and even how the molecule got its name – information that didn’t particularly excite me. When they eventually delve into how protein took centre stage, they attribute its success to its appeal across demographics: it is the key to good fitness for millennials and Gen Xers, an energy provider for baby boomers and a muscle-loss preventer for older people.

The two ends of that age spectrum are apparently particularly impressionable to such marketing. For millennials, King and Weedon lay this susceptibility at the hands of the “manosphere”, arguing that “protein-fuelled training of the body becomes a salve for a wounded Trumpian masculinity”. For their older counterparts, the pair argue that protein pushing is a political and economic doctrine to reduce public health spending on conditions like sarcopenia, a progressive loss of muscle mass and strength that has been linked to both old age and inadequate protein intake.

It isn’t that those points are necessarily wrong, but they feel theoretical. King and Weedon never convincingly present evidence that pulls these arguments together.

One thing I agree with them on is that most people who are health-conscious enough to eat a protein bar probably aren’t the ones who lack this nutrient – much like how the wellness influencers who add a spoonful of “superfood” green powder to their kale and blueberry smoothie probably don’t need the extra vitamin C it contains.

As a health journalist, I know it is actually hard to be protein deficient if you live in a high-income country and consume the recommended 2000 to 2500 calories a day. Current guidelines in the UK advise we get 0.75 grams of protein daily per kilogram of body weight. This can be achieved with just a few snacks and meals, although this should be increased if you exercise a lot.

I hoped I would read Protein and learn if these guidelines should be scrapped. I was also expecting to be told if my consumption of it should change across my life, or even across my menstrual cycle. Other unanswered queries include whether you can have too much protein, and the best vegan source.

Frustratingly, research into such questions is limited and often conflicting. In terms of getting too much, our body breaks down excess protein and excretes waste products as urine, so buying protein popcorn could literally be money down the toilet. Research also suggests that eating too much protein for too long taxes the kidneys and raises the risk of heart problems.

I didn’t finish Protein with any more clarity on this topic, and maybe sociologists weren’t best placed to address these nutritional queries. But publishing this when we are all considering our intake surely means that, like me, most readers will close the book still wondering: “How much protein am I actually supposed to eat?”

Two more interesting books on diet

Off the Scales
Aimee Donnellan

Reuters columnist Donnellan argues for a rethink of obesity following the success of the new swathe of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, which will hopefully reduce stigma towards the condition.

Ferment
Tim Spector

Founder of the ZOE nutrition company, Spector persuasively guides readers through the benefits of eating fermented foods, without the book feeling like an ad for the firm’s gut supplements.