The cookbook section of any used bookstore is a museum of past health trends. Browse through the stock and you\u2019ll trace the rise and fall of nutritional villains: eggs, butter, red meat and more \u2014 first demonized, then rehabilitated by the next wave of experts.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all seen America\u2019s food rules shift beneath our feet, as nutritional gospel one year becomes heresy the next.<\/p>\n
In 2025, we\u2019re in the era of protein. More specifically, we\u2019re in the era of\u00a0more\u00a0protein.<\/p>\n
Inspired by bodybuilders, weight-lifters and hardcore health gurus, packing on the protein has gone mainstream.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But while these athletes need the nutrient to build muscle and maintain their exercise routines, the average carpooling mom has no such requirement.<\/p>\n
Yet grocery-store shelves shout their macronutrient stats like badges of honor: \u201c18 grams per serving!\u201d \u201cProtein-rich!\u201d<\/p>\n
Social-media influencers cheerfully explain how to sneak ever more protein into cookies, pancakes and even ice cream; cottage cheese is the new star of the show, blended into everything from pasta sauce to dessert bars.<\/p>\n
Ads hawk \u201cgourmet protein powders\u201d to be dumped into your morning latte.<\/p>\n
Many women\u2019s Instagram feeds have become a stream of \u201chigh-protein lunchbox\u201d reels and \u201csix ways to eat 100g of protein\u201d posts.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I recently watched as one food blogger, a former champion of plant-based eating, crammed half a rotisserie chicken into her mouth on camera. Her caption: \u201cGotta hit those protein goals!\u201d<\/p>\n
Curious about my own goals, I calculated how much protein I\u2019d need to eat in a day to meet the online experts\u2019 frequently cited benchmarks.<\/p>\n
The result was nauseating: seven eggs for breakfast, a whole chicken breast for lunch, meat again for dinner, plus multiple high-protein snacks \u2014 Greek yogurt, nuts, cottage cheese, protein bars \u2014 to stay on target.<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t just a quirky health trend. It\u2019s disordered eating with a veneer of wellness.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say protein is bad for you; quite the opposite. It\u2019s a vital macronutrient, essential for muscle repair, hormone production and immune function; it also provides a sense of fullness after meals, helping to maintain a healthy weight.<\/p>\n
For growing kids, pregnant women, aging adults and those recovering from illness or intense exercise, protein is especially crucial.<\/p>\n
The problem isn\u2019t the nutrient itself, but the obsessive, all-consuming fixation on it.<\/p>\n
Consider this: For a healthy, active 175-pound man, the National Institutes of Health recommends about 63 grams of protein per day.<\/p>\n
But the popular MyFitnessPal website advises that same man to aim for 164 grams, well more than double the federal guideline.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe average man in the United States is overshooting the federal protein recommendation by more than 55%,\u201d says Alice Callahan, a New York Times health reporter who holds a nutrition PhD, \u201cand the average woman by more than 35%.\u201d<\/p>\n
What happens to all that extra protein?<\/p>\n
The body can\u2019t store it. Instead, the liver converts the surplus into energy \u2014 and if that isn\u2019t used, packs it on as fat.<\/p>\n
So if we\u2019re already getting enough, why the obsession?<\/p>\n
Maybe it has something to do with who\u2019s leading the conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A 2017 study published in the\u00a0Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics\u00a0found that 49.5% of registered dietitians were at risk for orthorexia nervosa, a condition marked by an unhealthy fixation on eating \u201ccorrectly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another 13% were at risk for traditional eating disorders like anorexia, and 8% had previously received treatment for them.<\/p>\n
In other words, the very people we look to for food guidance may be struggling with disordered eating habits themselves.<\/p>\n
Women are more prone to eating disorders than men by orders of magnitude \u2014 and the current protein craze is largely female-led.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Compared to other nutrition fads, the high-protein trend might seem harmless; after all, it\u2019s not demanding the total elimination of food groups, or promoting outright starvation.<\/p>\n
However, it\u2019s steeped in the same obsessive mindset. When every bite must be justified by its protein content, when food becomes math instead of nourishment, something has gone wrong.<\/p>\n
A healthy approach to protein centers on real, unprocessed foods like eggs, fish, beans, nuts, meat and dairy \u2014 not processed powders with ingredients you can\u2019t pronounce, or bars that taste like compressed chalk.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need to count every gram or hit some arbitrary benchmark. Just eat a variety of whole foods, and you\u2019ll get what you need.<\/p>\n
Food fuels our bodies, but it\u2019s also meant to be enjoyed. We shouldn\u2019t have to choke down dry chicken or gag on cottage-cheese brownies in the name of health.<\/p>\n
Because if wellness doesn\u2019t include balance, sanity and flexibility, it isn\u2019t wellness at all.<\/p>\n
Bethany Mandel writes and podcasts at The Mom Wars and is a homeschooling mother of six in greater Washington, DC.<\/p>\n
Q: What is the recommended daily intake of protein?
\nA: The recommended daily intake of protein varies based on factors such as age, sex, weight, and activity level. Generally, the National Institutes of Health recommends about 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day for healthy adults.<\/p>\n
Q: Is it necessary to track protein intake?
\nA: No, it is not necessary to track protein intake for most people. Eating a variety of whole foods, including protein-rich foods, can provide adequate protein without the need for tracking.<\/p>\n
Q: Can excessive protein intake be harmful?
\nA: Yes, excessive protein intake can be harmful. The body can\u2019t store excess protein, and it may be converted into energy or stored as fat, potentially leading to weight gain or other health problems.<\/p>\n
Q: What are some healthy sources of protein?
\nA: Healthy sources of protein include eggs, fish, beans, nuts, meat, and dairy products. It is recommended to focus on whole, unprocessed foods rather than processed powders or bars.<\/p>\n
Q: Is the high-protein trend a fad?
\nA: Yes, the high-protein trend may be considered a fad, as it is driven by societal pressure and marketing rather than scientific evidence. A balanced diet that includes a variety of whole foods is a more sustainable and healthy approach to nutrition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to the Protein Obsession The cookbook section of any used bookstore is a museum of past health trends. Browse through the stock and you\u2019ll trace the rise and fall of nutritional villains: eggs, butter, red meat and more \u2014 first demonized, then rehabilitated by the next wave of experts. We\u2019ve all seen America\u2019s food […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-wellness"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i3.wp.com\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F08%2Fcropped-shot-young-woman-cooking-108885598.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall&w=1920&resize=1920,1280&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20997"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20997"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20997\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20999,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20997\/revisions\/20999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/new-york\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}