{"id":647040,"date":"2026-05-03T14:03:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T14:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/647040\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T14:03:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T14:03:32","slug":"dr-megan-rossi-says-protein-mistake-could-be-cause-of-your-tummy-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/647040\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Megan Rossi says ‘protein mistake’ could be cause of your tummy problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Consumption of high-protein foods has shot up in recent years – but it could be having unexpected side effects<\/p>\n

11:54, 27 Apr 2026Updated 15:51, 27 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

More and more of us are boosting our protein intake – but do we need to?<\/p>\n

A gut health scientist says an easy ‘protein mistake’ could be causing you stomach problems. Dr Megan Rossi<\/a> is a gut health scientist who specialises in the microbiome and tummy health.<\/p>\n

She is well-known for her appearances on daytime television, as well as for giving out health advice to her hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. She explained that having too much protein could lead to poor gut health if you do not add more fibre to your diet. According to the British Nutrition Foundation, most Brits actually match or even exceed<\/a> the recommended 0.75g of protein per kg of body weight per day.<\/p>\n

Fibre is a different story though, with more than 90 per cent of us not consuming the recommended 30g a day. Dr Rossi explained why this could be a problem.<\/p>\n

“Did you know that having excess protein is linked with poor gut health?” she asked. “As a gut health dietician and scientist, let me reassure you, this isn’t always about the meat itself, but what’s missing alongside it.<\/p>\n

“It’s something I call the fibre-protein index, a concept I actually explored during my PhD. Essentially, when protein intake is high, but fibre intake is low, it can shift the gut towards a more aggressive environment – and yes, that can mean some more foul-smelling gas, too.<\/p>\n

“That doesn’t actually mean you have to cut out animal products, though. What it does mean is if you’re increasing your protein, you also need to increase your fibre from plants alongside it.”<\/p>\n

Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n

The concept of eating more protein has become more fashionable in recent years, whether it is in milk, foods, or even whey protein. It has been linked to being fitter, stronger, and healthier.<\/p>\n

However, there are concerns that it can be ‘linked to an increased risk of multiple diseases<\/a>‘ and is nothing more than a ‘health halo’ – a marketing phenomenon where a single positive attribute causes consumers to overestimate the overall healthiness of a food product.<\/p>\n

Dr Rossi says: “Upping your protein? Here\u2019s what social media isn\u2019t telling you…The protein: fibre index matters. I see this all the time in clinic, people ramping up their animal-based protein, but forgetting the plant foods that keep their gut microbes thriving. It\u2019s not about demonising meat or protein. It\u2019s about creating balance for a happier gut.”<\/p>\n

She recommends a mixture of plant-based snacks that boast high levels of both protein and fibre. These include a wrap with hummus, seeds, and vegetables, sourdough with a nut butter and raspberries, and tofu with avocado and tomatoes.<\/p>\n

Animal-based snacks include a pear with two boiled eggs, tuna, avocado, and rice cakes, and roasted sweet potato with salmon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Consumption of high-protein foods has shot up in recent years – but it could be having unexpected side…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647041,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[64,63,137,15353,532],"class_list":["post-647040","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-healthy-eating","tag-nutrition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647040","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647040"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647040\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647041"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647040"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647040"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647040"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}