{"id":812742,"date":"2026-07-20T18:23:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T18:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/812742\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T18:23:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T18:23:18","slug":"protein-craze-can-lead-to-better-health-if-done-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/812742\/","title":{"rendered":"Protein craze can lead to better health if done right"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a question that Dr. Travis Wilkes<\/a> gets asked every day by patients. It is something that Dr. Neil McDevitt<\/a> constantly worries about with his weight-loss patients.<\/p>\n

How much protein should people consume each day, and how much more do some patients need?<\/p>\n

Protein seems to have become an obsession in America, and food manufacturers are quickly trying to take advantage of that. But many new \u201cplus-protein\u201d products are highly processed or full of other ingredients patients should avoid, doctors said. Think Pop-Tarts Protein<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Some of the obsession has been fueled by new dietary guidelines<\/a> from the Trump administration that call for 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of weight each day, which is nearly double<\/a> what previous guidelines suggested. For a 150-pound man, that would be 82 to 109 grams of protein per day.<\/p>\n

\"Kennedy<\/p>\n

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stands in front of a chart of new dietary guidelines during a briefing for reporters at the White House in Washington, on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. In a striking reversal of past nutrition guidance, the Trump administration released new dietary guidelines that flip the food pyramid on its head, putting steak, cheese and whole milk near the top.\u00a0<\/p>\n

File\/Eric Lee\/The New York Times<\/p>\n

Wilkes, a family medicine and lifestyle medicine doctor with Roper St. Francis Healthcare System, said he uses an easier formula \u2014 a minimum of half-gram of protein per pound per day. Said another way, take your weight, divide it in half, and that is the minimum grams of protein you need daily.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big fan of a high-protein diet,\u201d Wilkes said. Protein is important for not only maintaining muscle but helps with digestive health as well, he said.<\/p>\n

McDevitt, a bariatric surgeon and weight-loss physician with Novant Health, is also concerned about maintaining protein because of a serious problem that has a wicked-sounding name: sarcopenia<\/a>, or muscle loss, which can often happen as patients drop pounds. He calls it \u201cmy biggest worry in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

People can start to lose muscle naturally as they age, beginning as early as 30 but really taking off at age 65 and above. Elderly people are at danger of losing up to 8 percent of their muscle a year, McDevitt said. It is not just the muscle mass but muscle fibers that dwindle, sapping strength.<\/p>\n

This can be exacerbated by weight loss and can be fueled by popular GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy or Zepbound. While only 3 percent of U.S. adults used those drugs in 2024. That has nearly tripled to 11 percent of American adults this year, according to a recent Gallup poll<\/a>. That could increase after Medicare began covering those drugs<\/a> for some patients starting July 1.<\/p>\n

As patients lose weight, they are at risk of losing muscle mass along with it, in part, because GLP-1 drugs reduce what they are eating and so they are likely consuming less protein as a result, McDevitt said. And that can have another insidious effect.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we lose muscle, we slow our metabolism,\u201d McDevitt said. That works against weight loss. If the patient goes off the drugs, that weight will return but without the muscle mass or resulting metabolism to help, he said. Patients who are obese and behind on muscle mass can also lose balance and function and are at higher risk for falls and fractures.<\/p>\n

\"Food<\/p>\n

Getting a variety of food, including protein but also fiber, is important for a healthy diet.<\/p>\n

File<\/p>\n

McDevitt\u2019s practice carefully evaluates patient\u2019s muscle composition as they progress and uses functional tests, like the chair test, to gauge function. A patient is asked to sit and stand from a chair without using his or her hands as many times as possible in 30 seconds. A 65-year-old man should be able to do it 12 times; for women, it is 11.<\/p>\n

But those patients also need a lot of protein, about 1.5 grams per kilogram, and their aim is for at least 100 grams of protein per day.<\/p>\n

Add the elderly to that vulnerable population, Wilkes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have issues where they don’t absorb protein as well from food, and so it becomes more important that that is a focus\u201d for those patients, he said. Those patients often need .6 to .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight a day, so a 150-pound person would need 90 to 120 grams per day. Patients on GLP-1 medications, those who are doing intense strength training and others in serious need of muscle building could need up to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day, Wilkes said.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t try and get it all or most of it in one meal, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can really only absorb about 50 grams of protein at one time,\u201d Wilkes said. So even if you eat an enormously protein laden meal with 80, 90 or 100 grams of protein, the excess would be of little benefit, he said. It\u2019s better to focus on getting 40-50 grams at a time, broken up during the day.<\/p>\n

It is good that protein has \u201cgotten into the spotlight\u201d as many patients need to increase their intake, Wilkes said.<\/p>\n

But the new protein-added products can make that more difficult, both Wilkes and McDevitt agree. What happens is manufacturers will now take a product that is high in carbohydrates, \u201cimpregnate\u201d it with protein and then try and pass it off as healthy, Wilkes said.<\/p>\n

McDevitt calls it \u201cprotein-washing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many food companies are taking highly processed foods, \u201ceffectively junk food, and making it sound good, because they’re throwing protein powder in\u201d and rebranding it, he said. A prime example: protein-powered Lucky Charms cereal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A better approach would be focusing on a diet that is high protein but also high in fiber and limits carbohydrates that are not high in fiber, Wilkes said. For example, for breakfast, eating Greek yogurt (preferably plain to avoid added sugars) with something like blueberries or raspberries provides both protein and fiber, Wilkes said.<\/p>\n

\"Greek<\/p>\n

Greek yogurt can be a good source of protein for breakfast but plain yogurt avoids added sugars.<\/p>\n

File\/Shannon Stapleton\/Reuters<\/p>\n

McDevitt is also a fan of \u201cprotein and produce.\u201d Meats, of course, but also legumes \u2014 beans, lentils, chickpeas and others \u2014 are a good source of protein, he said. Salmon with a side of butternut squash, for instance, or grilled shrimp on a salad are good choices, McDevitt said.<\/p>\n

The key is to minimize what he calls \u201cfillers\u201d \u2014 breads, potatoes, sweets \u2014 that fill you up with less nutrition.<\/p>\n

Snacks can also add important protein, Wilkes said. The key is to avoid sugars and other things that might come with it. For instance, beef jerky appears to be a protein-packed snack, but it is also often soaked in sugars, Wilkes said. Biltong, an air-dried beef snack that originated in Africa, is a much-healthier choice, he said. A favorite snack is combining a bag of biltong and a bag of freeze-dried berries, which delivers around 30 grams of protein but also important fiber, Wilkes said. Cottage cheese is also good source of protein.<\/p>\n

If a supplement is needed, protein shakes can be good, but first read the label to guard against a lot of added sugar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a question that Dr. Travis Wilkes gets asked every day by patients. It is something that Dr.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":812743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[64,63,9636,137,4084,20352,90109,233024,387628,532,1543,387624,55052,387629,25121,20165,555,387625,387626,387627,12728,18603],"class_list":["post-812742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-glp-1","tag-health","tag-muscle","tag-muscle-loss","tag-muscle-wasting","tag-novant-health","tag-novant-south-carolina","tag-nutrition","tag-protein","tag-protein-product","tag-protein-shakes","tag-roper-st-francis-healthcare","tag-tirzepatide","tag-wegovy","tag-weight-loss","tag-weight-loss-charleston","tag-weight-loss-programs","tag-weight-loss-programs-in-charleston","tag-weight-management","tag-weight-loss-drugs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812742","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=812742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}