Requirements are typically calculated based on body weight, sitting at roughly 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day.<\/p>\n
For individuals who are active, athletes, or older adults, 1.2 to 2.0 grams per kilogram is needed to support muscle repair and preserve mass.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The rise of \u2018protein everything\u2019<\/p>\n
If you walk into almost any supermarket and you\u2019ll see the shift \u2014 protein-labelled foods now dominate fridge aisles and snack shelves.<\/p>\n
But Ms Cohen says many of these products are heavily processed and loaded with ingredients that can cause gut issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re often having a lot more additives with these highly processed protein supplements,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey contain sweeteners, colouring and a whole bunch of ingredients you wouldn\u2019t naturally find in whole foods.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis can cause dysregulation in your gut, leading to bloating, discomfort and diarrhoea,\u201d the expert explained.<\/p>\n
What prompted the craze?<\/p>\n
Experts believe the growing obsession with protein closely tied to the appearance-focused ideals of modern wellness culture.<\/p>\n
\u201cProtein obsession is certainly connected to trying to look a certain way,\u201d Ms Cohen said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften the wellness industry is selling us a body ideal more than it\u2019s selling us health and wellbeing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s huge pressure on younger people to eat enough protein so they can have visible muscle mass.\u201d<\/p>\n
That pressure can sometimes push people toward extreme dieting.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo achieve that very lean look you often need a very low body fat percentage,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cParticularly for women, that can actually be unhealthy because the body needs a certain amount of fat to maintain normal bodily functions like menstruation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead of chasing protein grams, Ms Cohen says the focus should be on balanced meals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe ideally want protein with every meal, but you don\u2019t need huge amounts,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA serve about the size of your palm is good, with some carbohydrates, vegetables and healthy fats is a great place to start.\u201d<\/p>\n
Social media adding fuel to the fire<\/p>\n
Food blogger and digital creator Nectorious Papi, known online for reviewing supermarket products, says the rise of high-protein foods has been impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have noticed the increase in high protein products in recent years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The trend reflects a broader cultural shift around fitness and health.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a health conscious society in Australia \u2014 people want to look good and feel good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But he warns the \u201chigh protein\u201d label can sometimes be misleading.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of it is just marketing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might only have five grams of protein and they still slap the label \u2018high protein\u2019 on the product, so it can be deceiving.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to know how to read the labels and compare products,\u201d he emphasised. \u201cSometimes people think it\u2019s healthier just because it says protein \u2014 and that\u2019s not always the case.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the popularity of protein products isn\u2019t going anywhere, particularly because of its convenience.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it\u2019s all about convenience as well as taste,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Products like YoPro yoghurt, Muscle Nation, FroPro sauces and pizzas, and Wicked Sister puddings have become staples for the food flogger.<\/p>\n
But with so many new products entering the market, not all of them deliver.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are definitely some flops out there,\u201d he said. \u201cSome protein products taste terrible, it\u2019s trial and error.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, the verdict is out. <\/p>\n
Protein doesn\u2019t have to be the villain \u2014 as long as people can still maintain \u201cbalance\u201d in their meals and diets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From protein yoghurts and puddings to cereals, pizzas and even chips, protein is popping up in almost everything…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":325115,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[134,111,139,556,69],"class_list":["post-325114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nutrition","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}