by Elana Spivack
May 1, 2024
Introduction:
Read more here: https://www.inverse.com/health/how-ame ... -protein(Inverse) America can’t get enough protein. From whey smoothies to protein-packed pancakes, pasta, and ice cream, the muscle-building macronutrient has become the guaranteed solution to all health ills.
“It’s this catchall,” Hannah Cutting-Jones, a food historian and director of food studies at the University of Oregon, tells Inverse. Want to gain muscle? Eat more protein. Lose weight? Focus on protein. Everybody, from your dog to your grandparents, needs more protein. But do they, really?
In the last several decades, we have, on average, consistently eaten more of this macronutrient than the daily recommended amounts set by health organizations. This is despite the fact that these groups have continued to decrease the recommended amount of protein we need per day. To complicate matters, we still haven’t settled on the ideal amount of protein necessary for a healthy diet. All of this combined has left protein — the one macronutrient yet to be demonized by the diet industry — in a scientific and cultural gray area. And it begs the question: How much protein do we actually need?
