Is a high protein diet bad for you? Fact-checking the anti-protein Backlash

887. Has everyone been protein-pilled? After a few years of protein everything, from bread to taco chips to vodka, the backlash has arrived, complete with warnings that a high-protein diet could harm your heart, your kidneys, and your waistline.

Some of the products on grocery store shelves are pretty silly. But many of the warnings about protein don’t hold up either. The truth sits somewhere between the hype and the anti-hype.

In this episode, Monica sorts the nutrition facts from the nutrition myths on both sides:

• Why “90% of Americans already get enough protein” depends on what “enough” means, and who’s included
• Who may need more protein than the RDA, including older adults, people recovering from illness or injury, and people losing weight or taking anti-obesity medications
• Why it can make sense to put a “high protein” label on eggs, and why you should always check the nutrition facts label instead of the front of the package
• How protein became a health halo, and why added protein doesn’t cancel out sugar, sodium, or alcohol
• When a processed, protein-enhanced food is worth using, and why the purpose of the processing matters
• The replacement effect, and why what you eat less of matters as much as what you add
• What the research on heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer really links to, and why it isn’t protein
• Why the warnings about constipation, weight gain, and kidney damage aren’t about protein intake for most people
• How much protein Americans eat compared with the RDA, the new Dietary Guidelines, and the acceptable range

References

How Supermarkets Became Protein-Maxxed - The New York Times

5 Health Risks From Consuming Too Much Protein - The New York Times

Nutrition science you can trust, in plain English.

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