By Rita Rubin
WebMD Health News
Nov. 3, 2014 -- People have debated the merits of low-fat and low-carb diets for years. But now the third macronutrient appears to have muscled its way into the limelight: Stroll the aisles at any supermarket, and you’ll spot a variety of products, from cereal to Greek yogurt to bagels, touting their high protein content.
Although protein has, until recently, kept a low profile compared to fat and carbohydrates, it’s always been a major player in the body. Present in every cell, proteins act as building blocks for all types of tissue. Foods naturally high in protein, such as meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts, and seeds, also tend to be high in other important nutrients.
“In my years of studying trends, there’s always the next thing in food and beverage consumption,” says Darren Seifer, a food and beverage industry analyst with The NDP Group. “And it looks like the thing to do now is eat protein. There are a lot of perceived health benefits to consuming more protein.”
Protein's Star Power
In a report earlier this year, “Protein Perceptions and Needs,” Seifer and his co-authors noted that more than three-quarters of U.S. consumers agree that protein contributes to a healthy diet, and more than half say they want to eat more of it. The study found that nearly half of the primary grocery shoppers in a household have bought protein-enriched foods, and many are willing to pay a premium for them.
“I think people are getting tired of just talking about sugar or fat,” says Frank Hu, MD, PhD, MPH, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard. “Protein has kind of a power image. It’s really important for growth and muscle-building.” (In June, BeverageDaily.com reported that European women steered clear of protein drinks for that very reason: They were afraid that drinking them would cause them to become too muscular. That’s a myth.)
A report released in 2013 by another market research group, Mintel, concluded that the U.S. is by far the world’s biggest market for high-protein products. Introductions of foods and drinks making a high-protein claim in 2012 were almost triple that of any other country, according to the report.
“Americans are looking for protein to aid in satiety (and) weight management and to boost muscle recovery and build muscle after a workout,” Nirvana Chapman, global food science trend analyst at Mintel, says in a news release.
Are We Getting Enough?
And yet, according to the most recent available data, Americans aren’t exactly pigging out on protein.
They really don’t have to, according to the government’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines, to be updated late next year. The guidelines, issued jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, give plenty of leeway when it comes to protein, recommending that adults over age 18 get 10% to 35% of their daily calories from the nutrient.
source : Should You Jump on the Protein Bandwagon?
