Despite being deficient in many essential vitamins and nutrients, protein has garnered consumers’ attention. But why?
Low carb, low sugar, low fat but high in protein. It’s the magical buzzword that continues to sway purchasing power.
However, the average person needs no more than around 55g of protein per day, according to the British Heart Foundation. But many products on the market claim to offer over half that RDA.
Even for someone looking to build muscle supported by gym activity, the recommended protein intake doesn’t creep up much higher than 60g per day.
How big is the food protein market?
Yet the market for functional foods containing protein is predicted to rocket by over €44bn in the next three years.
BBC Science recently claimed food and drink companies had quadrupled the number of high-protein products on the shelves because they are revenue drivers, not because consumers are protein deficient.
What’s behind it? Predominantly social media and social influencers, with mentions of protein growing by over 10% year-on-year for some platforms.
Within this, the demonisation of fats and carbohydrates has also driven up consumers’ desire for increased protein levels as they consider it an essential ingredient for a healthy diet.
High-protein diets that work
High-protein diets of the past and present, including Paleo, Atkins, Zone and Dunkan, have advocated people eat higher levels of fish, meat, eggs, nuts and cheese to lose weight. Protein can increase satiety, which is how such diets generally work.
General nutritional advice is 20% of a diet should be protein to maintain weight and up to 25% to lose weight.
Despite the positives for sales, weight loss and other factors, some scientists argue high protein diets can lead to serious health issues, such as cardiovascular disease, specifically from animal-derived proteins.
Plant-proteins were considered healthier, especially as they contained higher levels of fibre, phytochemicals and unsaturated fats.
