
How Protein Conquered America - pmcpinto
https://www.eater.com/2018/2/12/16991634/muscle-milk-protein-culture
======
spodek
> _Once the niche elixir of powerlifting bros ... about one gram per pound of
> bodyweight is the bro’s rule of thumb_

> _The company is currently focused on drawing in women, in large part because
> they are the primary drivers of lifestyle fitness._

Am I the only one who sees the term "bro" as disparaging? If not, why
disparage men who lift by calling them "bros" but women who keep fit "women"?
If the article called women "babes" or some "bro" equivalent, people would
take the writer to task.

~~~
meri_dian
I feel like a lot of people that aren't masculine men grew up seeing, both in
their lives and as depicted in popular media, masculine men as bullies. As
such a huge portion of society - women and men who aren't masculine - grows up
with a negative opinion of masculinity.

This bias against masculinity has spread as women and femininity have become
more prominent and powerful in society.

The feminine attitude is opposite the masculine in many respects, so it's
natural that the two would dislike one another and come into conflict.

As our society shifts to one in which the feminine is embraced rather than
rejected, and the masculine continues to be seen as a menace to society, it's
considered more acceptable to mock "bros" than a female or feminine
equivalent.

Edit: both the feminine and masculine aspects of personality have their
strengths and weaknesses. Neither is really better than the other in some
objective sense. Different situations call for different attitudes.

~~~
sdrothrock
> I feel like a lot of people that aren't masculine men grew up seeing, both
> in their lives and as depicted in popular media, masculine men as bullies.
> As such a huge portion of society - women and men who aren't masculine -
> grows up with a negative opinion of masculinity.

I could buy this except for the fact that I think there are a lot of
"masculine men" who aren't "bros". The word "bro" brings to mind specific
(negative) traits of anti-intellectualism, party hard mentalities, and
rudeness.

------
obblekk
This article has a vaguely negative view of the high protein fad. However, if
people are even occasionally switching from sugary drinks (pepsi, coke,
starbucks, etc.) to protein drinks, that's probably net good for people's
health. Not because excess protein is beneficial, but because it isn't as
harmful as excess sugar.

~~~
Theodores
'Good healthy' is not always what it seems, there is a disease of orthorexia
and 'clean eating' that is notionally very healthy - everything is juiced into
kale smoothies (cellulose the body still can't digest...) - and people don't
do too well out of it.

As a vegetarian I have had to my own perspective on mankind's obsession with
protein for a long time, really it is over-rated as the body makes the
proteins it needs from amino acids, not from protein eaten from i.e. a sausage
made of pig gristle and shoved in an oven. Or from these whey powder things.

~~~
slothtrop
The only advantage of a large protein surplus is quickened muscle development.
That aside I wouldn't discount the value of dietary protein. Testosterone
levels in males this generation are already too low (leading to weakened
hearts, infertility and apparently lethargy/depression), and protein is one
thing that can help.

~~~
cornholio
Protein intake can also protect against lean body mass loss when fasting and
losing weight. This prevents the trap of low weight, low basal metabolic rate
many people experience after a diet, when they are in great danger of rapidly
accumulating the weight back because they also lost muscle with the fat.

For a healthy person following a balanced diet not looking to lose weight or
build muscle, protein supplementation is unnecessary and can even be harmful
by over-exerting the kidneys.

------
ianai
Want protein? Get some nutritional yeast. You can add it to almost anything
and get as much protein as you like. No fuss, no mess, no cholesterol, and
cheap. No fat too.

~~~
CryoLogic
It's not cost efficient compared to whey protein.

4.5oz Nutritional yeast from Bragg gets you 50g (25 servings of 2g) of protein
in the entire container for $7.29. That's about 15 cents per gram of protein.

ON Gold Standard Whey gets you 1776g (74 servings of 24g) for $55.04. Thats
about 3 cents per gram of protein.

An entire $7 container of nutritional yeast is also only 50g total which is
actually less than an entire days worth of protein for an adult male.

It just doesn't scale.

~~~
paroneayea
I've found I can get nutritional yeast comparatively cheap from the local co-
op bulk bin. But full ACK that not everyone has such an option.

But... you can also get it online for fairly cheap! Here's a pound for less
then 12 dollars. IME a pound goes a long way.
[https://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Co-op-Nutritional-Yeast-
Flak...](https://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Co-op-Nutritional-Yeast-
Flakes/dp/B00016XJM4/ref=sr_1_6_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1518983986&sr=8-6&keywords=nutritional+yeast)

~~~
ianai
Let’s not forget that dairy is heavily subsidized and created in larger
scales.

There’s also ripple-nutritious pea milk. The unsweetened, original flavor has
no carbs and factually more protein than really needed for a bowl of cereal.

------
philfrasty
Is this a sponsored post? Author hammered MUSCLE MILK into my head like 300
times...

~~~
Thriptic
Muscle Milk is one of if not the most popular protein supplement among the
casual lifting and exercise crowd, so it makes sense to focus on it in this
context. More serious lifters general do not consume their products because
most of them are fairly inefficient from a cost and protein / calorie
standpoint.

Optimum Nutrition's products are the gold standard for more serious lifters
when it comes to protein powder. Quest bars are probably the gold standard for
protein bars.

------
lemming
Here's examine.com:

30g of protein in one sitting seems to be a myth:
[https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-can-i-eat-
in-...](https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-can-i-eat-in-one-
sitting/)

There's really no suggestion that too much protein is harmful, unless you
already have damaged kidneys. What _might_ be is very suddenly drastically
increasing protein intake, or taking a _lot_ after prolonged fasting:
[https://examine.com/nutrition/can-eating-too-much-protein-
be...](https://examine.com/nutrition/can-eating-too-much-protein-be-bad-for-
you/)

~~~
carlmr
AFAIK high protein consumption without enough water will be bad for you. And
most people don't drink enough water. So they need to be aware of this.

~~~
lemming
Do you have a reference for that? I'm interested in learning more. The linked
article says:

 _It is generally recommended to consume more water during periods when
protein intake is being increased. Whether or not this has biological basis is
not known, but it may be prudent to do._

I'm not sure why that recommendation exists if it's unknown if or why it
actually makes a difference.

------
code_duck
This article seems like yet another diet fad article that focuses on one class
of food in isolation, despite appearing to be an analysis of such. Of course
Americans like to eat protein. I was a vegetarian for several years, and I
came to know the feeling of being hungry in a certain way that was not
satisfied by carbs or oil... it’s the only thing you can’t cut out.

It’s just that Americans are assessing their diets more realistically these
days. The change is really about what they’re avoiding – carbohydrates. I know
some people who strictly avoid carbohydrates, and their diets are composed
almost solely of meat. It’s basically the manly American man’s dream that this
diet now has modern socially justification.

Personally, I have a great interest in protein right now because I am
recovering from celiac and have an esophageal dysfunction that makes it
difficult to eat anything solid or semi-solid. Also trying to avoid the common
8 allergens (no soy, animal milk, or nuts) so that leaves even fewer liquid
protein options. It’s easy to get carbs and oils as a liquid, but for protein
my current choices, which are almost I can tolerate, are vegan protein powder
made from hemp, cranberry and peas, and bone broth. Unfortunately most of
these products are geared towards weight loss, which is the opposite of what I
need since I’ve lost 30 pounds since the beginning of the year, but it’s easy
to add calories as honey or coconut oil.

~~~
HarryHirsch
An very underestimated nutrient is fat. The Wikipedia entry on "rabbit hunger"
has some very graphic descriptions:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_poisoning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protein_poisoning)

The human body can do without carbohydrates (the Inuit have some evolutionary
adaptations towards a mostly-meat diet), but not without proteins or fats.

------
tomcam
Nice to read an article like this by an actual lifter (who also happens to be
a very good writer). I find that product to taste absolutely terrible, and
assumed its popularity had to do with anything but its taste. Also I think the
name is absolutely horrible. My anecdata has nothing to do with whether it’s a
good product, clearly

~~~
brandonmenc
I'll plug True Nutrition [0] as probably the best source for bulk protein (and
other) powders. Lowest prices, highest quality, and - most importantly - every
product comes in an unflavored option.

Flavored protein products make me want to gag, since almost none of them can
get it right. Occasionally a brand has a good chocolate, banana, or
strawberry, but day in and day out, even good flavors get gross.

Unflavored protein drink instead of milk over cereal is a revelation, and
squirting some chocolate syrup or Mio water enhancer into unflavored protein I
find tastes better than any pre-flavored powder.

That said, PEScience peanut butter cup protein [1] is super legit.

[0] [http://truenutrition.com](http://truenutrition.com)

[1] [https://pescience.com/collections/protein/products/select-
pr...](https://pescience.com/collections/protein/products/select-
protein?variant=185086050330)

~~~
matwood
I’ve used True Nutrition for years. It’s great for bulk protein.

With that said, I’m okay with the MM flavors if I need something quick on the
go. I think I’ve just grown accustomed to eating and drinking things for
‘nutrition’ that I can get down almost anything at this point.

------
atomical
> Concern-trolling attempts (“How much protein is too much?”) can only
> shadowbox confounding factors, like intake of animal protein (which tends to
> be higher in saturated fats).

What does shadowbox mean?

~~~
tomcam
Boxing without an opponent. It’s a training method and happens to be highly
effective at making you fitter, but it’s just not good to improve your boxing
skills per se.

