April 14, 2026 • 37 mins
High-protein diets are everywhere from TikTok trends to protein-packed coffee, pasta, and even bottled water. But is “protein maxxing” actually healthy? And how much protein do you really need?
In this first episode of Health vs Hype from the American Medical Association and iHeartMedia’s Ruby Studio, host Trace Dominguez explores one of the most talked-about nutrition trends online. With bold claims about building muscle, losing weight, and optimizing health, protein has become the centerpiece of many diets, but what does science say about protein maxxing?
We’ll talk to folks interested in the protein maxxing trend, an influencer who lives by it, and an expert physician who gives us all the answers to some of the biggest questions people are asking online:
- Does eating more protein automatically build muscle?
- How much protein is too much?
- Are high-protein diets safe for everyone?
- Is animal protein better than plant protein?
If you’ve ever wondered whether a high-protein diet is right for you, or felt overwhelmed by conflicting advice online, this episode will help you make sense of it all.
Health vs Hype is a podcast from the American Medical Association that takes on viral health trends and breaks them down with real stories, expert insight, and evidence-based guidance.
Listen in to find out: is protein maxxing all health… or just hype?
To learn more, visit: amahealthvshype.org
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Rube.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I tried the Starbucks protein thing. You know, that was new,
so I'm like, give it to me.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
It is corporate profit over health, and I mean it's
a game.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
I hate the high protein trend. Everyone's trying to incorporate
protein into something.
Speaker 5 (00:21):
The trend is about just we're talking about protein maxing,
so increasing your protein intake quite substantially.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
If you spent any time online lately, you've probably come
across videos pushing high protein diets. This trend, called protein maxing,
really took off in twenty twenty with the rise of TikTok,
and it has not slowed down since. Now it's everywhere.
You'll see added protein in the pasta aisle, on the
iced coffee menu, it's your local Starbucks, even in bottled water.
(00:50):
And with it comes some pretty bold claims bigger muscles
and smaller wastes. Like most social media trends, protein maxing
also comes with an army of influencers, each with their
own strong opinions about it.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Protein was the one thing that when focused on I
saw results in the gym. I saw my body improve,
I saw myself lose weight more easily, and I felt
better all the time. My skin looked better. Almost every
other part of my life improved when I focused on it.
Speaker 5 (01:15):
And doctors have some things to say so, although it's
been a craze on social media, it may not be
as safe or effective as it's being purported to be.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
In this episode, the first of the Health Versus Hype
series with the American Medical Association, Welcome by the way,
we'll uncover the truth about protein maxing and answer the
questions we're all curious about. Do we really need more
protein in our diets, how much is too much? And
what does the science actually say about protein maxing. We
invited a social media influencer to fill us in on
(01:48):
why the high protein diet is trending. We talked to
a physician scientist to get all the health facts and
to round things out, we'll hear from some folks who
follow the trend.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
Online social media. Just scrolling and I started seeing health
influencers posting healthy recipes and better ways to get your
steps in every day.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
There's not so much that like a health influencer is
going to be able to teach me, but they have
great simple ideas.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I'm your host, Trace Dimingez. Join me as we find
out whether protein maxing is all health or just hype.
To understand why this trend resonates with so many people,
(02:36):
I spoke with Joseph Abel, a social media creator with
over four million followers who focuses on high protein recipes.
Here he is talking about how he found his way
to the high protein diet.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
I think nutrition is really complex. There's a reason why
people study it for years and years and years and
get degrees in it and everything. And for me, the
complexity felt very intimidating because I knew I needed to
eat healthy, whatever that means, and so I think I
was looking for some kind of through line where it's like,
what is it just eating veggies? Like is it just
like people say to avoid red meat? Like what's the truth?
Like what is the single through line that I can
focus on? And protein felt like it was that through line.
(03:09):
It's obviously not everything. There's fiber, there's micronutrients, there's so
many other things to consider, but you know, Western diets
aren't really struggling for carbs and bats. The things that
are tricky to get into the diet are proteins. And
in realizing that, as well as realizing the crucialness of protein,
for muscle building and body composition goals, all things that
(03:29):
I was really interested in, as well as satiation. Focusing
on protein felt like a very simple, enough and a
very good approximation of what would build a healthy diet.
And so I realized, if I center my diet around
protein and focus on that, not only am I going
to build muscle more easily, I'm going to be more satiated.
A lot of sources of protein, like red meat, have
really good micronutrient profiles, so I'm checking those boxes as well,
(03:52):
and so rather than just going through and meticulously analyzing
every aspect of nutrition, it was an easy thing to
focus on that would cover a lot of my bases
at once.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Do you have a different perspective on the high protein diet,
would you say than other influencers in the space.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
I'd say, yeah. I mean so. I blew up on
social media a couple of times, but one of the
biggest blow ups I had was in March or twenty
twenty four when I made a recipe series called easy Gains,
and it did about one hundred million views in a month.
It was really eye opening for me and that the
entire point of that series was to teach people the
high protein, low effort diet like that was the jingle
(04:27):
and it resonated with tons of people. I think that
protein is a feature of many other food creators, nutritional
plans and diets. For me, it is a absolute requirement.
It is the kind of foundation of everything I'm trying
to teach, because if you can just focus on having
a protein set or diet, you clear out so many
other problems. That is the number one thing to fix
(04:48):
some people's diets if they're doing that.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Interesting, So did you try any other diets before this
or were you kind of like I'll just try different
things and see what works for me, or you know,
how how did you find your way specifically to then
high protein? Totally?
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Yeah, so there were there are a number of things
I tried. I tried low carb, I tried low fat.
I had friends that were doing keto. Everything I tried
left me either bloated, exhausted, or otherwise just like disappointed
and unfulfilled. And I'm like, if this is health, this
is awful, Like this cannot be what flourishing feels like.
You know, going low carb left me very exhausted and
(05:27):
drained naturally because carbs are a huge source of energy
production for the body. Going low fat felt very unsatisfying,
and I was always hungry and never felt satiated. But
protein was the one thing that when focused on I
saw results in the gym. I saw my body improve,
I saw myself lose weight more easily, and I felt
better all the time. My skin looked better. Almost every
(05:47):
other part of my life improved when I focused on it.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Are there downsides to the high protein diet?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, so there can be if you're and this is
what I feel like. The tricky part is protein is
a little monolithic's we know it's in chicken, we know
it's in stake, and so for a lot of people
their diet will fall down a very repetitive and uninteresting
line because it takes a lot of creativity to get
protein out of certain foods.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, you have you nearly four million followers who are
learning more about their diets from you and your experiments
with yourself. And so why do you think that that
resonates with so many people if say, they may not
share your story or background your path.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I mean, my job has me basically health maxing for
a lot of my day, Like that's a huge privilege, right,
It's important for me to be honest, like when I'm
not doing well, where I'm struggling with stuff or I'm
having difficulties, conveying the humanity of that is also just
a way to bridge more of a connection between me
and the audience, as well as just making sure that
I have my facts right, Like all of the recipes
that I make are vigorously macroproof to make sure that
(06:49):
our numbers are accurate. We run them through USDA food
calculators and stuff. So there is a high degree of responsibility,
and I wish more creators would be really sensitive to
that because I think it would help kind of raise
the bar the way that we communicate with people.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
That actually brings me to a question I was going
to ask, like, do you feel responsibility toward the well
being of the people who are watching your videos? And
what does that look like?
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Absolutely? Yeah, I mean I think so noos creators will
sort of oscillate between the stance of like, oh, I'm
just a person doing my own thing. I'm not you know,
I'm not attached to the consequences of the things I
say or share. And I find that troubling, right, because
like the truth is is that there are a ton
of people that I'm you know, impressionable upon as I
(07:32):
get DMS every day from people who say, hey, You've
changed my life, like You're the most influential person in
my life and I've never met them, and that's a
huge amount of responsibility.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Scott Chambers is one of those people. He turned to
social media for inspiration after making the decision to get
his health on track. He since adopted a fitness routine
and a more nutritional diet, and as a result, lost
over one hundred pounds.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Being a millennial, I love social media. I am always
to talk to Instagram, to Facebook. I found Joseph thanks
to the algorithm. One day I was just scrolling through
and he had shared a recipe a high protein thing. Now,
I am not exclusively on a high protein diet by
any stretch of the imagination, but I incorporate a lot
of his recipes and his guides in helping me reach
(08:18):
my protein goals.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Shaida Urbani also follows Joseph on Instagram, and like Scott,
she uses social media more for inspiration than information.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
There's a debate around protein right and nutrition is so
fraught with like angry people huh, and very opinionated people.
So I really had to look at the whole debate,
like what is generally agreed upon in science, what's mostly debated,
and then make some decisions for myself.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
I think at this point it would be helpful to
talk about what protein is and why we even need
it in our diets in the first place. For that,
I asked doctor Thomas Holland, physician scientists from Rush University
Medical Center to help us out.
Speaker 5 (09:03):
We generally think of protein and foods as being predominantly meat,
so we're talking, you know, things across red meat lean
proteins like chicken, turkey, fish, but there's also going to
be proteins in vegetables in particular nuts and beans like legumes,
(09:24):
things like that. So if we're consuming lean proteins, then
we're getting really solid protein that's going to be nutritious.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
So we're seeing kind of a rise in the high
protein diet, high protein products, you know, protein, water, protein lattes, protein, cereal.
We're just putting protein into everything. What do you think
is behind that? What's really going on there?
Speaker 5 (09:48):
There's an idea that if you're in taking protein that
is somehow going to lead to potentially better health or
you know, more muscle gain. When you're addressing different fads
or trends or whatever it may be, focusing on one
singular food or food group is not going to be
(10:10):
as beneficial as focusing on the whole dietary pattern.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Doctor Holland, how do you approach conversations with patients who
are like high protein? That's for me?
Speaker 5 (10:21):
So I typically ask what are motivations? That's how I
start these conversations. What's your motivation? Why are you leaning
towards a high protein diet? Is it for muscle gain? Okay?
So if we're thinking about muscle gain, then it leads
to a natural discussion on well, if you intake proteins
(10:44):
in lieu of carves, how are you going to have
energy to maintain your physical activity? Certainly the protein can
be broken down and we can produce glucose then thereafter.
But if you're needing quick energy, how are you going
to achieve that on a immensely high protein diet if
(11:05):
it's in lieu of carbs. If the motivation is just
from a health perspective, again, motivation what aspect of health?
So I'm leaning towards high protein because I don't want
to intake fats because I want to try to lose weight. Well,
we can lean towards balancing our protein and getting good
(11:27):
nutritious fats that are not going to be, you know,
detrimental to your health. It does need to come down
to precision and the individual. How is this individual interacting
with their food, because it's going to be difficult to
say that a six foot two hundred and thirty pound
male should intake the same calorie content as a five
(11:51):
foot one, one hundred and twenty pound female. Right, there's
still that component of calories in calories out. So a
lot of times when my cover stations start, we talk
about the quality of the food and how they're in
taking those foods. And then if there is a high
caloric intake, how are we reducing the calories? So what
(12:12):
type of physical activity are you doing to reduce those calories?
So you know, it is a nuanced conversation.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
I'm gonna play some clips from my conversation with Joseph
and I'd love for you to react to them.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
You know, there's there's the whole carnivore movement, you know,
where people will just only eat meat and nothing else.
And that's that to me is always raised a red
flag when people across any sort of diet spectrum are like,
never eat anything but this one thing. It's always like, huh,
really is that?
Speaker 1 (12:44):
It?
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Like, is the human body so simple that it needs
one food and that's that's all we need? Like, you know,
and then you have the whole like, well, what it's
all our ancestors eight our ancestors also drank dirty water
with that, you know that aside, Yeah, there's totally a
way to go too far in this and go overboard.
You get so many nutrients from eating vegetables. You feel
significantly better after eating them, too, and it balances the
(13:05):
rest of your diet. You know, you can eat a
lot of meat, but you still have to have fiber.
You need to digest your food properly.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
You know.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Fiber is also crucial for satiation. And I can't tell
you how many people will push for carnivore or push
to just only eat meat. And the people that get
on that stay with a tight level of motivation for
a little bit, but they're never full, they're never all
the way satiated, and then they end up falling off
the wagon and getting into something.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Else, doctor Holland, how do you feel about that clip
now that you've heard it? Yeah? Love it.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
You know, I think that's a very important thing to
consider that what we're consuming now is drastically different. And
as we have evolved, we've evolved of being able to
consume multiple types of food. And to the point on
a thousand years ago, you know, they didn't call it
hunter gatherer for no reason. There were hunters that were
(13:56):
getting protein and there were gatherers that were figuring out
what berries and what root vegetables and things to consume.
So to the point on the nutrients, an aspect that
I always like to say is whenever you're having whole foods,
you're going to get the highest diversity of the quantity
and quality of nutrients in that whole food diet. So,
(14:18):
you know, I think the point being made is spot on.
When we're thinking about fad diets, there has to be
a thoughtful nature to it because at some point this
isn't going to be sustainable forever.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Yeah, and so.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
You have to think about how you cycle off of it.
What what are you going to do as you move
from this diet into your lifestyle, and how are you
going to reintroduce those carbs or reintroduce those fats, and
so being cognizant of that is very important.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Yeah, would you say that that's part I mean when
we say balanced diet, well, you're usually about what you're
eating as much as what you're not eating. Would you
say this like kind of cycling off as part of
that balance, Yeah, I do.
Speaker 5 (14:59):
You know, it's a and that's with everything, right, if
somebody's doing a fasting diet or if they're doing various
types of fad diets, whether or not it's a whole protein,
a keto, carnivore, various components around that, it's all about
how you're going to move through that and what your
(15:21):
goal is. If your goal is fast weight loss, and
then you're going to cycle into something thoughtfully, then you know,
keto diet may be very beneficial. But it's all about
the modification. We always like to talk about it as
a lifestyle modification. So what's going to be sustainable and
actually usable for the rest of your life as opposed
(15:43):
to something that is here for a good time, not
a long time.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Got it? Like a lot of viral diet trends, Protein
maxing promises control and results, But in some cases that
focus on optimization cant are to look a lot like
disordered eating. With nine percent of the US population or
thirty million Americans suffering from an eating disorder in their lifetime,
(16:08):
this is where the conversation gets more complicated if there.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
Is a lot of concern about how you're looking and
that's why you're leaning towards these that can lead to
disordered eating, and you know, at that point definitely need
bring in other health professionals to help address those concerns,
whether or not it's cognitive behavioral therapy, how you're introducing
(16:33):
different foods. You know, when we talk about doing dietary modifications,
we always have registered dietitians on board for our trials,
and so we have that nuance, we have that expertise
about how things are going to be modified and what
it's going to do to individuals as they move along
this spectrum of modification.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah, I think particularly in men, you see sometimes this
discussion around disordered eating doesn't come up as off and
I wondered if there are concerns around it specifically in men.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
Yeah, you know, I think there's always this knee drink
reaction of men not suffering as much from a body
dysmorphic issue. But there is concern whenever I'm looking at
muscle and fitness and I see these guys that are
just shredded, and I'm looking at their diets and trying
to figure out, Okay, how am I going to consume
(17:28):
just oatmeal and egg whites for a couple of weeks
to thin out? And I have to take a step
back and say, Okay, what's realistic for me? What is
my body type require? And how do I make sure
that I'm being healthy for myself. Let's look at another
clip about macro nutrients.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
I do think that in improving protein content in foods
is a huge step up. When you think about what
three macro nutrients are in food. You have carbs, fats,
and protein. No one's struggling to get carbs and fats.
You want more carbs, Eat more bread, you want more fats,
Put more butter in there, put more oil in there.
It's easy to do. Protein takes finesse to eat properly
and to get in your diet. So I think it's
an improvement. The one thing I would encourage is and
(18:09):
I don't want to let perfect be the enemy of good.
So for people that have to rely on fast food
more and are able to choose from the high protein menu,
good for them. But there is almost no substitution for
meals that you cook yourself at home.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
I see you nodding a lot during that one. Can
you tell me a bit about what you're thinking.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
The ultimate point that's being made is making your foods
at home is going to be the best. That's where
you're going to have the opportunity to produce and consume
what you're needing. So it makes a whole lot of
sense when we're thinking about proteins and as he says,
the finesse of the consumption, and again I come back
(18:50):
to quality. You could intake proteins that are high process meats,
you can in tate proteins that are really high and fat,
or you can lean towards those protein that are going
to be a bit more lean that allow you to
intake the food and get the nutrients that you're wanting
without risking and taking the nutrients that are not going.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
To be good for you. Yeah, and you know, forgive
my ignorance, I guess, but is it really true that
there is really just like those kind of three legs
of the stool. You know, protein, carbs, and fat, and
that's and you can kind of dial them up and
down and that's pretty much it.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Yeah, for the macro nutrients that is, and that's where
you know, he said, if you want more carbs, you
can eat a piece of bread. Well that's okay, but
what kind of bread are you in taking? Are you
in taking whole grain? Are you taking in seed bread?
Or are you in taking refined grain white bread? So,
although those are the three major macro nutrients, there is
(19:50):
going to be nuanced to the components underneath each of
those where you can have different quality variations of what
you're you're eating. So he said for fats, well you
get and take butter or a little bit more oil.
Well you can take in butter and get trans fat,
and that's going to lead towards potentially athersclerosis and athosclerosis
(20:10):
is a blockage of the blood vessel. Or you can
intake olive oil that's going to increase your HDL content
and actually help clean your vessels. So again, depend upon
your choice at fat is going to dictate that outcome.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
You just heard a bit about trans fats. So let's
take a second to explain why this matters, because when
we think about fats, we often picture things like fries
or cookies, and we've all heard that those can raise cholesterol.
But it's a bit more complex than that. So your
body actually needs cholesterol. It helps build cells and make hormones,
but it has to travel through your blood to get
where it's needed, and that's where the two types come
(20:47):
in LDL and HDL cholesterol. That's low density lipoprotein and
high density lipoprotein. LDL delivers cholesterol where it's needed, but
too much, especially from foods high in transfats, can lead
to a build up in your arteries. That's what can
cause issues like athrosclerosis, which you heard doctor Holland mention. HDL.
(21:08):
On the other hand, it helps carry excess cholesterol away
back to the liver so your body can get rid
of it. So in the simplest terms, more HDL is good,
too much LDL can be a problem. It's really about balance,
and that's where our food choices come in. So in
the context of our three macros, a slice of whole
grain bread with olive oil is a different choice than
(21:30):
a white bread with butter, even though basically you've done
the same thing on a macro level. You ate a
carb and a fat.
Speaker 5 (21:38):
That's exactly the right way to put it. Your quantity
of intake may not change, but your quality of intake
certainly does. Macros are going to be a good judge
of general consumption, and that's going to be about forty
to fifty percent carbs, twenty five to thirty five percent protein,
(21:59):
and about twenty to thirty percent of fat. The reason
we're so high on carbs is that's our energy. We
intake carbs, and that gets converted to what's called glycogen,
and that glycogen gets used in our first twenty to
thirty minutes of exercise. So carbs are going to be
predominating that diet as far as macros because that's what
(22:20):
we're using for actual energy production. And then proteins and
fats fill in thereafter. And another thing that he said
that I really do appreciate is, you know, it's not
about perfection. And that's one thing to always keep in mind.
It's not about perfection. It's about consistency. It's not trying
to do everything, but trying to do something that's healthier
(22:42):
every day.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Okay, interesting, let's go on to clip number three. Talk
a little bit about this.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It takes a lot of creativity to get protein out
of certain foods. If you want to get protein out
of a cheesecake, and to be clear, there's always protein
and cheesecake and ice cream, there's just a lot more calories,
fats and sugars too. So if you want to make
an intelligent recipe that's optimized for the right amount of
protein for the calories, which is usually in my book,
like a ten percent ratio between calories and protein is great.
(23:10):
Like five hundred calories fifty grams of protein. That's nice,
that's a good choice. The danger is your diet falls
into a repetitious and uninteresting place. And the problem with
that is that it's not going to last. You have
to love your diet if you're going to stick with it.
That is that is not a perk, It is a requirement.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Doctor Holland, Is that an accurate target ten percent between
calories and protein? Would you say it can be?
Speaker 5 (23:37):
You know, the issues or limitations that we're going to
run into with a ten percent target is that one,
it's not going to be individualized. If somebody is generally
hearing that and they think, oh, I'm going to target
a ten percent ratio, it could be a little too much.
The other side of that is that it's not going
(24:00):
be necessarily for sedentary people. So if you're leaning into
this ten percent but you're not getting up and doing
physical activity, you're not doing your aerobics, you're not doing
your resistance training, it can be a little high.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
With all the online noise and marketing of high protein products,
it can be pretty hard to know just how much
protein is the right amount. So let's switch gears for
a bit and talk about the numbers high protein diets.
Speaker 5 (24:28):
Generally, when we're thinking about protein intake, there's going to
be different recommended values that we're in taking, and usually
that's about zero point eight grams per kilogram per day.
So if we take our weight in pounds and converted
to kilograms and then multiply that by point eight, we
should be getting about that amount of protein in our diet.
(24:53):
Now for these high protein diets, they're in taking you know,
a bit higher at maybe about twice as much. So
we're talking around a scale of one point two to
two point zero grams per kilogram per day, and that's
okay for individuals that are very active and they're doing
(25:16):
resistance training.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Before we move on, let's break down the math on
protein maxing for a second, two point zero grams per
kilogram per day. That's about one gram of protein for
every pound of body weight. It's a formula that you
see promoted all across the internet. So if you weigh,
say one hundred and fifty pounds, your high protein goal
would be one hundred and fifty grams a day. For context,
(25:40):
that's like twenty ounces of cooked meat or twenty four
large hard boiled eggs or two dozen eggs.
Speaker 5 (25:49):
That's a big omelet for the run of the mill individual.
It may be a little too much. If we're thinking
about just how we are going to be functioning with
that protein.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Why would you say it's too much?
Speaker 5 (26:02):
So yeah, so our bodies can only utilize protein when
it needs to be utilized. We work out, the muscles tear,
we have protein, It allows that muscle to build back up.
And if we're intaking too much, what's eventually going to
happen is that protein can be converted into storage forms,
(26:24):
so we can actually convert it into glucose to use
for energy, and at that point it can also be
converted into fat. So if you're intaking too much protein,
it can lead to some weake in it may not
be the weight gain that you're desiring. And then on
the other side of that, if you're going to be
intaking a lot of protein, you want to make sure
(26:45):
that your kidney function is good. So generally speaking, if
you're in taking too much protein and your kidneys are healthy,
that's going to be fine. But if there is a
potential issue with your kidneys, it can lead to more
damage to those kidneys.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Let's quickly go through some of the most widely spread
claims online about protein maxing. We'll start with a big one.
Does eating more protein automatically mean you'll build more muscle?
Speaker 5 (27:12):
No, it doesn't. If you want to increase muscle mass,
you need to be doing resistance training along with the
protein intake.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Got it. Does high protein mean faster weight loss?
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Not?
Speaker 5 (27:24):
Necessarily Dependent upon the quality of your protein intake, it
may mean weight gain, So it's nuanced, but generally again quality.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Are higher protein diets best for everybody? No?
Speaker 5 (27:42):
No, this comes down to again precision medicine and or
individualized dietary intake.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Yeah. Is there a group that it would benefit kind
of across the board, you know, age or sex or
anything like that.
Speaker 5 (27:58):
There has been some research that in older individuals a
little bit more protein can be beneficial, especially as both
male and female move into you know, hormonal changes and
redistribution of fat and muscle, and so having a higher
protein diet can be beneficial.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Does animal protein cause cancer?
Speaker 5 (28:23):
It can so dependent upon the preparation of it, especially
if there's smoked meats or overcooked meats, they can become carcinogenic.
So again nuance there with how you're preparing your meats.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Yeah, and then is plant protein not as good a
protein as animal protein?
Speaker 5 (28:47):
Plant protein is just as good as animal protein. Again,
being thoughtful about how you're intaking it, you can achieve
the same quantity of your protein intake.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Amazing you mentioned hormonal bound I thought that'd be interesting
to touch a little bit more on.
Speaker 5 (29:03):
So now the I guess the point that I was
trying to get at both male and female. We usually
think of female perimenopause and moving into menopause as very
female specific and there's a drop in estrogen increase in testosterone. Well,
the opposite is true for male, and we go through
(29:26):
a similar hormonal change as we h where our testosterone
gets lower. That's the commercials all around about low T right,
So our testosterone decreases and our estrogen increases. Now, when
it comes to hormones, proteins are going to be very
important because they are supporting our hormone regulation. So adequate
(29:50):
protein intake is going to help with stabilization of our
blood sugar, it's going to help with reducing insulin spikes,
and it's going to also help with you know, liver functionality.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Yeah. Would you say that Americans are consuming enough protein generally?
Speaker 5 (30:06):
Yeah, yeah, for the most part, you know, general individuals
that are walking around. From a dietary perspective, we're getting
an appropriate amount of protein. Now, again that's from a
quantity perspective. Quality side may not be as good if
we're talking about processed foods or high fat meat, But
(30:28):
generally speaking, yeah, most individuals in America are getting a
good amount of protein.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Yeah. There's an idea online that there's no such thing
as too much protein.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
Yeah, you know, from an over consumption of protein, I
think it depends on how you're getting it. What are
you in taking to get to that high protein I
tell my students this all the time. Your body loves
to be balanced, and it will work so so hard
to maintain that balance until it can't. And that imbalance
(31:01):
at some point is because of something we're doing, whether
or not we're we're doing enough physical activity, whether or
not we're in taking an appropriate diet. So at some
point in taking too much protein will have some downstream effect,
whether or not that is, you know, something with the kidneys, potentially,
(31:23):
something with the liver, something with the vaculature. Something will
eventually happen. So, you know, just because something isn't happening
right now, does it mean something won't happen.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
If someone's curious about a high protein diet and high
protein eating, what should they know? How can they approach
this safely if they're coming from you know, coming at
it fresh.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
You know. I think the main thing to keep in
mind when you're thinking about opting toward a higher protein
content is what the typical intake is. So if we're
talking about, like I said earlier, the point eight grams
per kilogram per day, if you're going to increase that
(32:08):
first and foremost, do a slow increase. Our bodies love
to adjust to the change, so implementing one gram per kilogram,
then go to one and a half again. If you
are increasing the protein intake, what's the motivation? Why are
(32:28):
you doing this? Is it because you're trying to build
muscle and you're going to be doing resistance training than okay?
But if it's purely from a weight loss perspective, then
there's better ways to do it.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
And then when should someone seek medical advice?
Speaker 5 (32:44):
So if you do have any type of organ issue,
specifically kidneys, liver, heart, just speaking with your primary care
doc and having that conversation, maybe sending your doc a
letter on your my chart or whatever messaging system and saying, hey,
the next time I'm in, I want to talk about
(33:05):
this and I want to make sure that I'm approaching
this appropriately. And perhaps they have the ability to refer
you to a dietitian within the system that then is covered,
or you have the opportunity to see a dietitian on
your own. You know, For me, it always comes back
(33:25):
to understanding the motivations that an individual has and doing
things safely and thoughtfully.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
Yeah, and then how could we learn to separate evidence
based guidance from hype other than maybe the person telling us,
you know, how can we figure it out from whomever
we're seeing it on social media?
Speaker 5 (33:46):
Yeah? My wife will come to me and say, hey,
have you seen this on Instagram? And I'll say no,
and she'll say, well, research it and get back to me.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
What a resource, right, right?
Speaker 5 (34:01):
So I will go and I will review whatever she
sent me, and I'll come back to her with a
one liner of yes, this is good, or no, this
isn't good, or maybe it needs a bit more research
to be had. But a lot of times, what are
these quick fifteen thirty second forty five second videos on Instagram?
(34:25):
Getting the main point of what the person is saying
and then throwing that into a Google search will generally
tell you where it stands, just a very bird's eye
view of things. So, you know, if it's information for
information's sake, I'm a bit more trustworthy, but I'm still
going to research it. If you're trying to sell it
(34:46):
to me, my level of trust is diminished and I'm still.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Going to research it. Yeah that's a red flag for you.
Then yeah, okay, well, doctor Holland, thank you for all
of this information so helpful. I appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (34:59):
I appreciate it and Thank you so much for the questions.
I love getting the wheels turning.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
On a scale of health to hype, I think it's
safe to say protein maxing comes out somewhere in the
middle for starters. It's important to remember that the quality
of protein matters as much as the quantity. Adding more
lean cooked chicken breast to your diet is a much
better choice than adding more bacon, for example. It's also
helpful to understand your motives for increasing your protein and
(35:28):
to recognize that high protein diets are not a one
size fits all solution, which means you should have a
conversation with your physician before making any changes to your diet.
I mean, that's my takeaway. I'd be interested to hear
what you think. Let me know in the comments. And
thanks again to doctor Holland for helping us decode protein maxing,
and thanks to Joseph Scott and Shada for sharing their
(35:48):
experiences with us. We got to the bottom of this trend,
but this is just the beginning. We have seven more
episodes lined up exploring some of the most confusing health
prends out there. We'll share more storees, investigate more claims,
and separate health from Hype, so make sure to subscribe.
In the next episode, we'll be exploring sleep trackers and
(36:09):
all the unique social media trends people are trying in
pursuit of a good night's sleep. I don't know if
I want to try mouth taping, but kind I don't know.
We'll see, so I hope you'll join me. Until then,
visit AMA Health Versus Hype dot org for more information.
That's AMA Health vs. Hype dot Org. Thanks for listening.
(36:30):
Health Versus Hype is a production of Ruby's Studio from
iHeartMedia and the American Medical Association. I'm trace to Miminguez.
Our producers are Matt Stillo and Pamela Lawrence. Michael Depoe
Wilson is our writer. The show is engineered and features
original music by Matthew Ernest Filler. Health Versus Hype is
intended for educational and informational purposes only and does not
(36:50):
constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice
of your physician with any questions you may have regarding
a medical condition.
Rube.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I tried the Starbucks protein thing. You know, that was new,
so I'm like, give it to me.
Speaker 3 (00:14):
It is corporate profit over health, and I mean it's
a game.
Speaker 4 (00:17):
I hate the high protein trend. Everyone's trying to incorporate
protein into something.
Speaker 5 (00:21):
The trend is about just we're talking about protein maxing,
so increasing your protein intake quite substantially.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
If you spent any time online lately, you've probably come
across videos pushing high protein diets. This trend, called protein maxing,
really took off in twenty twenty with the rise of TikTok,
and it has not slowed down since. Now it's everywhere.
You'll see added protein in the pasta aisle, on the
iced coffee menu, it's your local Starbucks, even in bottled water.
(00:50):
And with it comes some pretty bold claims bigger muscles
and smaller wastes. Like most social media trends, protein maxing
also comes with an army of influencers, each with their
own strong opinions about it.
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Protein was the one thing that when focused on I
saw results in the gym. I saw my body improve,
I saw myself lose weight more easily, and I felt
better all the time. My skin looked better. Almost every
other part of my life improved when I focused on it.
Speaker 5 (01:15):
And doctors have some things to say so, although it's
been a craze on social media, it may not be
as safe or effective as it's being purported to be.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
In this episode, the first of the Health Versus Hype
series with the American Medical Association, Welcome by the way,
we'll uncover the truth about protein maxing and answer the
questions we're all curious about. Do we really need more
protein in our diets, how much is too much? And
what does the science actually say about protein maxing. We
invited a social media influencer to fill us in on
(01:48):
why the high protein diet is trending. We talked to
a physician scientist to get all the health facts and
to round things out, we'll hear from some folks who
follow the trend.
Speaker 4 (01:56):
Online social media. Just scrolling and I started seeing health
influencers posting healthy recipes and better ways to get your
steps in every day.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
There's not so much that like a health influencer is
going to be able to teach me, but they have
great simple ideas.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I'm your host, Trace Dimingez. Join me as we find
out whether protein maxing is all health or just hype.
To understand why this trend resonates with so many people,
(02:36):
I spoke with Joseph Abel, a social media creator with
over four million followers who focuses on high protein recipes.
Here he is talking about how he found his way
to the high protein diet.
Speaker 3 (02:47):
I think nutrition is really complex. There's a reason why
people study it for years and years and years and
get degrees in it and everything. And for me, the
complexity felt very intimidating because I knew I needed to
eat healthy, whatever that means, and so I think I
was looking for some kind of through line where it's like,
what is it just eating veggies? Like is it just
like people say to avoid red meat? Like what's the truth?
Like what is the single through line that I can
focus on? And protein felt like it was that through line.
(03:09):
It's obviously not everything. There's fiber, there's micronutrients, there's so
many other things to consider, but you know, Western diets
aren't really struggling for carbs and bats. The things that
are tricky to get into the diet are proteins. And
in realizing that, as well as realizing the crucialness of protein,
for muscle building and body composition goals, all things that
(03:29):
I was really interested in, as well as satiation. Focusing
on protein felt like a very simple, enough and a
very good approximation of what would build a healthy diet.
And so I realized, if I center my diet around
protein and focus on that, not only am I going
to build muscle more easily, I'm going to be more satiated.
A lot of sources of protein, like red meat, have
really good micronutrient profiles, so I'm checking those boxes as well,
(03:52):
and so rather than just going through and meticulously analyzing
every aspect of nutrition, it was an easy thing to
focus on that would cover a lot of my bases
at once.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Do you have a different perspective on the high protein diet,
would you say than other influencers in the space.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
I'd say, yeah. I mean so. I blew up on
social media a couple of times, but one of the
biggest blow ups I had was in March or twenty
twenty four when I made a recipe series called easy Gains,
and it did about one hundred million views in a month.
It was really eye opening for me and that the
entire point of that series was to teach people the
high protein, low effort diet like that was the jingle
(04:27):
and it resonated with tons of people. I think that
protein is a feature of many other food creators, nutritional
plans and diets. For me, it is a absolute requirement.
It is the kind of foundation of everything I'm trying
to teach, because if you can just focus on having
a protein set or diet, you clear out so many
other problems. That is the number one thing to fix
(04:48):
some people's diets if they're doing that.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Interesting, So did you try any other diets before this
or were you kind of like I'll just try different
things and see what works for me, or you know,
how how did you find your way specifically to then
high protein? Totally?
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Yeah, so there were there are a number of things
I tried. I tried low carb, I tried low fat.
I had friends that were doing keto. Everything I tried
left me either bloated, exhausted, or otherwise just like disappointed
and unfulfilled. And I'm like, if this is health, this
is awful, Like this cannot be what flourishing feels like.
You know, going low carb left me very exhausted and
(05:27):
drained naturally because carbs are a huge source of energy
production for the body. Going low fat felt very unsatisfying,
and I was always hungry and never felt satiated. But
protein was the one thing that when focused on I
saw results in the gym. I saw my body improve,
I saw myself lose weight more easily, and I felt
better all the time. My skin looked better. Almost every
(05:47):
other part of my life improved when I focused on it.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Are there downsides to the high protein diet?
Speaker 3 (05:53):
Yeah, so there can be if you're and this is
what I feel like. The tricky part is protein is
a little monolithic's we know it's in chicken, we know
it's in stake, and so for a lot of people
their diet will fall down a very repetitive and uninteresting
line because it takes a lot of creativity to get
protein out of certain foods.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
Yeah, you have you nearly four million followers who are
learning more about their diets from you and your experiments
with yourself. And so why do you think that that
resonates with so many people if say, they may not
share your story or background your path.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
I mean, my job has me basically health maxing for
a lot of my day, Like that's a huge privilege, right,
It's important for me to be honest, like when I'm
not doing well, where I'm struggling with stuff or I'm
having difficulties, conveying the humanity of that is also just
a way to bridge more of a connection between me
and the audience, as well as just making sure that
I have my facts right, Like all of the recipes
that I make are vigorously macroproof to make sure that
(06:49):
our numbers are accurate. We run them through USDA food
calculators and stuff. So there is a high degree of responsibility,
and I wish more creators would be really sensitive to
that because I think it would help kind of raise
the bar the way that we communicate with people.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
That actually brings me to a question I was going
to ask, like, do you feel responsibility toward the well
being of the people who are watching your videos? And
what does that look like?
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Absolutely? Yeah, I mean I think so noos creators will
sort of oscillate between the stance of like, oh, I'm
just a person doing my own thing. I'm not you know,
I'm not attached to the consequences of the things I
say or share. And I find that troubling, right, because
like the truth is is that there are a ton
of people that I'm you know, impressionable upon as I
(07:32):
get DMS every day from people who say, hey, You've
changed my life, like You're the most influential person in
my life and I've never met them, and that's a
huge amount of responsibility.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
Scott Chambers is one of those people. He turned to
social media for inspiration after making the decision to get
his health on track. He since adopted a fitness routine
and a more nutritional diet, and as a result, lost
over one hundred pounds.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
Being a millennial, I love social media. I am always
to talk to Instagram, to Facebook. I found Joseph thanks
to the algorithm. One day I was just scrolling through
and he had shared a recipe a high protein thing. Now,
I am not exclusively on a high protein diet by
any stretch of the imagination, but I incorporate a lot
of his recipes and his guides in helping me reach
(08:18):
my protein goals.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Shaida Urbani also follows Joseph on Instagram, and like Scott,
she uses social media more for inspiration than information.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
There's a debate around protein right and nutrition is so
fraught with like angry people huh, and very opinionated people.
So I really had to look at the whole debate,
like what is generally agreed upon in science, what's mostly debated,
and then make some decisions for myself.
Speaker 1 (08:50):
I think at this point it would be helpful to
talk about what protein is and why we even need
it in our diets in the first place. For that,
I asked doctor Thomas Holland, physician scientists from Rush University
Medical Center to help us out.
Speaker 5 (09:03):
We generally think of protein and foods as being predominantly meat,
so we're talking, you know, things across red meat lean
proteins like chicken, turkey, fish, but there's also going to
be proteins in vegetables in particular nuts and beans like legumes,
(09:24):
things like that. So if we're consuming lean proteins, then
we're getting really solid protein that's going to be nutritious.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
So we're seeing kind of a rise in the high
protein diet, high protein products, you know, protein, water, protein lattes, protein, cereal.
We're just putting protein into everything. What do you think
is behind that? What's really going on there?
Speaker 5 (09:48):
There's an idea that if you're in taking protein that
is somehow going to lead to potentially better health or
you know, more muscle gain. When you're addressing different fads
or trends or whatever it may be, focusing on one
singular food or food group is not going to be
(10:10):
as beneficial as focusing on the whole dietary pattern.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Doctor Holland, how do you approach conversations with patients who
are like high protein? That's for me?
Speaker 5 (10:21):
So I typically ask what are motivations? That's how I
start these conversations. What's your motivation? Why are you leaning
towards a high protein diet? Is it for muscle gain? Okay?
So if we're thinking about muscle gain, then it leads
to a natural discussion on well, if you intake proteins
(10:44):
in lieu of carves, how are you going to have
energy to maintain your physical activity? Certainly the protein can
be broken down and we can produce glucose then thereafter.
But if you're needing quick energy, how are you going
to achieve that on a immensely high protein diet if
(11:05):
it's in lieu of carbs. If the motivation is just
from a health perspective, again, motivation what aspect of health?
So I'm leaning towards high protein because I don't want
to intake fats because I want to try to lose weight. Well,
we can lean towards balancing our protein and getting good
(11:27):
nutritious fats that are not going to be, you know,
detrimental to your health. It does need to come down
to precision and the individual. How is this individual interacting
with their food, because it's going to be difficult to
say that a six foot two hundred and thirty pound
male should intake the same calorie content as a five
(11:51):
foot one, one hundred and twenty pound female. Right, there's
still that component of calories in calories out. So a
lot of times when my cover stations start, we talk
about the quality of the food and how they're in
taking those foods. And then if there is a high
caloric intake, how are we reducing the calories? So what
(12:12):
type of physical activity are you doing to reduce those calories?
So you know, it is a nuanced conversation.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
I'm gonna play some clips from my conversation with Joseph
and I'd love for you to react to them.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
You know, there's there's the whole carnivore movement, you know,
where people will just only eat meat and nothing else.
And that's that to me is always raised a red
flag when people across any sort of diet spectrum are like,
never eat anything but this one thing. It's always like, huh,
really is that?
Speaker 1 (12:44):
It?
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Like, is the human body so simple that it needs
one food and that's that's all we need? Like, you know,
and then you have the whole like, well, what it's
all our ancestors eight our ancestors also drank dirty water
with that, you know that aside, Yeah, there's totally a
way to go too far in this and go overboard.
You get so many nutrients from eating vegetables. You feel
significantly better after eating them, too, and it balances the
(13:05):
rest of your diet. You know, you can eat a
lot of meat, but you still have to have fiber.
You need to digest your food properly.
Speaker 1 (13:10):
You know.
Speaker 3 (13:11):
Fiber is also crucial for satiation. And I can't tell
you how many people will push for carnivore or push
to just only eat meat. And the people that get
on that stay with a tight level of motivation for
a little bit, but they're never full, they're never all
the way satiated, and then they end up falling off
the wagon and getting into something.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Else, doctor Holland, how do you feel about that clip
now that you've heard it? Yeah? Love it.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
You know, I think that's a very important thing to
consider that what we're consuming now is drastically different. And
as we have evolved, we've evolved of being able to
consume multiple types of food. And to the point on
a thousand years ago, you know, they didn't call it
hunter gatherer for no reason. There were hunters that were
(13:56):
getting protein and there were gatherers that were figuring out
what berries and what root vegetables and things to consume.
So to the point on the nutrients, an aspect that
I always like to say is whenever you're having whole foods,
you're going to get the highest diversity of the quantity
and quality of nutrients in that whole food diet. So,
(14:18):
you know, I think the point being made is spot on.
When we're thinking about fad diets, there has to be
a thoughtful nature to it because at some point this
isn't going to be sustainable forever.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Yeah, and so.
Speaker 5 (14:30):
You have to think about how you cycle off of it.
What what are you going to do as you move
from this diet into your lifestyle, and how are you
going to reintroduce those carbs or reintroduce those fats, and
so being cognizant of that is very important.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Yeah, would you say that that's part I mean when
we say balanced diet, well, you're usually about what you're
eating as much as what you're not eating. Would you
say this like kind of cycling off as part of
that balance, Yeah, I do.
Speaker 5 (14:59):
You know, it's a and that's with everything, right, if
somebody's doing a fasting diet or if they're doing various
types of fad diets, whether or not it's a whole protein,
a keto, carnivore, various components around that, it's all about
how you're going to move through that and what your
(15:21):
goal is. If your goal is fast weight loss, and
then you're going to cycle into something thoughtfully, then you know,
keto diet may be very beneficial. But it's all about
the modification. We always like to talk about it as
a lifestyle modification. So what's going to be sustainable and
actually usable for the rest of your life as opposed
(15:43):
to something that is here for a good time, not
a long time.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
Got it? Like a lot of viral diet trends, Protein
maxing promises control and results, But in some cases that
focus on optimization cant are to look a lot like
disordered eating. With nine percent of the US population or
thirty million Americans suffering from an eating disorder in their lifetime,
(16:08):
this is where the conversation gets more complicated if there.
Speaker 5 (16:13):
Is a lot of concern about how you're looking and
that's why you're leaning towards these that can lead to
disordered eating, and you know, at that point definitely need
bring in other health professionals to help address those concerns,
whether or not it's cognitive behavioral therapy, how you're introducing
(16:33):
different foods. You know, when we talk about doing dietary modifications,
we always have registered dietitians on board for our trials,
and so we have that nuance, we have that expertise
about how things are going to be modified and what
it's going to do to individuals as they move along
this spectrum of modification.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah, I think particularly in men, you see sometimes this
discussion around disordered eating doesn't come up as off and
I wondered if there are concerns around it specifically in men.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
Yeah, you know, I think there's always this knee drink
reaction of men not suffering as much from a body
dysmorphic issue. But there is concern whenever I'm looking at
muscle and fitness and I see these guys that are
just shredded, and I'm looking at their diets and trying
to figure out, Okay, how am I going to consume
(17:28):
just oatmeal and egg whites for a couple of weeks
to thin out? And I have to take a step
back and say, Okay, what's realistic for me? What is
my body type require? And how do I make sure
that I'm being healthy for myself. Let's look at another
clip about macro nutrients.
Speaker 3 (17:47):
I do think that in improving protein content in foods
is a huge step up. When you think about what
three macro nutrients are in food. You have carbs, fats,
and protein. No one's struggling to get carbs and fats.
You want more carbs, Eat more bread, you want more fats,
Put more butter in there, put more oil in there.
It's easy to do. Protein takes finesse to eat properly
and to get in your diet. So I think it's
an improvement. The one thing I would encourage is and
(18:09):
I don't want to let perfect be the enemy of good.
So for people that have to rely on fast food
more and are able to choose from the high protein menu,
good for them. But there is almost no substitution for
meals that you cook yourself at home.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
I see you nodding a lot during that one. Can
you tell me a bit about what you're thinking.
Speaker 5 (18:28):
The ultimate point that's being made is making your foods
at home is going to be the best. That's where
you're going to have the opportunity to produce and consume
what you're needing. So it makes a whole lot of
sense when we're thinking about proteins and as he says,
the finesse of the consumption, and again I come back
(18:50):
to quality. You could intake proteins that are high process meats,
you can in tate proteins that are really high and fat,
or you can lean towards those protein that are going
to be a bit more lean that allow you to
intake the food and get the nutrients that you're wanting
without risking and taking the nutrients that are not going.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
To be good for you. Yeah, and you know, forgive
my ignorance, I guess, but is it really true that
there is really just like those kind of three legs
of the stool. You know, protein, carbs, and fat, and
that's and you can kind of dial them up and
down and that's pretty much it.
Speaker 5 (19:26):
Yeah, for the macro nutrients that is, and that's where
you know, he said, if you want more carbs, you
can eat a piece of bread. Well that's okay, but
what kind of bread are you in taking? Are you
in taking whole grain? Are you taking in seed bread?
Or are you in taking refined grain white bread? So,
although those are the three major macro nutrients, there is
(19:50):
going to be nuanced to the components underneath each of
those where you can have different quality variations of what
you're you're eating. So he said for fats, well you
get and take butter or a little bit more oil.
Well you can take in butter and get trans fat,
and that's going to lead towards potentially athersclerosis and athosclerosis
(20:10):
is a blockage of the blood vessel. Or you can
intake olive oil that's going to increase your HDL content
and actually help clean your vessels. So again, depend upon
your choice at fat is going to dictate that outcome.
Speaker 1 (20:25):
You just heard a bit about trans fats. So let's
take a second to explain why this matters, because when
we think about fats, we often picture things like fries
or cookies, and we've all heard that those can raise cholesterol.
But it's a bit more complex than that. So your
body actually needs cholesterol. It helps build cells and make hormones,
but it has to travel through your blood to get
where it's needed, and that's where the two types come
(20:47):
in LDL and HDL cholesterol. That's low density lipoprotein and
high density lipoprotein. LDL delivers cholesterol where it's needed, but
too much, especially from foods high in transfats, can lead
to a build up in your arteries. That's what can
cause issues like athrosclerosis, which you heard doctor Holland mention. HDL.
(21:08):
On the other hand, it helps carry excess cholesterol away
back to the liver so your body can get rid
of it. So in the simplest terms, more HDL is good,
too much LDL can be a problem. It's really about balance,
and that's where our food choices come in. So in
the context of our three macros, a slice of whole
grain bread with olive oil is a different choice than
(21:30):
a white bread with butter, even though basically you've done
the same thing on a macro level. You ate a
carb and a fat.
Speaker 5 (21:38):
That's exactly the right way to put it. Your quantity
of intake may not change, but your quality of intake
certainly does. Macros are going to be a good judge
of general consumption, and that's going to be about forty
to fifty percent carbs, twenty five to thirty five percent protein,
(21:59):
and about twenty to thirty percent of fat. The reason
we're so high on carbs is that's our energy. We
intake carbs, and that gets converted to what's called glycogen,
and that glycogen gets used in our first twenty to
thirty minutes of exercise. So carbs are going to be
predominating that diet as far as macros because that's what
(22:20):
we're using for actual energy production. And then proteins and
fats fill in thereafter. And another thing that he said
that I really do appreciate is, you know, it's not
about perfection. And that's one thing to always keep in mind.
It's not about perfection. It's about consistency. It's not trying
to do everything, but trying to do something that's healthier
(22:42):
every day.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
Okay, interesting, let's go on to clip number three. Talk
a little bit about this.
Speaker 3 (22:50):
It takes a lot of creativity to get protein out
of certain foods. If you want to get protein out
of a cheesecake, and to be clear, there's always protein
and cheesecake and ice cream, there's just a lot more calories,
fats and sugars too. So if you want to make
an intelligent recipe that's optimized for the right amount of
protein for the calories, which is usually in my book,
like a ten percent ratio between calories and protein is great.
(23:10):
Like five hundred calories fifty grams of protein. That's nice,
that's a good choice. The danger is your diet falls
into a repetitious and uninteresting place. And the problem with
that is that it's not going to last. You have
to love your diet if you're going to stick with it.
That is that is not a perk, It is a requirement.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Doctor Holland, Is that an accurate target ten percent between
calories and protein? Would you say it can be?
Speaker 5 (23:37):
You know, the issues or limitations that we're going to
run into with a ten percent target is that one,
it's not going to be individualized. If somebody is generally
hearing that and they think, oh, I'm going to target
a ten percent ratio, it could be a little too much.
The other side of that is that it's not going
(24:00):
be necessarily for sedentary people. So if you're leaning into
this ten percent but you're not getting up and doing
physical activity, you're not doing your aerobics, you're not doing
your resistance training, it can be a little high.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
With all the online noise and marketing of high protein products,
it can be pretty hard to know just how much
protein is the right amount. So let's switch gears for
a bit and talk about the numbers high protein diets.
Speaker 5 (24:28):
Generally, when we're thinking about protein intake, there's going to
be different recommended values that we're in taking, and usually
that's about zero point eight grams per kilogram per day.
So if we take our weight in pounds and converted
to kilograms and then multiply that by point eight, we
should be getting about that amount of protein in our diet.
(24:53):
Now for these high protein diets, they're in taking you know,
a bit higher at maybe about twice as much. So
we're talking around a scale of one point two to
two point zero grams per kilogram per day, and that's
okay for individuals that are very active and they're doing
(25:16):
resistance training.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Before we move on, let's break down the math on
protein maxing for a second, two point zero grams per
kilogram per day. That's about one gram of protein for
every pound of body weight. It's a formula that you
see promoted all across the internet. So if you weigh,
say one hundred and fifty pounds, your high protein goal
would be one hundred and fifty grams a day. For context,
(25:40):
that's like twenty ounces of cooked meat or twenty four
large hard boiled eggs or two dozen eggs.
Speaker 5 (25:49):
That's a big omelet for the run of the mill individual.
It may be a little too much. If we're thinking
about just how we are going to be functioning with
that protein.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Why would you say it's too much?
Speaker 5 (26:02):
So yeah, so our bodies can only utilize protein when
it needs to be utilized. We work out, the muscles tear,
we have protein, It allows that muscle to build back up.
And if we're intaking too much, what's eventually going to
happen is that protein can be converted into storage forms,
(26:24):
so we can actually convert it into glucose to use
for energy, and at that point it can also be
converted into fat. So if you're intaking too much protein,
it can lead to some weake in it may not
be the weight gain that you're desiring. And then on
the other side of that, if you're going to be
intaking a lot of protein, you want to make sure
(26:45):
that your kidney function is good. So generally speaking, if
you're in taking too much protein and your kidneys are healthy,
that's going to be fine. But if there is a
potential issue with your kidneys, it can lead to more
damage to those kidneys.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Let's quickly go through some of the most widely spread
claims online about protein maxing. We'll start with a big one.
Does eating more protein automatically mean you'll build more muscle?
Speaker 5 (27:12):
No, it doesn't. If you want to increase muscle mass,
you need to be doing resistance training along with the
protein intake.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
Got it. Does high protein mean faster weight loss?
Speaker 3 (27:24):
Not?
Speaker 5 (27:24):
Necessarily Dependent upon the quality of your protein intake, it
may mean weight gain, So it's nuanced, but generally again quality.
Speaker 1 (27:37):
Are higher protein diets best for everybody? No?
Speaker 5 (27:42):
No, this comes down to again precision medicine and or
individualized dietary intake.
Speaker 1 (27:51):
Yeah. Is there a group that it would benefit kind
of across the board, you know, age or sex or
anything like that.
Speaker 5 (27:58):
There has been some research that in older individuals a
little bit more protein can be beneficial, especially as both
male and female move into you know, hormonal changes and
redistribution of fat and muscle, and so having a higher
protein diet can be beneficial.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
Does animal protein cause cancer?
Speaker 5 (28:23):
It can so dependent upon the preparation of it, especially
if there's smoked meats or overcooked meats, they can become carcinogenic.
So again nuance there with how you're preparing your meats.
Speaker 1 (28:40):
Yeah, and then is plant protein not as good a
protein as animal protein?
Speaker 5 (28:47):
Plant protein is just as good as animal protein. Again,
being thoughtful about how you're intaking it, you can achieve
the same quantity of your protein intake.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Amazing you mentioned hormonal bound I thought that'd be interesting
to touch a little bit more on.
Speaker 5 (29:03):
So now the I guess the point that I was
trying to get at both male and female. We usually
think of female perimenopause and moving into menopause as very
female specific and there's a drop in estrogen increase in testosterone. Well,
the opposite is true for male, and we go through
(29:26):
a similar hormonal change as we h where our testosterone
gets lower. That's the commercials all around about low T right,
So our testosterone decreases and our estrogen increases. Now, when
it comes to hormones, proteins are going to be very
important because they are supporting our hormone regulation. So adequate
(29:50):
protein intake is going to help with stabilization of our
blood sugar, it's going to help with reducing insulin spikes,
and it's going to also help with you know, liver functionality.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
Yeah. Would you say that Americans are consuming enough protein generally?
Speaker 5 (30:06):
Yeah, yeah, for the most part, you know, general individuals
that are walking around. From a dietary perspective, we're getting
an appropriate amount of protein. Now, again that's from a
quantity perspective. Quality side may not be as good if
we're talking about processed foods or high fat meat, But
(30:28):
generally speaking, yeah, most individuals in America are getting a
good amount of protein.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
Yeah. There's an idea online that there's no such thing
as too much protein.
Speaker 5 (30:39):
Yeah, you know, from an over consumption of protein, I
think it depends on how you're getting it. What are
you in taking to get to that high protein I
tell my students this all the time. Your body loves
to be balanced, and it will work so so hard
to maintain that balance until it can't. And that imbalance
(31:01):
at some point is because of something we're doing, whether
or not we're we're doing enough physical activity, whether or
not we're in taking an appropriate diet. So at some
point in taking too much protein will have some downstream effect,
whether or not that is, you know, something with the kidneys, potentially,
(31:23):
something with the liver, something with the vaculature. Something will
eventually happen. So, you know, just because something isn't happening
right now, does it mean something won't happen.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
If someone's curious about a high protein diet and high
protein eating, what should they know? How can they approach
this safely if they're coming from you know, coming at
it fresh.
Speaker 5 (31:46):
You know. I think the main thing to keep in
mind when you're thinking about opting toward a higher protein
content is what the typical intake is. So if we're
talking about, like I said earlier, the point eight grams
per kilogram per day, if you're going to increase that
(32:08):
first and foremost, do a slow increase. Our bodies love
to adjust to the change, so implementing one gram per kilogram,
then go to one and a half again. If you
are increasing the protein intake, what's the motivation? Why are
(32:28):
you doing this? Is it because you're trying to build
muscle and you're going to be doing resistance training than okay?
But if it's purely from a weight loss perspective, then
there's better ways to do it.
Speaker 1 (32:40):
And then when should someone seek medical advice?
Speaker 5 (32:44):
So if you do have any type of organ issue,
specifically kidneys, liver, heart, just speaking with your primary care
doc and having that conversation, maybe sending your doc a
letter on your my chart or whatever messaging system and saying, hey,
the next time I'm in, I want to talk about
(33:05):
this and I want to make sure that I'm approaching
this appropriately. And perhaps they have the ability to refer
you to a dietitian within the system that then is covered,
or you have the opportunity to see a dietitian on
your own. You know, For me, it always comes back
(33:25):
to understanding the motivations that an individual has and doing
things safely and thoughtfully.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
Yeah, and then how could we learn to separate evidence
based guidance from hype other than maybe the person telling us,
you know, how can we figure it out from whomever
we're seeing it on social media?
Speaker 5 (33:46):
Yeah? My wife will come to me and say, hey,
have you seen this on Instagram? And I'll say no,
and she'll say, well, research it and get back to me.
Speaker 1 (33:58):
What a resource, right, right?
Speaker 5 (34:01):
So I will go and I will review whatever she
sent me, and I'll come back to her with a
one liner of yes, this is good, or no, this
isn't good, or maybe it needs a bit more research
to be had. But a lot of times, what are
these quick fifteen thirty second forty five second videos on Instagram?
(34:25):
Getting the main point of what the person is saying
and then throwing that into a Google search will generally
tell you where it stands, just a very bird's eye
view of things. So, you know, if it's information for
information's sake, I'm a bit more trustworthy, but I'm still
going to research it. If you're trying to sell it
(34:46):
to me, my level of trust is diminished and I'm still.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Going to research it. Yeah that's a red flag for you.
Then yeah, okay, well, doctor Holland, thank you for all
of this information so helpful. I appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (34:59):
I appreciate it and Thank you so much for the questions.
I love getting the wheels turning.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
On a scale of health to hype, I think it's
safe to say protein maxing comes out somewhere in the
middle for starters. It's important to remember that the quality
of protein matters as much as the quantity. Adding more
lean cooked chicken breast to your diet is a much
better choice than adding more bacon, for example. It's also
helpful to understand your motives for increasing your protein and
(35:28):
to recognize that high protein diets are not a one
size fits all solution, which means you should have a
conversation with your physician before making any changes to your diet.
I mean, that's my takeaway. I'd be interested to hear
what you think. Let me know in the comments. And
thanks again to doctor Holland for helping us decode protein maxing,
and thanks to Joseph Scott and Shada for sharing their
(35:48):
experiences with us. We got to the bottom of this trend,
but this is just the beginning. We have seven more
episodes lined up exploring some of the most confusing health
prends out there. We'll share more storees, investigate more claims,
and separate health from Hype, so make sure to subscribe.
In the next episode, we'll be exploring sleep trackers and
(36:09):
all the unique social media trends people are trying in
pursuit of a good night's sleep. I don't know if
I want to try mouth taping, but kind I don't know.
We'll see, so I hope you'll join me. Until then,
visit AMA Health Versus Hype dot org for more information.
That's AMA Health vs. Hype dot Org. Thanks for listening.
(36:30):
Health Versus Hype is a production of Ruby's Studio from
iHeartMedia and the American Medical Association. I'm trace to Miminguez.
Our producers are Matt Stillo and Pamela Lawrence. Michael Depoe
Wilson is our writer. The show is engineered and features
original music by Matthew Ernest Filler. Health Versus Hype is
intended for educational and informational purposes only and does not
(36:50):
constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice
of your physician with any questions you may have regarding
a medical condition.
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