Should We Short Protein?
When more does not equal better.
What you’ll find in this issue—
The origins of modern versions of protein
Cultural convergences of protein (2000s-2025)
Do you know what your protein persona is?
How we distinguish a protein product vs. a gimmick.
Category breakdown.
Not A Craze, But A Rebrand
Our dietary habits have always been tied around protein, but not always in the carnivore Liver King style that may come to mind. Our obsession around protein began around the early 1900s with powdered skim milk and bovril, a product that was initially created to support Napoleon III’s starving troops during the Franco-Prussian war. Early on, BigMilk campaigned hard as the original protein drink, during WWII Carnation would advertise it as victory drink their ads would read, “Uncle Sam needs us strong”—by the 1960s, brands like Hi-Proteen and Joseph Weider’s candy protein bars began to permeate from body building to more mainstream audiences. Protein was touted as a kind of miracle food, take Irvin Johnson’s story, from frail kid to superman and reknown bodybuilder nutritionist who founded Hi Protein supplement powder.
The origins of protein as a way of adding mass to our bodies, is quite the opposite of how it has repositioned itself in the last 3 decades, think hunger suppresants and weight loss aid—an indication of just how much our dietary habits and the food we consumed has changed. It might seem that protein is everywhere now simply because it continues to be marketed to cater the generation of the moment—it’s not a trend, but a rebrand.
2000s Atkins / South Beach Diet
One thing I know with absolute certainty is that you can’t hurt Millennials because our generation survived Y2K diet culture—we are the children of “cocaine chic.” Though Robert Atkins started prophesizing the benefits of low carb but protein intense diets in the 70s, it was mostly ridiculed until the 2000s, when celebrities would rave about how much weight they had lost following it—his New Diet Revolution book has been dubbed the “best selling fad-diet ever written.” Similarly, the South Beach Diet started in the mid 90s and gained momentum in the 2000s, created by celebrity doctor Arthur Agatston and Mount Sinai’s former chief dietitian, Marie Almon; it was made to not only help lose weight but also help lower cholesterol and sugar levels.
The emphasis on protein served as a backlash to the low fat diet fads of the 80s and 90s, that saw a rise in high sugar processed foods, essentially we found a new food category to vilify. 2000s was a decade celebration of thin—Diet Coke, 100-calorie packs, the demonization of carbs and sugar that would most likely sabotage your plans of wearing extremely low rise jeans made popular by Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan and even documentaries like Super Size Me further pushed the skinny narrative by branding fast food the opposite of a Happy Meal, plain evil. Restaurants would soon add “Atkins approved” to their menus, snack aisles became inundated with low-carb options, protein bars and shakes boomed. Eventually, South Beach Diet and Atkins became part of the zeitgeist, what helps add your body can also help detract from it.
2010s Keto/Paleo
The 2010s see a convergence of Millennials coming of age trying to undo their indoctrination of junk food we grew up with and a return to natural or primal diet hence the return of paleo and as Fitbit launches in 2007 a growing interest in biohacking brings keto to the forefront. Unlike the 2000s, this time around, it’s not celebrities but instead influencers that have grown in popularity and audience thanks to the rise of platforms like Youtube and Instagram, they spread the gospel through videos and recommendations of what to eat and what to skip. Keto becomes a rebranded version of Atkins, with an emphasis on optimizing metabolism as a whole and less of a fad diet and paleo taps into the tribal mentality, a similar sense of belonging that wellness movements like Crossfit, a form of lifestyle and identity.