veteran Protein
mania

September 28, 2026 -- In today's NYT, Have We Reached Peak PROTEIN? How supermarkets became protein-maxxed documents America's love affair with this nutrient category.

We fret about not getting enough and buy products absurdly fortified with it. The requirement is lower than people think. The estimated average requirement for protein is only 0.66 g/kg. So if you weigh 150 lbs (68 kg) then 2 oz suffices for your daily intake... one-sixth of that lovely 12-oz steak.

Stanford Medicine tells us, How much protein should we really be eating? Americans don't have a protein problem; we have a fiber-and-vegetables problem. The average adult eats way more protein than the body needs. And not enough of the truly good-for-you stuff.

And the processed food manufacturers pander to this obsession. Who needs protein-maxxed pop-tarts? Nobody!