There is disagreement on the recommended daily intake of protein for Americans.
This week, the Department of Health and Human Services released revised dietary recommendations that essentially increase the amount of protein that should be consumed each day. The famous food pyramid from the 1990s was also revived, but it was inverted to highlight the importance of vegetables and protein in a balanced diet.
“We are ending the war on protein,” says the new tagline for the food pyramid.
Under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the de facto leader of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, which advocates consuming more protein and fat and less ultraprocessed food, the new standards were developed.
Already, protein was enjoying itself. It aids in the fight against sarcopenia, which is the loss of muscular mass and function associated with aging in older persons. It can help you feel fuller for longer if you’re attempting to reduce weight, and it’s strongly recommended for women going through menopause. TikTokers’ promotion of cottage cheese as a protein option has resulted in a shortage of even this dairy aisle staple.
It’s a long-term reaction to the low-fat movement, which subtly gave priority to carbs in order to reduce consumption of saturated fats and the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol that goes along with them. However, in a time of GLP-1s, biohacking, and viral wellness trends like TikTok, protein is once again seen as essential to health, despite the ongoing controversy over the optimal amount and kind of protein.
??”All the social-media stuff [is] making us think we have some sort of protein deficit,” Deirdre Kay Tobias, an assistant professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told reporters on the phone this week. “The one area in which America has continuously excelled is protein foods and protein as a nutrition. Protein is not a problem. All other dietary groups are inadequate.
To what extent is a steak healthy?
Saturated fats are at the heart of the protein controversy. Saturated fat-rich foods, such as butter, bacon, and steak, are high in calories. Additionally, people may gain weight if they don’t keep a close eye on it, which raises “bad” cholesterol and ultimately increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
You probably consume too many saturated fats if you eat many portions of skin-on chicken or red meat each day. Americans are still advised to keep their consumption of saturated fats to 10% or less of their diet, just as they were with the previous iteration of the dietary guidelines, which are released every five years.
HHS unveiled the new inverted pyramid (right) earlier this week, while the previous pyramid (left) was first published in 1992.
In addition, Americans are now advised under the revised dietary guidelines to ingest 0.54 to 0.73 grams of protein per pound of body weight each day. Depending on your level of activity, a person weighing 150 pounds would require at least 80 grams of protein per day and maybe as much as 108 grams.
“That’s 12 ounces of chicken or other animal food,” Blake stated. “That is a huge amount. Additionally, you will be crowding out other items on your plate if it looks like that, and veggies are what you will be crowding out.”
Blake is concerned that the new pyramid does not adequately convey the nutritional benefits of affordable, high-protein, high-fiber legumes like black beans and chickpeas. (Fibre is absent from animal protein.) Furthermore, not all proteins derived from animals are created equal: About 3 grams of saturated fat are found in 100 grams of salmon, compared to roughly 10 grams in a plate of ribeye steak.
The American Heart Association disagrees, advocating for studies on the “appropriate amount of protein consumption and the best protein sources.”
Other experts, however, are pleased that the guidelines no longer place as much emphasis on plant proteins—a point that HHS officials also brought up this week.
Kennedy’s friend and renowned functional medicine physician Mark Hyman wrote on his blog, “For decades, Americans were advised to minimize protein – particularly animal protein – despite mounting evidence that inadequate protein intake contributes to sarcopenia, insulin resistance, frailty and metabolic decline.”
The protein industry
Numerous companies have already embraced pro-protein messaging.
By 2030, the global market for protein-fortified foods and beverages is expected to reach $101.6 billion, according to Grand View Research. Additionally, businesses have already begun adding more protein to their products to satisfy consumers’ shifting tastes.
This week, Dunkin’ and Subway introduced coffee drinks with “Protein Milk” and “Protein Pocket” sandwiches, respectively, while the food pyramid was being upended. This occurs just one month after Chipotle (CMG) introduced a “high-protein menu” with adobo chicken and sirloin, while Starbucks (SBUX) started making protein lattes promoted by Khloe Kardashian. New protein-rich recipes for Pepsi’s (PEP) Doritos and Mars’ Pop-Tarts have also arrived in shelves.
Pop-Tarts Protein, which include 10 grams of protein per serving, were recently introduced by Kellanova, which is now a part of Mars.
In a recent essay for The Conversation, Stuart Phillips, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University and an expert in exercise, nutrition, and muscle health, characterized 2025 as a period when “protein was oversold, overvalued, and overhyped” due to the trend.
“In 2025, protein evolved into a metabolic Jack-of-all-purpose nutrient: protein for weight loss, fat loss, longevity, hormone balancing, menopause, GLP-1 medication users, exercisers, and non-exercisers. He wrote, “There is protein everywhere, and the more, the better.”
Additionally, the new food pyramid encourages people to eat even more. According to a new Numerator survey, almost one in four Americans feel they aren’t getting enough protein, especially women (27%) and millennials (29%). According to the same study, more than three-quarters of consumers (78%) reported paying at least some attention to protein in their diets, which is a higher percentage than those who track sugars, fats, carbohydrates, or total calories. This suggests that people are tracking their protein intake in the same way that they used to track calories.
“If I start seeing protein and toothpaste, that’s going to be the end of it,” Blake stated.
