As I was putting together the computer side of this week's menu this morning, a friend of mine sent me a “meme" from a social channel — the gist of it was the person has never felt so much peer pressure in their life to eat protein, more so than drugs and alcohol in school. The image was of a woman eating cottage cheese from a large plastic tub with a spoon — diet industry style.
Everyone is talking about “protein” now — once it was low-fat foods, then calorie-free sweeteners, then fortified things, then all things coconut, and so on and so on it goes.…
Remember the coconut revolution, where out of nowhere one day you woke up and everyone was raving about the health benefits of coconut, and the market was flooded with coconut products?
I watched that unfold over a few years with fascination and horror in equal measure, at the power of marketing and its impact on our food and health systems. Where did that all come from? From whom & why? Was it because Coca-Cola wanted to break into the healthy drinks sector and started selling coconut water, which meant they had lots of coconuts they needed to turn into something? Voilà — a coconut revolution, complete with products, health studies, and all the things.
Is it wrong, or is it right? That’s subjective, and everyone has an opinion. The real point is this: where do these trends come from? Who is behind them? Who is pushing what down our throats, literally, and why? Which industry is driving profit margins via trends, and at what cost to us, the consumers and our mental and physical health? If you research it, you can figure it out.
Protein — yes, it is a very important part of our diet. This is not new. We have been eating it for millennia.
So why now the “protein pressure”? Where is this all coming from, and which proteins are trending, and why? How much are they telling you, you need to eat — who are they exactly and what is their why? Are food trends marketers driving your health choices — or are you?
We are all different. No fixed amount is right and fits all. It depends on your age, life stage, lifestyle, health, food style, culture, and epigenetics. In functional medicine and healthcare, we call this bio-individuality — you are unique, you are you — and you do not neatly fit into cookie-cutter market statistics.
If you are concerned about your health and what you need to be eating to best support you, seeking out a functional medicine doctor, nutritionist, a functional nutrition counsellor, or a qualified food-focused healthcare practitioner you trust can help bring clarity. Someone who will take your story and bio-individuality seriously, and work with appropriate tools and testing to get to the root cause and understand which foods and how much protein is appropriate for you to best support your health.
Your inner wisdom and real healthcare providers are your guides, not trend-driving food marketers about "your protein needs".
The art of using food as medicine is about working with sensible, whole ingredients and eating a variety of foods, including proteins aligned with your culture, access, food style and unique needs. You know, it just can be hard to focus amongst all the noise.
Here are some examples from my last few weekly menus using a variety of proteins — a mixed berry and apple quinoa, an egg scramble with sprouts, a gluten-free super seed bread, a chickpea minestrone soup, a smoky roasted veggie and bean bowl, which is fabulous as a filling for tacos. A steamed vegetable and tofu bowl, a chicken cassoulet, lemon miso roasted fish, a frittata, quinoa, tofu and roasted veg skillet, lentil daal, a lamb curry… nothing fancy, just a good mix; vegetables with beans and legumes, which are excellent, sustaining foods, along with some animal proteins ~ variety is the flavour, saviour and spice of a vibrant life.
Your kitchen is your self-care sanctuary.