Along with the other mass of diet marketing at this time of the year is the sale of high protein products/diets.
You may have noticed recently that your favourite food now has HIGH PROTEIN labelling plastered all over it. It probably had this content prior to this latest fad, but protein content is now seen as a sales booster.
Our main daily source of protein comes from meat, fortified cereal, and dairy and eggs. For those on alternative diets intake can be problematic; Vegan diets especially can be lacking in protein therefore make sure you eat plenty of beans, pulses and tofu, or supplement with a protein product if struggling with intake.
We require approx 1g / kg of body mass, so for the average adult this would equate to an intake of approx 50g per day (figures from NHS guidelines).
Many of us already consume enough protein in our daily diet but it seems that this does not deter the marketing firms and influencers from recommending more. A couple of Palm sized portions of protein is approx 40g so for most this would reach the required intake per day.
Supplements
Whey protein powders are extracted from cows milk or made from plant extracts for vegan alternatives. Whey Box protein powder is one I use to supplement my intake and tastes pretty good compared to some of the other brands I've used, it also has vegan varieties.
Protein bars can be full of sugar, especially cereal bars. One I eat to increase my intake is a Warrior bar, which is low in sugar as it uses polyols (as do most) as a sweetener.
Couple of tips to be aware of if supplementing protein intake with supplements;
Some of the more branded diet shakes claim to be high protein, but in reality, the majority of the claimed content comes from mixing it with milk!
Some of the protein bars are high in calories and this should be taken into account when calculating overall calorific intake
One of the best & cheapest methods of supplementing intake and a great source of protein is cows milk; semi skimmed or skimmed has ~3.6g per 100ml (ie 1 pint = ~18g) with the added benefit of vitamin B12.
In short; many of us do not require to supplement our protein intakes unless looking to gain muscle mass and even then, some of the intake levels being suggested are generally too high.
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Debs @ bournetraining.co.uk Follow me on Facebook or Instagram