Do you need a protein supplement? Low fat milk?
Probably not...
I am working on an interesting look at the NY Medical Aid in Dying act which will be discussed again this year in the New York legislature after having been turned down last year. The Medical Society of the State of NY (MSSNY) approved support for the bill last year. I personally voted against it. Is there a slippery slope? More about that next, but first a couple of comments on protein supplements and full fat dairy.
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Are you getting enough protein?
It started with high protein Cheerios. I was in the supermarket looking for my favorite, Honey Nut Cheerios. What I found on the shelf with my Honey Nut Cheerios were several boxes of Strawberry or Cinnamon Protein Cheerios which I had never seen before. Protein Cheerios?! What gives? I had no idea that there was such a thing. What is that all about?
In their December 2024 press release, General Mills, which makes Cheerios, wrote, “As the number of consumers prioritizing protein continues to rise, with 71% of consumers trying to eat more protein in their diets1, General Mills is proud to expand its offerings to include a variety of products with protein to meet people where they are.” General Mills references The International Food Information Council’s annual survey of American consumers as their source of information. People are interested in ingesting more protein, so General Mills is there to provide it.
I thought that it was just weightlifters and body builders who added extra protein to build more muscle with their creatine supplements and high protein diets, but as I started to research, I found that many other groups may be also getting the “add protein” advice.
For one thing, as millions of people lose weight using the new GLP-1 drugs there is a concern that they may lose more muscle along with fat. Added protein intake along with muscle-building exercise may be recommended to prevent loss of muscle for anyone planning to lose large amounts of weight, and lots of people are losing a lot of weight right now.
Sarcopenia, or muscle loss with aging, is a concern for older people who need to maintain function in simple activities like getting up from a chair or climbing stairs. Many pundits and health talk show hosts, like Dr. Peter Attia and others, have been talking about supplementing protein intake for younger people to build up muscle before they get old, to delay or the development of sarcopenia with aging. The hope is that starting with greater muscle mass will offer some protection from the loss of muscle that is natural with aging.
I was taught, a long time ago, that your average 70kg man needed about 60 grams of protein daily (0.8mg protein per kg) - a protein serving about the size of a deck of cards or a small hamburger - as the minimum daily requirement. Apparently that recommendation still stands as the MDR or recommended minimum daily requirement.
Top Foods with 60 Grams of Protein
Here are five protein-rich foods (from StatCare) that contain approximately 60 grams of protein:
1. Chicken Breast : A 6-ounce serving of cooked chicken breast provides around 54 grams of protein. It is low in fat and a great source of lean protein.
2. Salmon : A 6-ounce serving of cooked salmon contains approximately 52 grams of protein. It is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have numerous health benefits.
3. Greek Yogurt : One cup of Greek yogurt offers about 20 grams of protein. It is also packed with probiotics, calcium, and other essential nutrients.
4. Tofu : A 6-ounce serving of tofu provides around 36 grams of protein. It is a popular plant-based protein source and is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
5. Quinoa : One cup of cooked quinoa contains approximately 8 grams of protein. It is a complete protein source, meaning it provides all nine essential amino acids.
Most Americans get much more than the minimum requirement of protein daily. Meat, fish, poultry or beans are often eaten with every meal, and eggs, yogurt or cheese is also commonly included. I would only recommend careful attention to protein intake for those people in the situations that I mentioned above, and mostly with medical advice.
While too much protein is unlikely to cause harm, high protein diets and supplements should be avoided in those with kidney disease. Since most people with kidney disease don’t know that they have it, it would be a good idea for everyone to check with their doctor before adding high amounts of protein to their diet.
Got Milk, anyone? High fat or low fat?
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Have you been drinking skim milk or using it in your cereal every morning for the past 30 years to help you lose weight and perhaps decrease your risk of coronary heart disease by reducing your fat intake? You have? How will you feel to find out that avoiding full fat dairy does not help you achieve either goal? Lert’s look at the recent reports from the government.
Every 5 years, the USDA updates the Dietary Guidelines for America (DGA). Input from an independent DGA committee (DGAC) is used to help make decisions about what guidance Americans should be given about which foods to eat.
In an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian summarizes the DGA committee’s findings(1). One recommendation from the committee might surprise you. He wrote that the committee found “no meaningful evidence that consuming higher-fat vs lower-fat dairy adversely affected body weight, blood lipids, blood pressure, cardiovascular morbidity, or cardiovascular death….In fact, the committee found “strong evidence that dietary patterns incorporating whole-fat dairy were associated with a lower risk of diabetes.”
For those of us who have been constantly reminded for the past 30 years that low fat foods were better in every way, there is finally some evidence in the matter leading back to common sense. Fat in dairy (or eggs) is not the problem. Using low-fat milk does not prevent heart disease or promote weight loss (2).
I mean, what the heck is in “fat-free” half and half, anyway? Have you used this stuff to avoid fat? Ugh!
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I avoid those highly processed “low fat” foods, like “fat free half-and-half.” You can use whole milk again!
What’s your opinion?
We all make choices every day about what to eat. What is your choice? What is your preference? What do you avoid? Is there any secret to your choices that we all should know? Please leave a comment, and of course feel free to share this post with others.
Happy May, 2025!
The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines—Time for Real Progress, January 22, 2025 Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, JAMA. 2025;333(13):1111-1112. doi:10.1001/jama.2025.0410
Nutrients. 2023 Aug 13, The Relationship between Whole-Milk Dairy Foods and Metabolic Health Highlights an Opportunity for Dietary Fat Recommendations to Evolve with the State of the Science https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10459826/