It looks like the food business has a new fad to play with. Remember when we were told to go high on carbs, for energy? Then, low on fats, for our long term health benefits?
Well, the new one being bandied around is protein. Load up time on your proteins, people.
As reported in WebMd, you can stroll the aisles at any supermarket, and you'll spot a variety of products, from cereal to Greek yogurt to bagels, touting their high protein content.
The medical website reports that until recently, protein had kept a low profile compared to fat and carbohydrates, it's always been a major player in the body. Present in every cell, proteins act as building blocks for all types of tissue. Foods naturally high in protein, such as meat, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts, and seeds, also tend to be high in other important nutrients.
"In my years of studying trends, there's always the next thing in food and beverage consumption," says Darren Seifer, a food and beverage industry analyst with The NDP Group. "And it looks like the thing to do now is eat protein. There are a lot of perceived health benefits to consuming more protein," reports WebMD.
In a report earlier this year, "Protein Perceptions and Needs," Seifer and his co-authors noted that more than three-quarters of U.S. consumers agree that protein contributes to a healthy diet, and more than half say they want to eat more of it. The study found that nearly half of the primary grocery shoppers in a household have bought protein-enriched foods, and many are willing to pay a premium for it.
WebMD also reports that a report released in 2013 by another market research group, Mintel, concluded that the U.S. is by far the world's biggest market for high-protein products. Introductions of foods and drinks making a high-protein claim in 2012 were almost triple that of any other country, according to the report.