To think a lot of recent nutrition advice seems to overlook protein?

The trend for 2026 is “fibre maxing”.

Fibre is obviously important. But the trend annoys me because it’s quite transparently a way for food companies to increase profits on cheap ingredients like beans and pulses.

Lots of salads in the supermarkets are now bean / chickpea based which, whilst delicious and healthy, could do with a protein element. The margins on bean based meals which cost the same as protein based ones will be significantly higher.

The "protein" versions of everything tend to be absolute UPF shite. Also very often they are hardly (if at all) higher in protein than a far less processed standard version! I did some comparisons in Lidl a while ago, they had "high protein" 5 bean chilli sachets that were more expensive, contained less protein, and had more UPF ingredients than the standard sachet of "tomatoey lentils" on the shelf above...

No, there is a complete over focus on protein.

I am vegetarian, dieting and track everything I eat on nutracheck.

I get my daily protein quota easily through my diet even with a lower daily calorie allowance and often exceed it so there really is no need for meat, fish or poultry to be eaten as protein at all.

I get sick of fashions in foods too. Protein is the latest thing. Not that long ago it was fibre. I can’t wait till it’s sugar!

I'm an old crone now, but eat (I think) well with the odd treat thrown in. I don't eat much meat at all, rarely in fact, unless someone else cooks it for me!

I have protein powder with my porridge every morning, eat tinned tuna, salmon, cheese, eggs. Don't eat (or like...) chips and roast spuds, but I love mash with lashings of butter. Few veg, never did, lots of fruit though. Plenty of wholemeal (home made mostly) soda bread and butter.

I think the forgotten element in much nutrition advice is adequate intake of fibre. It cleans the gut and helps get rid of toxins (I'd imagine!). So I use milled chia and flax together with a mix of crushed (in batches and frozen) avocado, kiwi, mixed berries (+ protein powder) at breakfast. I do 16/8 and have done for years now.

I have a cream cake and a scone with cream and jam occasionally if I feel like it and good dark choc.

I don't dwell on anything food wise. But I kind of know what works for me. I've stayed the same weight for over 5 years now despite treats and over indulgence in UPF now and then. Bloods all good so far despite lack of veg. And no, I refuse to eat veg, not eating something that has to be forced down my neck Ugh.

Most of the athletic population have done a U-turn on low carbing, but still maintain a high protein diet. The difference is that they consume their carbs around their workouts, eating them strategically. This is not the same as the general population. Government guidelines re protein intake suggest the minimum in order to survive. I am cutting at the moment and consume 1.5g protein per kilo of mass which equates to 120g per day. This allows me to shed fat and maintain muscle whilst in an overlap calorie deficit. Protein also has a high thermic effect which means that around 30% of protein calories consumed will be lost once digested.

This! It’s protein protein protein.

I want someone to talk about carbs!

This makes sense as my hair is very thin and I’ve been focussing on vit D and iron. When really it’s lifelong low protein.

I thought the latest health influencers were pushing fibre now

And about time. So much focus on protein for decades, including diets which restrict your intake of fibre. No wonder bowel cancer rates are through the roof.

I thought the latest health influencers were pushing fibre now.

Either way, you can get plenty of protein as a veggie, eggs, cheese, yoghurt, tofu, Quorn, beans, pulses are all good sources.

I'm in the middle of a heavy weight training cycle at the moment and have been training for years. At the moment I consume 1.5 g per kilo of body mass of protein a day (sometimes more if hungry). I manage this through consuming a mixture of complete and non-complete protein sources to make sure I am taking on all of the essential amino acids. I do not do this at the expense of a high fibre intake so eat very cleanly. I have a mixed salad of oily fish, eggs, beans and seeds every day for lunch. I have chicken maybe three times a week, tofu or tempeh (soy is a complete protein) a couple of times, red meat and liver once a week. I use a good quality protein powder to supplement my intake.

I’d agree with this, as a vegetarian who exercises a lot,

All I’m hearing is protein protein protein. I was shocked when I went to buy yoghurt recently (we normally order online) and a whole fridge was devoted to manufactured protein products! Then there are all the protein powders and bars. Which aren’t recessary for most people and can actually contain some iffy ingredients, but the marketing is making people think that they are. I’d recommend watching the Joe Wicks documentary on protein bars.

To be honest I would say there's an excessive focus on protein these days. Most people in the UK are not deficient in protein, and its perfectly possible to get enough protein from a vegetarian diet.

There are complete sources of protein such as tofo, quorn, obviously dairy products. But also pulses/legummes/grains contain plenty and as long as you eat a couple of sources in a day you will easily get all your amino acids

Your body is pretty good at getting what it needs from the food you eat tbh, there's no absolute perfect diet.

I certainly see the the upf groups often don't care about nutrition which I find fascinating. Cake for breakfast lunch and dinner is fine because it's made with real cream and butter and lashings of jam just like old ma in the 50s.

All I ever seem to hear is people wanging on about protein this and cottage cheese that tbh.

As a lifelong vegetarian who hates both eggs and milk, I somehow seem to have survived to my 40s (and had healthy pregnancies and babies) without withering or being anaemic.

Quite a lot of the "nutrition advice" out there on social media is just overblown for the sake of a video. There's so much noise that I just tune it out. I CBA with tracking this or calculating that.

You only need to supplement if you're vegan, not vegetarian

A small can of tuna according to google is 12-14 grams of protein so this isn't true at all. Also protein should be spread across 3 meals not banged all in one go as the body doesn't store it so if you eat it all in one meal you'll excrete much of it.

45g protein is very low. The NHS guidelines is a minimum amount you should eat to avoid protein deficiency, not for optimum health or muscle maintenance.

I found out recently that tinned tuna is about the highest ratio of protein to volume of any food. So just a tiny tin of it mixed with whatever you like and added to a baked potato or bagel thin gives total protein for the day.
I think the second highest is chicken breast which is versatile: curry, casserole, soup, stir fry, wraps etc.

Pulses are high in protein and excellent for your gut health too - all round goodies. I've been veggie for 30 years and never felt I lack protein or iron. I believe that vegans lack a single amino acid that they should supplement but I can't remember which one.
If you are meat free and pay attention to your diet (i.e. eat a rainbow plate and avoid processed food) you can really thrive. The Roman gladiators - superhumans of their day - were vegan.

promoting the idea of eating less meat is not the same as promoting the idea of eating less protein, so YABU.

Well, you need to eat quite large quantities of vegetables, especially soybeans, lentils and peas, to get equivalent amounts of protein. Plus you need to supplement with vitamin B12.