The Rise of Protein Everything

By: Sophie LeBlanc, Staff Writer Edited by: Abigail Seltzer

When asking someone to think of a way to boost their protein intake, the image of jumbo cookies and banana split lattes may not be the first to come to mind. But it seems that even the most indulgent foods are being adapted to hold 20g of protein with a faint whey aftertaste. Almost every restaurant and fast-food chain is selling some new protein-boosted product, from Starbucks protein lattes (with as much protein as two quarter-pound cheeseburgers) to Wingstop’s Protein Pack (a pack of 16 wings with 160g protein). While this new wave of protein obsession appears to be a harmless trend turning junk food into healthier alternatives, it in fact reflects the reemergence of 2000s diet culture in a stealthier form.

In the 2000s, diet culture was much more direct and easy to spot. Foods were labeled “low-fat,” “low-carb,” or “lean,” with the clear message that fats and trans fats were things to avoid if you wanted to be healthy. Take, for instance, the low-fat diets of the '90s or the Atkins low-carb craze of the 2000s. The focus wasn’t on adding nutrition, but on cutting out what was seen as unnecessary, reinforcing the idea that restriction itself was a marker of wellness.

Over time, that more overt messaging started to shift. In recent years, the rise of body positivity and more open conversations around eating disorders pushed back against some of the harsher, appearance-driven aspects of diet culture. As a result, the way food is marketed became less about restriction and more about balance, flexibility, and overall “wellness.” But even though the tone softened, the underlying mindset didn’t fully go away, it just changed form.

But how different is counting calories than counting grams of protein? How different is picking a Skinnilicious Meal at the Cheesecake Factory to choosing protein popcorn rather than good old buttery movie popcorn? The only change is, instead of emphasizing what to cut out, foods are now often marketed based on what can be added. An essential macronutrient, protein is a key building block of so many parts of the body: it’s found in muscle, bone, skin, hair, and virtually every other body part or tissue. With its necessity to our well-being and widely known health benefits, it's often a more socially acceptable and sustainable health goal than drastically cutting back calories.

At the same time, the constant presence of protein in so many products raises similar questions about how we label foods as “good” or “bad.” It lays out a choice for consumers (e.g have a “good” pop tart or an “empty” pop tart). But some foods are simply meant to be empty and enjoyed. When protein is added to nearly everything, it can subtly suggest that foods without it are incomplete or in need of improvement. In that sense, protein starts to shape not just what we eat, but how we think about what’s worth eating in a similar way to the 2000s diet craze.

We can already see a similar pattern with diet soda. Regular soda is still widely consumed, but diet versions are often chosen by people who associate them with being a healthier option, sometimes more out of perception than actual need. This raises the question of whether a similar shift could happen in other areas, where added protein—or other modifications—becomes the expected standard rather than just an alternative.

Ultimately, the protein trend reflects more than just a change in dietary preferences. It points to a broader cultural shift in how people are encouraged to think about food. What may seem like a simple nutritional improvement is also part of a longer pattern—one that continues to evolve from earlier forms of diet culture, while still carrying many of the same underlying ideas about health, value, and what it means to eat well.

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