Protein is the new sugar: Why Rujuta Diwekar calls the protein trend a health scam

Excess protein, says Rujuta Diwekar, often leads to acidity, bloating and constipation (Image: Pexels)

• Marketing, not deficiency, drives protein obsession in most urban diets.
• Too much protein may cause acidity, bloating, and limited health benefits.
• Traditional meals offer balanced nutrition without supplements or trends.

Did our AI summary help?

There was a time when food was just food. It arrived on plates, not in sachets, and nobody needed a spreadsheet to justify lunch. Today, protein has become the celebrity nutrient of the wellness age, flaunted on social feeds and supermarket shelves alike, promising salvation in scoops and bars.

Scroll through Instagram or wander into any café and protein announces itself everywhere; waters, chips, rotis, foams, even burgers. The message conveyed is that more protein equals better progress. Going by the trends, ordinary meals suddenly appear inadequate, almost irresponsible, unless fortified, branded and hashtagged.

Science versus the sales pitch

According to celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar, this obsession collapses under scientific scrutiny. Speaking recently to The Hindu, she pointed out that genuine protein deficiency, conditions like kwashiorkor or marasmus, occurs in extreme poverty, not among people with regular meals, education, jobs and smartphones.

Also read | 7 signs of a good diet, shared by Kareena Kapoor’s nutritionist: “It’s not about macros, calories, or protein…”

Protein deficiency is not subtle. It involves muscle wasting, swelling, weakened immunity and serious illness, largely seen where diets lack both calories and nutrients.

To suggest that the average urban consumer is deficient is, Diwekar insists, a gross misreading of reality.

The cost of chasing protein

Diwekar is blunt about the consequences of overdoing it. Excess protein, she says, often leads to acidity, bloating and constipation, hardly the glowing wellness promised. Meanwhile, consumers spend more money without losing inches or improving health in any meaningful way.

Why the traditional meal still works

A traditional meal, says Diwekar, already offer balance. She suggests including millets, rice, vegetables, curries, nuts, fruit, chutneys, eggs, fish or meat, in your diet. Vegetarians do not need to eat meat for protein, she says, nor do non-vegetarians need reinvention. Cultural diets, she argues, were nutritionally complete long before trends arrived.

Diwekar’s warning extends beyond nutrition. Diet culture, she argues, profits from insecurity, especially among women and children. Weight will change, bodies will age, but dignity matters more. Feeling light on one’s feet, she says, is the real measure of health, not the label on a jar.

Also read | Celebrity nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar says this food can fix hair thinning and greying; jokes it hasn’t been discovered by Instagram reels yet

What Diwekar wants us to remember

Protein is not progress: The modern protein fixation confuses abundance with health. Consuming more of one nutrient while excluding others disrupts digestion, gut bacteria and balance, leaving people uncomfortable, anxious and still chasing the next supplement that promises to fix the damage created.

Marketing creates the illness, then sells the cure: Once protein excess upsets the gut, the industry conveniently steps in with fibre powders, probiotics and gummies. It is a neat commercial loop, first distort the diet, then monetise the consequences under the banner of “gut health”.

Traditional food is learned, not inherited: Like language, food habits require learning, practice and protection. When families abandon everyday cooking in favour of packaged fixes, they lose not only nourishment but cultural memory, and the gut bacteria that thrive on dietary diversity.

Body anxiety now starts disturbingly young: Diwekar notes that body dissatisfaction once began in adolescence; today it reaches children as young as ten. Filters, diet culture and product promises teach kids that their bodies need fixing, a damaging idea sold daily in glossy packaging.

Disclaimer: This article, including health and fitness advice, only provides generic information. Don’t treat it as a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for specific health diagnosis.