How America Got Obsessed With Protein

2025-08-26

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Seemingly overnight, Americans have become obsessed with pumping as much protein as possible into every drink, snack and meal.Elizabeth Dunn, a writer and contributor to The Times, explains the origins of this latest nutrition craze.Guest: Elizabeth Dunn, a writer and contributor to The New York Times.Background reading: The David bar, basically a protein Scud missile wrapped in gold foil, has had breakout success. But can the trend last?Read a fact-check about some of the big claims made about ...

Seemingly overnight, Americans have become obsessed with pumping as much protein as possible into every drink, snack and meal.

Elizabeth Dunn, a writer and contributor to The Times, explains the origins of this latest nutrition craze.

Guest: Elizabeth Dunn, a writer and contributor to The New York Times.

Background reading:

The David bar, basically a protein Scud missile wrapped in gold foil, has had breakout success. But can the trend last?
Read a fact-check about some of the big claims made about protein.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Photo: David Chow for The New York Times

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