Protein-ification of food

There has been a sudden shift in terms of what we put in our bodies.
Stop it, you perverts. I am talking about food. It’s literally in the fucking title.

Since last year, there’s been a huge spike in people talking about protein intake. Us people like you and me (aka cuties). But that’s not it. When people start talking about something, brands follow. And the same thing is happening right now.

From atta to fucking chaas, everything has at least 10 grams of protein. We are all living in a gym bro’s dream right now.

But how did this happen?
What led us here?

I think where it all starts is health signalling.

Health and a good lifestyle have suddenly become a sign of the “I am better than you” belief system. It’s a flex to show that everything I do is healthy, and a clear sign that the party era of the internet is kind of over. Fitness is in.

And when this mindset shifted, everyone went to Instagram to tell people,
“Bro, mere khane mein pata hai kitna protein hai?”

That got picked up. Meal preps, high-protein recipes, protein shakes, and whatever influencers are eating came straight into the forefront of your Reels feed.

Then brands, with their lusty eyes on my wallet’s last 100-rupee note, couldn’t let this opportunity go and had to pounce. So they added protein to fucking everything they could find.

Protein is to food companies what AI is to tech companies.

Although, to be fair, this actually seems like a better trend and mindset shift. It’s genuinely a step in the right direction. As a nation, we have terrible food in terms of nutrient value, and with this shift, people are more focused on what they put in their IG stories… or sorry, I meant bodies.