Research
Video: How to leverage protein to regulate your diet
How come animals instinctively eat a balanced diet, but humans appear to have lost that skill? We aren’t getting enough protein. When we don’t meet our required daily protein intake, we overconsume carbs and fats, leading to weight gain.
Video
The protein leverage theory is the idea that our daily hunt for protein drives our overall eating patterns. In their book Eat Like the Animals, leading academics David Raubenheimer and Stephen J. Simpson explain how humans and many other animals have evolved five specific appetites. For a balanced diet, we need carbs, fats, and protein, as well as salt and calcium. But unlike carbs and fats, protein cannot be stored in the body, so our body makes it a daily priority to meet our required intake.
We continue to feel hungry until we meet our protein needs, so we will instinctively keep eating. When we undereat protein, we overeat carbs and fats. But today’s food environment is dominated by processed foods that are heavy on carbs and fats, which makes it hard for us to meet our daily nutritional needs. We need to consciously prioritize protein to avoid overeating and achieve a balanced diet.
For the food industry, this means two things. First, there's an opportunity to reformulate products to increase protein content, potentially improving public health. High-protein breakfast options could help consumers prioritize protein at the start of their day to avoid overconsuming fats and carbs during their day. Second, marketing strategies could focus on the benefits of balanced protein intake, aligning with consumer interest in healthier diets.