The Protein Myth: How a Marketing Concept Became a Modern Health Crisis

Lulu Langford
Apr 16, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Nov 19

What if the word PROTEIN was created as a concept rather than for any real health benefit?

Confusion around “protein” is everywhere — from gyms and 'wellness' blogs to medical advice, advertising, and social media. Much of the information circulating today is not science but salesmanship, rooted in commercial interests. Despite a century of research showing otherwise, the idea that humans need large amounts of “complete protein” remains one of nutrition’s most persistent myths.

More than 100 years ago, Danish physician Mikkel Hindhede dismantled the foundation of this belief. Through meticulous nitrogen-balance studies he concluded, quite plainly:

“The protein question is a myth.” — Mikkel Hindhede

He demonstrated that humans require far less protein than assumed — and that amino acids, not “protein,” are the true nutritional requirement. More recently, Dr Sebi dismissed the very existence of "protein" as mythology.Yet the myth lives on.

Today, the consequences of chronic high-protein consumption — especially through supplements and concentrated isolates — are increasingly visible in research on kidney strain, bone demineralisation, cancer risk, and metabolic acidosis.

This article breaks down where the myth came from, the dangers it drives, and how modern marketing continues to distort the science.

The Hidden Risks of High Protein Intake

High or excessive protein intake has been associated with:

Bone disorders can manifest as osteoporosis, porous bones, calcifications, bone pain, and even malignancies.
Kidney dysfunction includes kidney stones, fluid retention, gout, blood filtration issues, and eventual renal failure.
Cancer risk rises in tissues burdened by excess protein and metabolic acidosis, including bowel, liver, bone, pancreatic, bladder, stomach, ovarian, endometrial, and blood cancers.
Liver dysfunction may include fatty liver, sluggish detoxification, cirrhosis, or jaundice.
Coronary artery disease includes arterial plaques (distinct from cholesterol), blockages, stroke risk, and contributions to Alzheimer’s pathology.

We Need Amino Acids — Not “Protein”

Protein, as marketed today, is a vague umbrella term; something you would be excused for believing is a nutritional superpower. What the body actually uses are amino acids, available in every whole plant food.

The body must dismantle existing amino-acid chains and rebuild them into the exact formations needed for:

hormones
muscle repair
enzymes
immunity
tissue structure
cellular signalling

This reconstruction requires:

Laminins – cross-shaped glycoproteins that bind amino-acid chains
A balanced enzymatic environment – especially proteolytic enzymes, functioning under correct pH and with a healthy microbiome

These are not taken directly from food.They are produced internally, tailored to our genetics, physiology, age, and current state of health.

“Complete protein” from meat, dairy, eggs, or protein powders cannot override this requirement.

How the Term “Complete Protein” Was Invented

The concept of “complete protein” first appeared in the early 1900s through the work of Karl Thomas and the early USDA, and later became entrenched by the 1914 publication The Chemistry of Food and Nutrition by Henry Sherman. This is still the foundation today of the mythological writings in most nutritional textbooks and something which nutritionists base their belief system upon. Few are willing to challenge this belief system.

“Complete protein” was never meant to indicate nutritional superiority.

It was simply a label used to describe foods containing all essential amino acids in a single food item.

But here’s where the distortion occurred:

Early nutritionists had strong ties to agricultural and meat industries.
Protein quality tables ranked animal products as “higher” and plant foods as “lower”, not because plants were inadequate, but because they required combining foods — which every culture already did naturally.
This ranking system entered public education, military rations, dietetics training, and marketing.
By the 1950s, the dairy and meat industries heavily promoted “complete protein” as proof of their products’ necessity.

Modern research has thoroughly debunked this model. We now know:

The body pools amino acids throughout the day.
No single food needs to be “complete.”
All essential amino acids are available from plant foods.
The body reconstructs amino-acid chains regardless of source.
“Protein deficiency” in people consuming adequate calories is virtually nonexistent without starvation or disease.

Yet the marketing myth persists — because it sells.

When Protein Becomes Toxic

If the body is overloaded with dense protein, especially in the presence of:

acidosis
poor microbiome balance
medication use
alcohol
stress
gut dysfunction

—the enzymatic balance collapses. Proteolysis falters. The wrong enzymes proliferate. This contributes to:

inflammation
infection susceptibility
cell mutation pathways
clotting disorders
autoimmune trends
chronic metabolic stress

Strong amino-acid chains cannot be built under these conditions.This is the biochemical reality missing from most protein-focused health advice.

A Modern Health Trend With Long-Term Consequences

High-protein diets, protein powders, keto-style eating, and the obsession with “complete protein” fit neatly into the pattern of nutrition fads:

fast
marketable
profitable
short-lived

The pendulum will swing back, as it always does.But in the meantime, the price being paid — silently, often unknowingly — is enormous.

References

Primary historical references

Hindhede, M. (1906–1912). Studies in Nutritional Physiology. Copenhagen.
Hindhede, M. (1913). Protein and Nutrition.
Sherman, H. C. (1914). The Chemistry of Food and Nutrition. New York: Macmillan.
Thomas, K. (1909). The Protein Needs of Man. USDA Bulletin.

Protein intake and disease risk

Wolfe, R. R. (2017). Update on protein requirements and health risks of excess. Clinical Nutrition.
Levine, M. E., et al. (2014). “Low protein intake is associated with major reductions in IGF-1, cancer, and overall mortality.” Cell Metabolism.
Darling, A. L. et al. (2009). High dietary protein and bone health: a systematic review.