Think protein, and what springs to mind? Chicken breast, maybe. Protein powders, probably. Shakes and supplements, almost certainly. It’s a message Dr Rupy Aujla is keen to change. “I think protein has sort of got this reputation as being just for gym bros and for people in the fitness industry,” he tells me over Zoom. “But protein is super important.” He should know: he’s written a book on the issue. Titled Healthy High Protein, it’s a cookbook that encourages us to incorporate more protein into our everyday lives – a topic that has become something of a mission for him. Originally an NHS doctor, Dr Rupy set up The Doctor’s Kitchen (a website which shares healthy, easy to cook recipes) in 2015 after being diagnosed with a heart condition. And protein, he realised during his Nutritional Medicine masters, is that many of us don’t get enough of.“
“The current guidelines surrounding protein are set too low,” he explains. “They're based on research that is over 40 years old. Not that there's anything wrong with some early research, but… the studies that they use to determine our current guidelines are based on healthy adult young males.” Of course, not of all us are healthy young adult males, and most of us – especially women, and especially menopausal women – need to eat more. In fact, “if you look at the new research coming out of protein research, we generally need around 50% more as a baseline to prevent deficiency and to thrive.”
