This Protein Is Secretly Making You Fat & Inflamed

Why Protein Quality Matters 0:00

There is a current trend going on that everybody should be eating more protein rich foods. Whether you are trying to lose weight or trying reduce inflammation or you're just trying be healthy. People are told that you should eat more Protein. Well protein is really good for our body but what most people don't know is that eating the wrong kinds of protein can actually harm your body and also increase your inflammation levels. So in today's video, I am going to share with you the worst kind of proteins which to my shock, 70-80% of my patients were consuming on a regular basis thinking that they were actually helpful for their health but in fact, those were the exact reasons they weren't able to reach their goals.

The top worst protein on this list is processed whey protein isolator.

Worst Protein: Whey Isolate and Processed Snacks 0:54

Hi I am Dr Anshul Gupta, a former Cleveland Clinic Functional Medicine Physician from US. I help people improve their chronic diseases by making personalized functional medicine plans. A lot of people are told to include protein powders or protein bars. Lot of these are made from whey protein isolates. In fact, majority of the high protein snacks or food you see on the food shells are from Whey Protein. Well, why is whey protein so bad for you? The reason being, new research shows whee protein can lead to insulin spike.

Why insulin spikes is so important? Because it leads to increase inflammation in your body as well as causes fat gain. A 2025 study showed that when people ate white bread, they had an insulin spike of 87%. And interestingly, certain kinds of whey isolate got an INSULIN SPIKE OF 137%. So that was staggering very high insulin spikes. Another 2025 systemic review study showed that adults who consumed whey protein powder did gain some muscle but ultimately it was shown that their fasting insulin levels were high as well as their HOMA index, which is an index that measures insulin resistance, was also abnormal in those people.

Now whey protein is not only the worst kind of protein, the second on the list over here is ultra processed meats. People who are eating sausages, daily meat or bacons, those are highly processed meat.

Ultra-Processed Meats and Risky Protein Bars 2:23

And again research shows that this ultra-processed meat, instead of helping in people to lose weight, they actually gain more visceral fat, which is the most dangerous fat around your belly area. Plus these processed meats has been linked to several cancers. So that's the second worst kind of protein that you can consume. Third worst protein comes with certain kinds of proteins bars, protein powders, specifically ones which are made from soy isolate or whey containing powdors. And now in the end, specifically people who are vegan and vegetarian, I want to create a caution over here specifically about legumes and lentils that people are consuming.

If they are not cooked properly, these particular foods can also sabotage your health journey. So now the next question for most people is that then what is the best protein source for us? So let me share with you the Best protein sources. So, let's start with people who are vegan or vegetarian because they always struggle with getting enough quantity of protein in their diet.

Best Vegan Protein Sources 3:28

What that means is that they do not lead to any insulin spike. Plus the amino acid profile in these seeds are really good for vegan and vegetarian people. 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds is going to give you approximately 10 grams of proteins. While 3 tablespoons hemseeds is giving you again 10g of protein. So this is the easiest way if you are vegan or vegetarian to get your proteins in. The second good source of proteins is limited amount of properly cooked chickpeas and lentils. What it means is properly cook is that you have to soak them for minimum 6 to 8 hours before cooking and then you pressure cook them.

the reason being they are high in lectins which can cause some bloating in some people and plus i will recommend only one serving a day of these lentils or chickpeas because they do have high amount of carbs so specifically if you're trying to lose weight this high And the third source of protein can be quinoa. Quinoas out of all the grains have the highest amount of proteins, has low glycemic index because it is high in fiber. So again, one serving of quinhoa which is 1 cup a day will again give you approximately another 8-9 grams of the protein so that way that can also be another protein source with your meals.

Best Animal Proteins and Daily Intake 5:07

And then if you are using a protein powder or a Protein bar, make sure it is made by either pea protein or rice protein, or chia seed protein only. So these are the best sources of proteins for you if your vegan or vegetarian. Now if u are eating animal products, the Best source of protein for u will be either fish, or chicken but make sure none of these things are fried and then comes pasta raise eggs again they are very good source of protein and the last will come is the organic grass-fed meats but again make that none these are things fried because once you fried the meat then you create trans fats which actually harm your body.

The next question lot of people have is that how much is a minimum amount of proteins that I should be consuming on the daily basis. So the minimum amount is actually 1 to 1.5 gram of protein per kilogram of your body weight is what you should consume on the daily basis. So now you know exactly what are the bad protein sources which you might be consuming and there might the reason that you are not feeling healthy. Your inflammation levels are still on high side and plus you're still unable to lose weight.

But the good part is that there are plenty of other protein sources which are both healthy as well as can help you in reaching your health goals. Please share in the comment section what is the main primary protein source in your diet that you are consuming on a daily basis. And I hope you liked the information I shared in this video. If you did, please like and subscribe to my channel so you keep on getting this kind of information in the future with you also. As well as share this with others who might benefit from this information.

Until next time, take care, bye bye.