Doctor rejects Vanity Fair's protein-MAGA connection, saying health ‘doesn't have a political belief'

Fox News

22-05-2025

After a recent Vanity Fair article attempted to slam high-protein diets and connect the dietary choice to the MAGA movement, one of the doctors mentioned in the article is speaking out.
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon rejected the politicization of high-protein diets, telling Fox News Digital, "Health is for everybody. Health doesn't have a political belief, nor should it. It should be about unifying us and making us stronger. Because at the end of the day, if you have a strong country... then you have... Strong character, strong children."
Dr. Lyon is a board-certified physician and bestselling author of "Forever Strong," and she promotes the importance of a high-protein diet and resistance training.
"What a wasted opportunity to actually correct some of the science. The reality is, the majority of individuals are overweight or obese. According to the dietary reference intake, the majority of us, 95% or so, are over-consuming refined carbohydrates and grains. We're not over consuming high-quality proteins," Dr. Gabrielle Lyon told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
The May 1 article titled "Why Are Americans So Obsessed With Protein? Blame MAGA," attempts to compare Americans eating a diet aimed at promoting muscle growth and longevity to the MAGA political movement.
The piece claims that American "protein mania" has been building over the last few decades and says the trend is part of the "manosphere," an umbrella term for sites and influencers that promote masculinity and anti-feminism.
Despite the Vanity Fair article focusing almost entirely on men, Dr. Lyon said women are realizing the importance of protein and being strong.
"We're really entering an era where women want to be strong and recognize the importance of it. And listen, muscles for everybody. We need more women who believe in strength," she said.
Dr. Lyon is described in the article as a "prominent pro-protein online personality" with content primarily targeted towards women.
In response to her mention, Dr. Lyon said, "What does it matter that I've had over a decade of training from some of the world-leading scientists? I think it was unfortunate. It was very unfortunate and truly a missed opportunity from the writers to be able to highlight the importance, and of course correct what's happening in our country."
Additionally, Dr. Lyon argued that the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is too low. The RDA suggests adults should obtain 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
The article makes the claim of more men being interested in increasing protein in their diets.
"I don't have a good sense on what's driving that right now, other than if it's just the usual manosphere—or manomania, here in the United States," Pieter Cohen, an internist at Cambridge Health Alliance and associate professor, mentioned in the piece. Cohen made this claim because he said he had more male patients bring up the interest of increasing protein than women patients.
"Why wouldn't a woman want to be strong and take care of this tissue, and also, weights, and red meat is not just for guys, it's for everybody," Lyon said.
"Protein is the most essential macronutrient and, actually, it's the only macronutrient that we need more of as we age. Of course, there's carbohydrates, but the body can generate its own carbohydrates based on the food that you're eating. And the need for essential fatty acids is very low. But protein, dietary protein, while we call it protein, it's actually made up of 20 different amino acids. And each of these amino acids do various things that are critical for overall health, and it's not interchangeable," she added.