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If you’ve been on social media at all in the last year, chances are you’ve seen a high-protein recipe for something, and it probably included cottage cheese or a weird number of eggs.

This year, protein is the internet’s obsession. It has joined the fad diet hall of fame, along with the likes of keto and paleo diets. If you’re unaware, a fad diet is a diet that gains immense popularity for boasting unbelievable results while claiming to be easy to follow. They never work in actuality because they’re notoriously hard to follow, extremely restrictive, lacking in nutrients or a combination of these three factors.

Protein aficionados boast the benefits of protein, showing off a high-protein diet to accompany large muscles or massive gym gains. They’ll claim that eating more protein will reduce body fat, but protein is not magic; it will not solve all of your problems.

Protein should not be the be-all and end-all of your diet — no nutrient should be. Yes, it is good for you. It will strengthen your muscles and bones, it helps to regulate hormones and vitamins and it brings a handful of very important nutrients into your body like zinc and iron. Protein also carries calories — which are not your enemy — to keep you functioning and fueled.

The idea that protein helps you lose weight is based in how it makes you feel full, and therefore you eat less. It is a calorie deficit, which makes it like every other fad diet that came before. You may lose short-term weight, but it will not last, especially because consuming too much protein and not enough of other nutrients can be dangerous long term.

“Protein should not be the primary focus of your diet. Your body needs a mix of vitamins and nutrients, not all of which protein can provide.”

Too much protein leads to an excess of acids in the bloodstream, which contributes to weakened bone health. Extra protein also tends to replace carbohydrates. If your body goes too long without carbohydrates, it starts to have a hard time functioning because it loses out on glucose, which your brain and muscles need to function. You also get less fiber, since a lot of carb-heavy food carries fiber.

It’s important to remember that the amount of needed protein varies wildly from person to person. Age, sex and lifestyle are all contributing factors. The protein intake of a TikTok gym bro who works out for hours every day is very different from a person who goes on daily walks. Like most aspects of the human body, everyone is very different, and therefore, very few things apply to everyone.

Protein should not be the primary focus of your diet. Your body needs a mix of vitamins and nutrients, not all of which protein can provide. So please put down the spoonful of cottage cheese and go eat some toast or fruit.

Reach Audrey Weishaar at letters@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.