In today’s fast-paced world, many people rely on coffee to stay alert.
But caffeine can increase heart rate and trigger palpitations.
Without coffee, they feel tired and unfocused.
After drinking it, they become anxious or struggle to sleep.
Then because of poor sleep, they need coffee again the next day just to function —
and slowly, a vicious cycle begins. ♻️
This reminds me of a patient who once came for digestive treatment.
She complained that she passed gas very frequently and hoped Chinese medicine could help.
After asking about her daily habits, I discovered that she was consuming 8–12 scoops of a certain brand of protein powder every day — roughly equivalent to 80–120g of protein.
I’m not against protein powder or direct-selling nutrition products.
For a 60kg woman worried about losing muscle mass, her concerns were understandable.
I explained that high-protein foods — whether meat or protein powder — undergo digestion and metabolism in the gut. During this process, intestinal bacteria break down amino acids and produce nitrogen-containing gases such as ammonia. This often leads to increased flatulence, commonly known as “protein farts.”
In her case, simply reducing protein intake significantly improved the problem.
Another possibility is lactose intolerance, which can also cause bloating and excessive gas after consuming protein shakes.
However, she remained worried:
“If I don’t consume at least 60g of protein daily at 60kg body weight, wouldn’t that mean I’m lacking protein?”
I explained that in modern society, true protein deficiency is actually uncommon.
More often, the problem is excessive nutrition or an imbalanced diet caused by selective eating.
This also reminded me of another elderly patient.
He consumed 8–12 scoops of a bodybuilding meal-replacement shake every day because he feared muscle loss and sarcopenia.
But his complaint was:
“I’m hungry all day, yet after drinking the shake I feel too full to eat proper meals.”
He believed rice was “low in protein,” so rice could be reduced — but the shake could not.
Whether it’s coffee, protein powder, or meal replacements,
many modern health habits can slowly become another form of dependency.
And beyond nutrition, the same thing often happens in life itself:
stress, anxiety, financial pressure, relationship struggles, health worries…
People unknowingly fall into cycles that repeat themselves over and over again. ♻️
#MedicalWisdom #ProteinPowder #MealReplacementShake
Malaysia