Thriving vineyards, seaside villages, and ancient ruins abound in this hidden gem that’s often overshadowed by Greek islands like Mykonos and Santorini.

India can't grow enough apples to meet demand but farmers are struggling to raise production.

Protein intake dominates fitness advice. Whether you want to build muscle, improve your fitness or watch your weight, the common advice handed out by everyone from fitness influencers to doctors is that we need more protein. But while protein does play an essential role in maintaining our muscle mass and overall health, all this increased attention on the importance of protein in the media and fitness circles has sparked a surge in products marketed specifically for their protein content. Some chocolate bars, ice cream, pizza, coffee, and even alcoholic beverages now market themselves as protein foods. But our enthusiasm for protein might have gone too far. While protein is certainly important for our health, most of us don't need these protein-enhanced foods as a regular feature in our diet. Not to mention that this marketing may lead to a 'halo effect', where consumers mistakenly equate high protein content with overall nutritional value. This effect can lead to the perception of protein-rich foods being inherently nutritious – even though many may not be. Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass and immune function. Nutrition guidelines recommend people aim to eat around 0.75 g of protein per kilogram of body weight. But some evidence suggests this recommendation may be an underestimate – and that the recommendation should be around 1.2 g-1.6 g per kg of body weight per day There's also a strong body of evidence that suggests the amount of protein we need changes depending on our health. For instance, people need to eat more protein when they're recovering from an illness. Research also shows that older adults should be aiming for at least 1.2 g per kg of body weight in order to combat age-related muscle loss. Athletes also need to eat a greater amount of protein to support their training and recovery. Moreover, with the rising popularity of weight-loss drugs, strategies increasingly emphasise protein intake to minimise muscle loss while losing weight. But just because protein is good for maintaining muscle mass, that doesn't mean more is better. In fact, it seems that even when we consume large amounts of protein, only a some of this is actually used by the body. Most of us probably need a little more protein than current guidelines suggest, but less than is often promoted by wellness influencers on social media (with some even suggesting we need up to 3 g of protein per kg of body weight). Ironically, the necessary amount of protein suggested by emerging evidence (1.2 g -1.6 g per kg of body weight per day) is close to what the average protein consumption already is in most western countries. Most people can probably benefit from being more protein aware – not about how much protein they're consuming, but about the quality and frequency of their protein choices. Ideally, we should aim to consume small amounts of protein-rich foods more often during the day. Current evidence suggests around 20 g-30 g of protein (around a handful of a protein source) at each meal supports muscle maintenance alongside physical activity. In an ideal world, this protein would come from whole foods (such as nuts, seeds, milk, eggs and legumes). But fortified protein products may have their space as a quick and easy snack – especially for those who may struggle to eat this much protein at each meal. It's important to eat these foods in moderation, however. ## Ultra-processed products Supermarkets are full of "protein-enhanced" products. But while these products may contain additional protein, they may also contain additional sugars or carbohydrates. For example, protein milk often contains double the protein of regular milk. It does this by removing water or adding dried milk. Protein bars are another example. But depending on the brand you choose, alongside their additional protein content they may also be high in sugar. Many protein-fortified products share another common trait: they fall into the category of ultra-processed foods. Ultra-processed foods are commercially made products that include ingredients you wouldn't typically find in your own kitchen. Research shows regularly consuming ultra-processed foods is consistently linked with poorer health outcomes – such as cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Current discussions around ultra-processed foods suggests uncertainty regarding whether it's the processing itself, the poor nutritional quality of these foods or the combination of both of these factors that contribute to these negative health outcomes. Another issue with protein-enhanced products is that while they do indeed contain extra protein, some products may lack fibre, vitamins and essential minerals. A lack of fibre in modern diets is currently one of the biggest contributors to population-wide ill-health. All foods have their place within a balanced diet. But protein is only one component of overall nutritional health. The rise in protein-fortified foods as health foods is concerning. Protein-enhanced products are occasional foods that might support meeting protein intake, but they should not be mistaken for universally healthy foods. For people looking to reach their protein goals, choose a variety of protein sources, consider the role of convenience foods within the context of whole diet and think about other nutrients like fibre to really maximise health. _Aisling Pigott, Lecturer, Dietetics, Cardiff Metropolitan University_ **This article is republished fromThe Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.**

<div class="post-content"> <p>Claims that we ought to subscribe to a low-carb, high-protein '<a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/real-paleo-diets-may-have-been-far-more-carnivorous-than-anything-we-d-eat-today">paleo diet</a>' are typically based on <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/paleo-diet/art-20111182">assertions our ancestors</a> avoided complicated plant processing in favor of simpler meals consisting of meats, nuts, fruit, and raw vegetables.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-1 Purch_Y_C_0_1-container"> <div class="ad-slot priad-1 ad-slot--content-1 Purch_Y_C_0_1" id="Purch_Y_C_0_1"></div> <script type="d7fc5692eb1097e3ab2af479-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_1', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p><a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/not-all-paleolithic-hunter-gatherers-were-big-into-meat-new-study-reveals">Evidence is mounting</a> that this dietary advice is based on a misconception. A new study has found Pleistocene hominins in what is today Israel had the know-how to derive a significant portion of their calories from a surprisingly wide variety of plants.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-2 Purch_Y_C_0_2-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-2 Purch_Y_C_0_2" id="Purch_Y_C_0_2"></div> <script type="d7fc5692eb1097e3ab2af479-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_2', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>Work carried out by an international team of researchers at the Gesher Benot Ya'aqov site on the banks of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_River">Jordan River</a> has revealed hundreds of different starch granules and other plant matter stuck to tools encased in sediment dating back some 780,000 years.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-3 Purch_Y_C_0_3-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-3 Purch_Y_C_0_3" id="Purch_Y_C_0_3"></div> <script type="d7fc5692eb1097e3ab2af479-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_3', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>Not only are these the oldest <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starch">starch granules</a> ever dug up by archaeologists, they're also signs of a varied diet that goes way beyond meat: the granules were linked to oak acorns, wheat and barley grains, legumes, and edible water plants such as yellow water lilies and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleocharis_dulcis">water chestnuts</a>.</p><figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-148602" class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_148602" style="width: 642px"><img alt="Starch granules" class="wp-image-148602 size-full" decoding="async" height="467" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px" src="https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2025/01/StarchSamples.jpg" srcset="https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2025/01/StarchSamples.jpg 642w, https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2025/01/StarchSamples-571x415.jpg 571w, https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2025/01/StarchSamples-600x436.jpg 600w" width="642"/><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-148602">A selection of the recovered granules and the foods associated with them. (Hadar Ahituv/Yoel Melamed)</figcaption></figure><p>The tools on which these tiny remains were found, specifically hammerstones and anvils, suggest the plants had been specifically chosen and processed, implying early hominids had developed complex methods to extract nutrients and calories from diverse sources of vegetation.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-4 Purch_Y_C_0_4-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-4 Purch_Y_C_0_4" id="Purch_Y_C_0_4"></div> <script type="d7fc5692eb1097e3ab2af479-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_4', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>"This discovery underscores the importance of plant foods in the evolution of our ancestors," <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069524">says</a> archaeologist Hadar Ahituv, from Bar-Ilan University in Israel. "We now understand that early hominids gathered a wide variety of plants year-round, which they processed using tools made from basalt."</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-5 Purch_Y_C_0_5-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-5 Purch_Y_C_0_5" id="Purch_Y_C_0_5"></div> <script type="d7fc5692eb1097e3ab2af479-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_5', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>"This discovery opens a new chapter in the study of early human diets and their profound connection to plant-based foods."</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-6 Purch_Y_C_0_6-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-6 Purch_Y_C_0_6" id="Purch_Y_C_0_6"></div> <script type="d7fc5692eb1097e3ab2af479-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_6', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>Named after <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic">the Paleolithic era</a> (around  3.3 million to  11,700 years ago), 'paleo' diets tend to recommend prioritizing proteins from animal sources based on the assumption that modern human physiology evolved from ancestors who were on similar diets. This meat eating has <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0047248489900377">been identified</a> as one of the driving forces behind human evolution.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-7 Purch_Y_C_0_7-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-7 Purch_Y_C_0_7" id="Purch_Y_C_0_7"></div> <script type="d7fc5692eb1097e3ab2af479-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_7', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>It's been assumed that most plant materials have been too tough, toxic, or impalatable to bother with. These new discoveries suggest even hundreds of thousands of years ago cultures had advanced ways of preparing vegetation as an energy source, supporting some <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/682587">previous studies</a> that plants contribute greatly to the ongoing growth of the human brain.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-8 Purch_Y_C_0_8-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-8 Purch_Y_C_0_8" id="Purch_Y_C_0_8"></div> <script type="d7fc5692eb1097e3ab2af479-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_8', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>"These results further indicate the advanced cognitive abilities of our early ancestors, including their ability to collect plants from varying distances and from a wide range of habitats and to mechanically process them using percussive tools," <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2418661121">write</a> the researchers in their published paper.</p><figure aria-describedby="caption-attachment-148604" class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_148604" style="width: 642px"><img alt="Researchers at work" class="wp-image-148604 size-full" decoding="async" height="434" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px" src="https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2025/01/ResearchersWorking.jpg" srcset="https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2025/01/ResearchersWorking.jpg 642w, https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2025/01/ResearchersWorking-614x415.jpg 614w, https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2025/01/ResearchersWorking-600x406.jpg 600w" width="642"/><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" id="caption-attachment-148604">Professor Nira Alperson-Afil, from Bar-Ilan University, and other researchers at work. (Boaz Zissu/Bar-Ilan University)</figcaption></figure><p>This isn't the first study to draw these kinds of conclusions. An analysis of 15,000-year-old bones and teeth found in Morocco, for example, has previously <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/not-all-paleolithic-hunter-gatherers-were-big-into-meat-new-study-reveals">pointed towards</a> "a substantial plant-based component" in the food of hunter-gatherers.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-9 Purch_Y_C_0_9-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-9 Purch_Y_C_0_9" id="Purch_Y_C_0_9"></div> <script type="d7fc5692eb1097e3ab2af479-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_9', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>With the bony remnants of our kills more likely to stick around for tens to hundreds of thousands of years, it's little wonder researchers have largely focused on the protein components of ancient diets. As technology improves, scientists are at last turning their attention to the rest of our paleolithic pantry.</p><!-- START single/mrec --><div class="ad-slot--container ad-slot--container-content ad-slot--container-content-10 Purch_Y_C_0_10-container"> <div class="ad-slot ad-slot--content ad-slot--content-10 Purch_Y_C_0_10" id="Purch_Y_C_0_10"></div> <script type="d7fc5692eb1097e3ab2af479-text/javascript"> if ('undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag && 'undefined' !== typeof window.tmntag.cmd) { tmntag.cmd.push(function () { tmntag.adTag('Purch_Y_C_0_10', false); }); } </script> </div> <!-- END single/mrec --><p>"Our results further confirm the importance of plant foods in our evolutionary history and highlight the development of complex food-related behaviors," <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2418661121">write</a> the researchers.</p><p>The research has been published in <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2418661121"><em>PNAS</em></a>.</p> </div>