I take a whey protein supplement but I do wonder if I'm wasting money. The magazines need to push the protein requirement. Just look at all the protein powder ads. I use to take one in the morning with breakfast and one after working out. Now it's just once after the workout.
Is it really one gram a day? While not bodybuilders but insane athletes, Kenyan marathoners train on grains, vegetables, fruit and only on special occasions meat. I doubt they get 50 grams of protein yet they can run 20 miles a day training at insane paces.
When ever I read what looks like a legit study on protein requirements using protein in and protein used it's always along the same thing Mentzer and Jones pushed back in the day.