What is the buzz around ‘Proffee’ the latest health fad?

Proffee, a combination of coffee and protein powder is going viral on the Internet. But is it a healthy choice? Experts weigh in

Many fitness enthusiasts are combining their two most loved beverages — coffee and protein powder — giving rise to a new term called as proffee. But is it a healthy choice? Experts believe that “proffee”, the latest buzz in health trends, sounds cool, and can actually be great, but only if consumed the right way.

Before jumping on the proffee bandwagon, it’s important to understand your protein needs. “If you already have a balanced diet that keeps you energised and focused, adding proffee might not bring much extra benefit. However, for those looking for a quick, filling, and energising breakfast boost, it could be a great addition,” shares Saravanan Balakrishnan, founder, CEO, Amura.ai.

Balakrishnan adds, “The key is balance: caffeine in moderation and protein in the right proportions can help curb cravings, boost energy, and aid muscle recovery.

Here’s the trick—keep it simple:

• Skip the sugary syrups and calorie-loaded extras

• Choose high-quality protein and be mindful of the right quantities.

However, Tehseen Siddiqui, chief dietician, Saifee Hospital in Mumbai shares despite the energy boost, extra protein and helping with cutting cravings one needs to be more mindful.

She says, “While proffee can work for some, it is not the best choice for everyone. Protein powders are best kept simple. They are meant to be consumed with water or milk for digestion. Adding coffee — a highly acidic drink — may not sit well with everyone’s stomach.”

“The reason is that it most protein powders contain additives, artificial flavours, and preservatives. Although this is not necessarily unhealthy in moderation, combining these with coffee’s natural compounds may not work well for everyone,” shares Siddiqui.

As per experts, if you’re looking for an energy and protein boost, pairing a simple cup of coffee with a boiled egg, a handful of nuts, or some Greek yogurt can offer a more natural alternative.

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Young people more likely to spend Christmas alone, study finds

One in nine people say they will be spending Christmas Day alone this year.

The number of young people spending Christmas Day alone has doubled, according to new research that compares festive attitudes and behaviours in 2024 and 1969.

According to a study by the Policy Institute at King’s College London, one in nine people say they will be spending Christmas Day alone this year. That number has increased from one in 20 who said the same 55 years ago.

Findings of the study:
While the share of people aged 65 and over who said they would spend Christmas Day by themselves has remained the same since 1969 – 15% of over 65s – the number for other demographics has risen. The biggest increase was seen among the youngest surveyed, where one in 11, or 9%, of people aged 21 to 34 said they will be spending Christmas Day alone. Only one in 100 said the same in 1969. Also read | Christmas 2024: Spending holidays alone? Here are some tips to make it special

Professor Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, said the data indicates that Christmas now seems just a little bit lonelier and less magical than it was 55 years ago. “The proportion of people spending the day itself alone has doubled, we’re less likely to say we enjoy it, and a lot less likely to think parents should encourage their children to believe in Santa,” he said. “But this doesn’t mean we’ve given up on Christmas – indeed a large majority of eight in 10 still say they do enjoy it, and nine in 10 will spend it with family or friends.”

The research – which is based on two nationally representative surveys of UK adults aged 21 and over in 2024 and 1969 – is part of a series of studies updating survey results from decades ago to understand changes in Britain’s core beliefs and ways of living.

Other data found that 80% of people today say they enjoy Christmas, which has dropped slightly from 86% in 1969. A large chunk of Britons also believe that stores push Christmas and festive goods onto consumers far too early in the year, with 79% agreeing with that statement. Men have seen the biggest change in attitudes on Christmas in retail, with 81% of males surveyed saying Christmas goods are sold too early – up from 59% in 1969. The religious significance of Christmas has also dwindled in the UK, with 60% of people stating that Christmas is a family occasion, rather than a religious one. Also read | Christmas 2024: From hanging calendars to visiting cemetery, unique traditions and celebrations around the world

Christmas is about family or religion?
When asked 55 years ago if Christmas was more about family than religion, 53% of respondents agreed, indicating a decline in the Christian faith in Britain. As per the Office of National Statistics, 2021 census data shows that less than half of the population in England and Wales describe themselves as ‘Christian’. ‘No religion’ was the second most common response on the census, increasing to 37.2% from 25.2% in 2011. Also read | Merry Christmas 2024: Simple Santa Claus, Christmas tree drawing ideas for kids and classic poems for school

Professor Duffy said that while things have changed significantly in the world when compared with 1969, the collated data also shows that some things have not changed at all. “These long-term trends are also useful in reminding us that some things have remained the same, despite the huge changes seen,” he said. “1969 was the year man landed on the moon, John and Yoko staged their bed-in for peace, the death penalty was finally abolished, and our current King was invested as the Prince of Wales. “But even back then, eight in 10 were complaining that Christmas was too commercialised – exactly the same proportion as today.”

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Real-life violence that inspired Squid Game left countless dead, survivors were ‘frustrated’ by Netflix show

The Ssangyong strikes of 2009, which engulfed a car factory in Korea, were the inspiration behind Netflix’s Squid Game.

A factory turned into a battlefield, riot police armed with tasers and an activist who spent 100 days atop a chimney — the unrest that inspired Netflix’s most successful show ever has all the hallmarks of a TV drama.

This month sees the release of the second season of Squid Game, a dystopian vision of South Korea where desperate people compete in deadly versions of traditional children’s games for a massive cash prize. (Also read: Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk likens show’s violent game to US election, S2 will ask ‘is majority always right?’)

But while the show itself is a work of fiction, Hwang Dong-hyuk, its director and writer, has said the experiences of the main character Gi-hun, a laid-off worker, were inspired by the violent Ssangyong strikes in 2009.

“I wanted to show that any ordinary middle-class person in the world we live in today can fall to the bottom of the economic ladder overnight,” he has said.

In May 2009, Ssangyong, a struggling car giant taken over by a consortium of banks and private investors, announced it was laying off more than 2,600 people, or nearly 40 percent of its workforce.

That was the beginning of an occupation of the factory and a 77-day strike that ended in clashes between strikers armed with slingshots and steel pipes and riot police wielding rubber bullets and tasers. Many union members were severely beaten, and some were jailed.

‘Many lost their lives’
The conflict did not end there. Five years later, union leader Lee Chang-kun held a sit-in for 100 days on top of one of the factory’s chimneys to protest a sentence in favour of Ssangyong against the strikers.

He was supplied with food from a basket attached to a rope by supporters and endured hallucinations of a tent rope transformed into a writhing snake.

Some who experienced the unrest struggled to discuss Squid Game because of the trauma they endured, Lee told AFP.

The repercussions of the strike, compounded by protracted legal battles, caused significant financial and mental strain for workers and their families, resulting in around 30 deaths by suicide and stress-related issues, Lee said. “Many have lost their lives. People had to suffer for too long,” he said.

He vividly remembers the police helicopters circling overhead, creating intense winds that ripped away workers’ raincoats. Lee said he felt he could not give up.

“We were seen as incompetent breadwinners and outdated labour activists who had lost their minds,” he said. “Police kept beating us even after we fell unconscious — this happened at our workplace, and it was broadcast for so many to see.”

Lee said he had been moved by scenes in the first season of Squid Game where Gi-hun struggles not to betray his fellow competitors.

But he wished the show had spurred real-life change for workers in a country marked by economic inequality, tense industrial relations and deeply polarised politics. “Despite being widely discussed and consumed, it is disappointing that we have not channelled these conversations into more beneficial outcomes,” he said.

‘Shadow of state violence’
The success of Squid Game in 2021 left him feeling “empty and frustrated”. “At the time, it felt like the story of the Ssangyong workers had been reduced to a commodity in the series,” Lee told AFP.

Squid Game, the streaming platform’s most-watched series of all time, is seen as embodying the country’s rise to a global cultural powerhouse, part of the Korean wave alongside the Oscar-winning Parasite and K-pop stars such as BTS.

But its second season comes as the Asian democracy finds itself embroiled in some of its worst political turmoil in decades, triggered by conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed bid to impose martial law this month.

Yoon has since been impeached and suspended from duties pending a ruling by the Constitutional Court.

That declaration of martial law risked sending the Korean wave “into the abyss”, around 3,000 people in the film industry, including “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho, said in a letter following Yoon’s shocking decision.

Vladimir Tikhonov, a Korean studies professor at the University of Oslo, told AFP that some of South Korea’s most successful cultural products highlight state and capitalist violence.

“It is a noteworthy and interesting phenomenon — we still live in the shadow of state violence, and this state violence is a recurrent theme in highly successful cultural products.”

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