**The Perplexing Rise of Protein Shakes: How ‘Meaty Sludge’ Became a Billion-Dollar Craze**
From Gym Niche to Global Obsession Protein shakes have undergone a radical makeover. In the early 2000s, they were dismissed as a chalky, unappetizing sludge—reserved for bodybuilders willing to endure the taste for gains. Fast…