Protein Epidemic (Protein Soda?)

story by Lucas Pierron

If you’ve stepped foot into any grocery store in the past year, you may have noticed that health marketing has changed in one drastic way: everything has protein in it now. 

For me, it came to a head when I was shopping at Fred Meyer and saw a new box of Pop-Tarts sitting alongside the classic flavors… now with added protein (a whole 10 grams per pastry!). Protein is one of the essential macronutrients our bodies use to fuel our daily lives, but I feel like these new products and their marketing has ballooned into the world's leading latest health fad. 

Here’s another egregious example that makes me a little sick to my stomach – Protein soda. It’s exactly what it sounds like: A fizzy, sweetened, carbonated drink that contains enough protein to square up against a protein bar. Who is buying this stuff, and is it actually good for you? Does it even taste good in the first place? 

Modern human diets are made up of a lot of different elements. Carbohydrates are the fundamental fuel for our brain functionality, and food scientists have all but proven that diets rich in diverse foods (especially fruits and vegetables) lead to healthier outcomes due to their nutritional content. Fiber, vitamins, minerals… Ryan Gosling said it best in The Fall Guy.

But protein classification as a macronutrient makes it one of the three essential building blocks of all human diets (protein, carbohydrates, fat). It’s in a lot of stuff, not just meat. Eggs, dairy, beans, nuts. It’s core to muscle building, and it satiates you better than other nutrients. It can also be detrimental to your liver in excess amounts, and can also be turned into fat if consumed in excess (just like all other food).

The point of protein supplements has always been just that – supplementation. In someone's natural diet, where they may not be consuming enough protein but exercise frequently and need it for muscle strength, a supplement is a quick and convenient way of adding it to their diet without increasing other caloric intake. Unfortunately, I think this has ballooned into something bigger than it actually is. Unless recommended by a doctor, there isn't solid evidence to suggest that you need to eat more protein just for protein's sake. 

Tie it back to the Pop-Tarts. When I was standing in the store, I compared the nutrition facts of the two boxes… and it was almost funny how similar they were. Pop-Tarts, in their “natural” form, already contain five grams of protein per serving. The special, high protein versions? Ten grams. With everything else being almost identical, where is the benefit? Recommended protein consumption can range from fifty to one hundred grams per day. Is five grams of protein worth all of the negative health aspects of eating a Pop-Tart? 

The protein sodas just straight up scares me, though. I occasionally drink protein shakes from the whey powder, and a scoop of that stuff contains around twenty grams of protein, turning a glass of water into a viscous shake. How do they fit that same amount of protein in a sugar free soda? Aside from the health aspects of overconsuming protein, I would worry a little bit about the long term ramifications of drinking something only produceable by wizards. 

Overall, protein is not all it’s cracked up to be. While an important part of anyone's diet, its benefits are marketed to us while its downsides are silenced. And just like any health fad, I’m sure consensus will change with time. Maybe we’ll start seeing a fiber revolution, where every product now has added nutritional fiber? Whatever it may be, take the time to learn what foods you’re putting in your body, and always trust the science.