There’s a major craze running rampant on social media these days. And the major processed food makers have picked up on it big-time. It seems everybody is adding protein to their snacks, and beverages in the name of health. But are they really healthier?
I won’t keep you hanging… The short answer is ‘No’. The added protein in the new Doritos snacks does NOT really make them healthier than the original kind. But it doesn’t make them less healthy, either.
More is less?
The new watchwords on the salty snacks and fizzy beverages front are ‘healthier’ and more ‘funct-ional’. The claim is that adding healthy ingredients to existing snack and bev formulae will make them healthier. And, thus, more desirable to the emerging younger demographic that’s more aware than the Boomers of what they’re eating.
Case in point…
The fad to add protein to everything is a classic case in point.
The Mayo Clinic advises: “Contrary to all the hype that everyone needs more protein, most people in the U.S. meet or exceed their needs. This is especially true for males ages 19-59. The Dietary Guide-lines for Americans, 2020–2025 indicates that men in that age range exceed their protein recom-mendations, especially from meat, poultry and eggs.”
So… On top of what you’re already getting from regular, conventional foods, you’re adding 10 more grams of protein from every serving of Doritos Protein. A serving turns out to be defined as 10 to 11 chips. That many chips also delivers about 150 Calories, 8g fat, 8g carbohydrates. And who really eats ONLY that many chips, once the bag is opened? Say you wolf down 2 servings… That’s 20 extra grams of protein. And additional 300 Calories intake.
My take
A standard 1 oz / 28.4 g of standard Doritos delivers only about 2 g of protein to your already over-nourished system. And the experts say you don’t even need that much to optimize your daily intake.
The message the snack makers hope you don’t receive is that all that extra protein is surplus to your requirements. And you’re still consuming all the bad stuff (calories, fats carbs and salt) that such snacks are infamous for. And on top of that, they are among the most Ultra-Processed Foods (UPFs) on the shelf.
The good news?
All that extra protein won’t do your system any harm. The harm to YOUR wallet, however, could be a serious consideration. The new protein-fortified snacks and beverages cost significantly more than their ‘standard’ siblings.
My questions to you…
Have you been tempted to try the new protein-added processed foods currently flooding the market?
If so…
Did you think they were worth the extra money?
Did you feel any stronger, more energetic or ‘healthier’?
Do you feel, as I and some advocacy groups do, that snack makers should be forced by regulators to be more transparent about their ‘healthier’, more ‘functional’ products?
Muse on that!
~ Maggie J.