Defining Nutrition
Just because the box says a product is healthy doesn’t mean it is. You have to look at the nutrition label.
Recently, I was irked by someone who redefined Nutrition when selling a product. A brand ambassador referenced their company’s cereal product as a “nutrition cereal” for being fortified with protein. The description of “nutrition cereal” insinuates that other cereals don’t have Nutrition in them unless they have been fortified with copious amounts of protein like theirs. This particular “nutrition cereal” is fortified with milk protein, sodium caseinate, and soy protein isolate while being compared to the Lucky Charms cereal brand. Both cereals have marshmallows, 10g sugar per serving, and artificial flavor and color (yellow 5&6, red 40, and blue 1). Unlike Lucky Charms, the “nutrition cereal” has 0 grams of dietary fiber, while Lucky Charms provides 3 grams per serving. Micronutrients provided in the Lucky Charms cereal include vitamins A, B, C, and D, calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc. (Micronutrients are necessary nutrients for immune function, blood clotting, bone health, fluid balance, etc.) These micronutrients are unavailable in the “nutrition cereal,” except for a marginal amount of calcium (4%DV). Meanwhile, Lucky Charms has 10%DV of calcium in a dry serving.
Do you see what I’m getting at? I’ll go on a limb and say that most people don’t consider Lucky Charms a healthy* cereal brand. Yet, that little leprechaun clicks its heels and provides more nutrients than the “nutrition cereal” described above. Putting these facts aside, I’ll bite into the “nutrition cereal” sales tactic pushing protein supplementation. Lucky Charms provides 2g protein per serving, while the “nutrition cereal” provides 17g protein.
Is this addition of 15g of protein worth the stripping of other essential nutrients?
We absolutely need protein. It is one of the 3 macronutrients providing our bodies with energy and supporting physiological functions. However, pushing protein as a sales tactic highlights protein as being the only nutritional source worth a damn and excludes a critical element of Nutrition: nutrient absorption.
Nutrition is defined as the process of taking in and using food (Cambridge Dictionary). Should you prefer a more extended definition from the Oxford English Dictionary: “Nutrition is the process of nourishing or being nourished, especially the process by which a living organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and replacement of tissues.”
Let that sink in. Eating food + using the food consumed = Nutrition. Your body eliminates what it cannot use. You should be familiar with brightly colored urine output when you consume extra nutrients, perhaps from a new multivitamin. What happens when you over-consume a protein supplement? It sits in the GI tract, causing bloating, gas, constipation, and cramping, likely not getting absorbed but causing a rather painful pooping experience. Distended bowels. Not demure. Suppose you are consuming protein supplements and/or tracking how many grams of protein are on a plate. In that case, you must know that different proteins have different absorption rates. Then, you must time and balance the protein in each meal and supplementation to ensure your body can absorb the amount and type of protein consumed. Fortifying protein into every food source is not the solution for weight management, nor will muscles magically appear from protein supplementation. Is pushing protein sexy? Yes, #glutes and #gainz. Does pushing protein rebrand diet culture in a digestible way for current consumers? 100%. But choosing protein shouldn’t remove nutrients from your diet.
Is the “nutrition cereal” all bad? No. There are special populations that I’d recommend it to, with the addition of supplements, IF their preferences, gut, and finances accommodate it. Special populations that I could see benefiting from this “nutrition cereal” fortified with protein include vegan/vegetarians, individuals recovering from/struggling with disordered eating, and individuals using cannabis products and/or other mind-altering substances. That said, this product is on the shelves of a major grocery store and being marketed to all populations, not targeted to the special populations it could serve.
If you want to increase your protein intake, consider adding natural protein sources. It is not “healthy” to remove nutrients and replace them with synthetic protein supplementation. Nutrition = nourishment (not the absence of food and/or nutrients).
*I don’t like to label food as healthy or unhealthy. I find polarizing food choices unhelpful and minimizes the nuance of Nutrition, lifestyles, individuality, circumstances, etc. However, for the sake of this article, I simplified the concept of “healthy foods” for these cereal products.