Sugar Cheerios with Protein

Protein

Why do I keep hearing commercials for and seeing new products containing increased protein?  Is this the latest food fad?  Why is the food industry intent on feeding us more and more processed sugar and high fructose corn syrup?  Now they’ve resorted to hiding it behind high protein products?   Intrigued, I read the nutritional information panel on a box of “Cheerios Protein Oats & Honey”.

hmm… Let’s see… The serving size is 56 grams.  The total protein is 7 grams. (Huh. 8oz of milk has 8g. Maybe I should skip the cereal and just drink a pint of milk.) The total sugar is 16 grams. Woah!! Wait a minute! That’s more than twice as much sugar as protein!  Nearly a third of this stuff is sugar!  At least they don’t call it “High Fructose Corn Syrup” anymore.  Now it’s just listed as sugar and corn syrup in the ingredient list.

I know I’ve got enough carbs in my diet but how much protein do I really need in my diet? CDC recommends that 10–35% of your daily calories come from protein. Below are the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for different age groups.

DemographicProtein g per day
Children ages 1 – 313
Children ages 4 – 819
Children ages 9 – 1334
Girls ages 14 – 1846
Boys ages 14 – 1852
Women ages 19 – 70+46
Men ages 19 – 70+56
Source

Here’s my daily intake

Let’s do a quick sanity check:

Breakfast: An 8-ounce serving of Greek yogurt has about 17 grams of protein

Lunch: A serving of peanut butter has 8 grams
Two slices of rye bread have 5 grams.

Supper: A 6-ounce steak has about 77 grams

Conclusion

Uh-oh!!  I wasn’t even paying attention and I managed to suck down 107 grams of protein!   I guess I don’t have to worry and stock up on the new sugar-coated protein cereal. That’s OK. I’m not sure I wanted to eat all that sugar anyway!

How much protein do YOU think is really necessary?  

About John MacDowall

I was born in Poughkeepsie, NY. We moved to a farm during middle school where I learned about raising animals and growing food. Now, I live in the affluent suburbs of Washington, DC and wonder why people eat the way they do.

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