06
2014
Bursting the High Protein Cereal Bubble
You’ve likely seen it on store shelves: “High Protein” Cheerios, “High Protein” Fiber One. Other brands may follow in the future.
These may seem like a good choice, but in fact they are NOT!
This package (of Fiber One) screams 10g protein. (Click on the picture and you’ll be able to see it more clearly!) But notice the small print underneath that claim which reads “with milk.” In actuality, one serving (1 cup) provides 6 g protein and the recommended ½ cup milk provides an additional 4 g protein. That’s where the “10g protein” comes from.
Now take a look at the Total Calories (260 calories) and the Sugar (16g) and you may finally realize that this is a very high nutritional price to pay for 10g of protein!
In comparison, you can eat a plain nonfat greek yogurt for 100 calories and 18 g protein (and if you need to sweeten it, you can use a small spoon of sugar free jam).
You can use the “10 calories per gram of protein” rule to determine whether ANY food is a good, low calorie source of protein.
See the blog article on best protein sources if you’re not sure what this rule is! http://tucsonbariatric.com/blog/best-protein-sources/
Keep in mind someone is getting paid big $$$ to try to figure out how to get you to buy their product. Always disregard the packaging and go straight to the Nutrition Facts label if you want to get the real story.
DON’T BE FOOLED BY PACKAGING! Read, read, read labels!!