To file under “products the world doesn’t need”
I’m enjoying my visit to the US, and especially enjoying the various foodstuffs that I get to eat here that I can’t find back at home in Switzerland. While a lot of these America-specific foods are fabulous, several others leave me scratching my head and saying “huh?”
For example, there is this product: Special K2O Protein Water. This “water” has 50 calories per bottle, and 5 grams of protein (its ingredients include whey protein, so it’s not vegan).
I poked around Kellogg’s website, but couldn’t come up with any info as to whom they are marketing this stuff. Body builders, perhaps? Given its prominent placement in the grocery store, I must have been shopping in the middle of a body-building colony. Who else thinks they need extra protein in their diet, and in water form? What’s wrong with good old protein-free water?
I think this product feeds off the misconception that some people have about not getting enough protein in their diet, when in fact it’s almost impossible to get too little protein if you are consuming enough calories in a day. If you really have a protein deficiency, you are probably making poor food choices overall. In that case, rather than reaching for protein water, how about some whole grains, fresh vegetables, and legumes?
I completely agree with you. I’m no vegetarian, but I do try to eat as healthily as possible and I tend towards nuts and beans and other protein dense foods instead of products that weren’t meant to have protein in them. As for meat, I would rather have one of my aforementioned options. All the protein without the extra saturated fat tacked on.