Like any Starbucks Rewards member, I often receive emails with enticing images of seasonal drinks in colorful cups, glowingly fresh baked goods, and the occasional $3 drink offer. Recently, however, it seems as if every other Starbucks email is about something protein-related: food with protein, drinks with protein and, pretty soon, Starbucks might just start selling mugs with protein. This obsession with protein isn’t only a characteristic of Starbucks, though. It appears to be a popular movement — in fact, even Costco recently began selling protein sparkling water — and although some may view it as a health-conscious choice, our fixation on protein add-ins is causing us to become blind to other unhealthy food trends.
Instead of, or maybe in addition to, counting calories, many people are now also counting their protein intake, with influencers posting videos about the protein content of various foods. I’ve seen posts touting the protein content of ice cream in an effort to ‘purify’ its food image, but ice cream, as delicious as it might be, is definitely nowhere near a healthy food, and its protein content doesn’t change that.
Similarly, fitness or health influencers who share videos of their daily meals and routines often emphasize the protein they eat, pushing their “wholesome” lifestyle while ignoring the 200 milligrams of caffeine in energy drinks that they consume daily.
Additionally, the pattern of using protein to mask unhealthy habits extends beyond influencers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., recently unveiled a new food pyramid that moves protein to an especially important position and encourages Americans to consume more of it. Despite backlash, the move appears to agree with more of the increasingly pro-protein population than expected. On the other hand, another issue has been overlooked in favor of fanning the flames on the protein debate — alcohol consumption. Whereas the CDC previously set a recommended daily limit on drinking, the new recommendations simply vaguely say to “consume less.” By focusing on the changes to protein consumption, we have ignored a different pressing issue.
Likewise, fixating on Starbucks’ protein-linked menu changes might cause us to miss the company’s rapid introduction of energy drinks to stores. High caffeine consumption is proven to influence health risks such as high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, so we can’t simply discard our awareness of it as soon as protein enters the scene.
Since I’m not a health expert, I can’t definitively say whether increasing protein intake is generally a benefit or harm, and I definitely won’t be doing that on the record. However, I can observe that obsessing about only protein consumption is causing us to dim the spotlights on other dietary changes that the scientific community has collectively determined to be harmful. We don’t all have to rally behind a single issue. Together, we can divide and conquer, and individually, we can hold multiple concerns.
Just because what is or isn’t excessive protein consumption is not yet clear doesn’t mean that we should ignore concerning trends relating to foods whose adverse effects we do understand. Noticing the protein content in ice cream or a Starbucks protein cold brew shouldn’t mean ignoring their sugar and caffeine levels.
