What are so-called “high-protein” yogurts and drinks really worth?

With a view to losing weight or gaining muscle mass, some people seek to increase their daily protein intake. This is why yogurts and high-protein drinks distributed in supermarkets are winning over more than one person. What are these products worth? This is what doctor Jimmy Mohamed, also a TV columnist and successor to Marina Carrère d’Encausse at the helm of the show “Le Magazine de la santé” on France 5, wanted to know. In a video posted on his Instagram account on June 23, he analyzed the composition of a yogurt and two drinks from a successful brand.

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A major problem

After reading the labels, Dr Jimmy Mohamed identifies a major problem: the presence of food additives. More precisely, synthetic “intense” sweeteners, “false sugars”, such as sucralose – whose sweetening power is 600 times greater than sugar, according to UFC Que Choisir, or even acesulfame K, whose sweetening power is 200 times higher than sugar, again according to the consumer association magazine. They are among those most used by the food industry. They “are not good for your health, studies show that you are not going to lose weight, you are fooling your brain and you are disrupting your microbiota,” explains the doctor.

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Cheaper alternatives

The doctor continues with the protein content of the yogurt. He points out that less expensive alternatives contain just as much and, above all, have a healthier composition, like Petits suisses, which do not contain false sugars and sweeteners. Finally, the doctor recommends making your own high-protein drink, to avoid the sweeteners and sugars contained in those sold commercially. To do this, Jimmy Mohamed recommends mixing a plant-based milk, such as low-sugar almond milk, and adding casein or whey, a whey protein.