The Myopic "Macro Tracking" Era
Get back in the (shopping cart) driver's seat
Using “macro tracking” as a proxy for healthfulness is a dangerous game.
“Macros,” the shorthand for “macronutrients,” refers to the types of nutrients our bodies require in large quantities to get energy. The three main macronutrients are fats, proteins and carbohydrate.
If you spend five minutes exploring the diet and fitness space, you’ll soon be assaulted with enthusiastic macro trackers who aspire to optimize their diet for the ideal mixture of macronutrients often with the goal of body recomposition. Within specific niches, like bodybuilding, the cacophony is particularly overwhelming.
What was once a fringe practice has grown far more mainstream such that the average shopper at the grocery store will encounter messaging that speaks to a cultural obsession with macronutrients. Come on in, folks, you now no longer need a scale and a food diary to partake!
For example, take a careful look around the next time you go to buy a granola bar. The callouts will almost assuredly include the protein content, and likely the sugar (a carbohydrate), and the fat content, sometimes larger than the brand name itself.
The recent, blistering rise of a protein bar brand, David Protein, would seem to evidence a broad support for macro forward food marketing. Just months after their September 2024 launch, the brand is already valued at $725 million. And this, within an incredibly competitive space.
The macro callouts on the front of the packaging are impossible to ignore and they’re the main selling point for this brand. Take a look at the reviews and you’ll encounter the near universal praise for the nutritional profile. It’s almost too good to be true, some might say.
Naturally, I wanted to see how the sausage is made. Here are the ingredients:
PROTEIN SYSTEM (MILK PROTEIN ISOLATE, COLLAGEN, WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, EGG WHITE), BINDING SYSTEM (MALTITOL, GLYCERIN, ALLULOSE, TAPIOCA STARCH, SOY LECITHIN), FAT SYSTEM (MODIFIED PLANT FAT [EPG], COCONUT OIL), FLAVOR SYSTEM (UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, NATURAL FLAVOR, SALT, COCOA POWDER [PROCESSED WITH ALKALI], SUCRALOSE, ACESULFAME POTASSIUM).
Ultra processed helloooooooo!
Food in its natural or processed state simply does not have the nutrient profile to supply the kinds of macros we see in this protein bar. Food scientists must rely on complex food processing, including a proprietary fat system (EPG), to make it happen.
Epogee, the manufacturer of EPG that is now under the David Protein egis, even has a blog post asking the very same question I was asking: Is it too good to be true? It may not come as a surprise that no, according to them, it’s not too good to be true.
I must disagree.
I bring up this brand as an example of a food product that from the perspective of macro tracking would be considered ideal.
And yet, so many of the ingredients we’re seeing in this bar are ultra processed. A growing body research points to ultra processed foods as being a driver of mortality and chronic health conditions. Check out my earlier blog post on the subject if you want to dive in deeper!
As we’ve strayed further and further from the foods that we grow and slaughter, we’ve somehow convinced ourselves that we’ve “hacked nature.”
Historically, we have a long track record of “hacking nature,” but more often than not, we fail to adequately understand the side effects and consequences of doing so.
On the subject of fat systems, back in the 1990s, a fat substitute by the name of Olestra was designed as a food ingredient that added no calories (since it wouldn’t be absorbed by the digestive system). Lo and behold, Olestra soon become synonymous with diarrhea, loose stools, and anal leakage. Nice.
What if instead, we turned our focus away from macronutrients and nutrition facts, and looked more closely at the ingredients themselves?
I’m not advocating for ignoring macronutrients in their entirety, but I assert that the obsession with macro tracking is to our detriment.
Cooking affordable meals that are decidedly not ultra processed is doable and I want to show you how, dammit! Each newsletter, I’ll share one recipe to get your creative cooking juices ~flowing~.
Spring rolls are among my favorite meals to whip together because the assembly is really quite engaging. Much like making a pancake, the first one or two are often a bust, but then you get the hang of it and self satisfaction is near guaranteed. I keep rice papers and rice noodles in my pantry for whenever the mood strikes and have a lot of fun varying what I put inside based on what’s in my fridge/seasonally available. I insist that you make a sauce to accompany them. Peanut sauce is my tried and true.
Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce
Spring Rolls:
Rice papers
Rice noodles
A protein (like tofu, steak or shrimp)
Vegetables (like red cabbage, cucumber, carrots, bell peppers)
Herbs (mint)
Directions:
Prep the rice noodles according to package instructions.
Prep your protein by cutting it into thin strips (shrimp can be kept whole, but remove the tail). Julienne your vegetables.
Take the rice paper and soften it in a bowl of warm water for 10-20 seconds until pliable
Place the rice paper down, I like to use a wet paper towel as my work station, and pile in your protein, vegetables and herbs in the center. Be careful not to overfill.
Roll up the rice paper like a burrito (tucking in the ends)
Peanut Sauce
Natural peanut butter
lime juice
rice vinegar
sesame oil
splash of maple syrup
optional: fresh ginger
Directions:
Combine the above ingredients (about 1-2 tablespoons each, except for the maple syrup and ginger) and then adjust to your taste preference. Add a few tablespoons of hot water if it’s too thick!
I encourage you to flip around the label on your favorite packaged foods. Doing this is one step towards in decreasing the amount of ultra processed foods you’re regularly consuming. Here’s one switch I make:
In this example, I’m comparing a milk chocolate bar and a dark chocolate bar. Dark chocolate tends to be healthier since it contains less sugar and more cacao. I personally prefer dark chocolate to milk, which makes this an easy switch, but if you’re someone who really loves milk chocolate, you can always reduce the serving size of the chocolate you’re eating. Candy is not a nutritional necessity, but a source of pleasure, and we shouldn’t forget that.
Ingredients only tell part of any story, but they’re a very good place to start. Of course, brands don’t reveal their recipes so that’s where turning to Nutrition Facts can help. In this case, 1.1 oz of the Hershey’s bar has 17 g of sugar while 1.1 oz of HU has 9 g of sugar, nearly half the amount.
If you, like me, had never heard of PGPR, it’s an emulsifier call Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate, derived from castor bean oil, soybean oil, or sunflower oil. And, you guessed it, PGPR is an Ultra Processed Food ingredient. By now, you should now how I feel about UPFs. Eat them sparingly, my friend! :)
Learn more about the author here. Thanks for letting me riff about the food topics that keep me up at night!
Good stuff!