Not two months into my role at WIRED, I found myself vomiting in the office bathroom. The culprit? My misguided attempt to adhere to US Department of Health and Human Services guidelines, as advised by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which recommended a diet solely comprising high-protein foods.

The adventure began with a heaping scoop of Ghost’s Nutter Butter-flavored whey protein powder mixed into 5 or 6 ounces of water. The result was akin to choking down peanut butter sludge, and I quickly learned the hard way that even gym bros have limits.

Despite Kennedy’s push for prioritizing protein, the food industry has responded with an array of high-protein items in restaurants and stores, often as a compromise between ultra-processed foods and nutritional guidelines. In my quest to boost my protein intake, I tried Man Cereal—a maple bacon flavor that was both offensively artificial and nearly impossible to chew—among other options like Protein Boostin’ Pop-Tarts and French toast sticks.

My experiment highlighted the potential distortion of facts around Americans' access to protein. Nutritionist David Seres suggested that most people get enough protein if they don’t follow a restrictive diet, and pointed out that conditions such as poverty could contribute to inadequate protein intake. He also questioned Kennedy’s claims and the Trump administration's nutritional guidance.

While my experience was fraught with digestive discomfort, it raises broader questions about the trend towards high-protein diets and whether they are truly beneficial or just a marketing ploy for processed foods.