I don’t find out about you, however I positively didn’t have “protein Food regimen Coke” on my 2024 bingo card. Sure, actually: Folks in Utah have apparently made this a factor, and it’s been popping all through TikTok as an increasing number of people give it a shot, too. In actual fact, the video that reportedly impressed the fad has amassed a whopping 2.3 million views in three days.

To be clear, protein Food regimen Coke isn’t an precise, official product offered by the Coca-Cola Firm, however quite a mashup improvised by macro-focused soda followers. To make one, all you could do is pour a vanilla-flavored protein shake (Core Energy, per the video) right into a cup of fountain soda and slosh the contents round a bit. The supposed function? Making your favourite drink that rather more protein-dense.

I had two questions come to thoughts: One, does the mix truly style…good? And two, are there any dietary advantages (or drawbacks) related to mixing these two components? Primarily based on a fast skim of the feedback part, a number of people appeared equally involved concerning the potential GI affect. This remark alone has 16.6k likes: “My digestive system would by no means get well.”

Though my colleagues have been skeptical, I figured it was price a strive. I bought a Huge Gulp at a close-by 7-Eleven, and waited till I used to be again at my workplace so as to add the Core Energy (partly as a result of I figured it might be simpler to combine the combo at my desk, but additionally as a result of I didn’t need to face the judgment of the opposite 7-Eleven patrons). Full practically to the brim, my drink resembled a root beer float: a bubbly, pale brown liquid. And far to the shock of my colleagues (and myself), it—shocker—truly tasted like one, too: fizzy however creamy, with a definite trace of vanilla. Total, fairly good; I’d say my expectations have been exceeded.

With the style query out of the best way, it was time to test in with the consultants for the dietary rundown. Is that this development truly innocent? Or might the combination of carbonated soda and dairy truly damage your abdomen, particularly in the event you’re consuming up after a exercise, when many of us attain for protein shakes? (And even when it is innocent, what precisely…is the purpose?)

“I might see some professionals,” Jessica Isaacs, RD, CSSD, a sports activities dietitian, tells SELF. Whereas the soda itself doesn’t have any actual dietary advantages, the addition of the shake will clearly present protein (26 grams, to be precise), to not point out some carbs, electrolytes, and calcium—all of that are useful not solely after a exercise, but additionally simply usually. “You are taking one thing like a Food regimen Coke that does not actually have any vitamin, and also you’re growing the vitamin of it, basically,” Isaacs says.

For that purpose, there’s no benefit to consuming a protein Food regimen Coke over the Core Energy shake by itself, in keeping with Isaacs. That stated, the mix might be a strong choice for individuals who don’t just like the style of protein shakes on their very own, or who need to make their Food regimen Cokes a tad extra nutritious. In case you battle to absorb sufficient protein all through the day and this appeals to you, “I might see that being useful,” Isaacs says. Nonetheless, she notes that the mix of dairy, caffeine, and carbonation might trigger or exacerbate bloating and gasoline in those that have delicate stomachs. (Whereas Core Energy is made with milk, it’s additionally lactose-free resulting from its ultra-filtered manufacturing, so it shouldn’t trigger a difficulty for individuals who have bother with dairy. Nonetheless, different milk-based protein shakes won’t be as effectively tolerated.)

I don’t find out about you, however I positively didn’t have “protein Food regimen Coke” on my 2024 bingo card. Sure, actually: Folks in Utah have apparently made this a factor, and it’s been popping all through TikTok as an increasing number of people give it a shot, too. In actual fact, the video that reportedly impressed the fad has amassed a whopping 2.3 million views in three days.

To be clear, protein Food regimen Coke isn’t an precise, official product offered by the Coca-Cola Firm, however quite a mashup improvised by macro-focused soda followers. To make one, all you could do is pour a vanilla-flavored protein shake (Core Energy, per the video) right into a cup of fountain soda and slosh the contents round a bit. The supposed function? Making your favourite drink that rather more protein-dense.

I had two questions come to thoughts: One, does the mix truly style…good? And two, are there any dietary advantages (or drawbacks) related to mixing these two components? Primarily based on a fast skim of the feedback part, a number of people appeared equally involved concerning the potential GI affect. This remark alone has 16.6k likes: “My digestive system would by no means get well.”

Though my colleagues have been skeptical, I figured it was price a strive. I bought a Huge Gulp at a close-by 7-Eleven, and waited till I used to be again at my workplace so as to add the Core Energy (partly as a result of I figured it might be simpler to combine the combo at my desk, but additionally as a result of I didn’t need to face the judgment of the opposite 7-Eleven patrons). Full practically to the brim, my drink resembled a root beer float: a bubbly, pale brown liquid. And far to the shock of my colleagues (and myself), it—shocker—truly tasted like one, too: fizzy however creamy, with a definite trace of vanilla. Total, fairly good; I’d say my expectations have been exceeded.

With the style query out of the best way, it was time to test in with the consultants for the dietary rundown. Is that this development truly innocent? Or might the combination of carbonated soda and dairy truly damage your abdomen, particularly in the event you’re consuming up after a exercise, when many of us attain for protein shakes? (And even when it is innocent, what precisely…is the purpose?)

“I might see some professionals,” Jessica Isaacs, RD, CSSD, a sports activities dietitian, tells SELF. Whereas the soda itself doesn’t have any actual dietary advantages, the addition of the shake will clearly present protein (26 grams, to be precise), to not point out some carbs, electrolytes, and calcium—all of that are useful not solely after a exercise, but additionally simply usually. “You are taking one thing like a Food regimen Coke that does not actually have any vitamin, and also you’re growing the vitamin of it, basically,” Isaacs says.

For that purpose, there’s no benefit to consuming a protein Food regimen Coke over the Core Energy shake by itself, in keeping with Isaacs. That stated, the mix might be a strong choice for individuals who don’t just like the style of protein shakes on their very own, or who need to make their Food regimen Cokes a tad extra nutritious. In case you battle to absorb sufficient protein all through the day and this appeals to you, “I might see that being useful,” Isaacs says. Nonetheless, she notes that the mix of dairy, caffeine, and carbonation might trigger or exacerbate bloating and gasoline in those that have delicate stomachs. (Whereas Core Energy is made with milk, it’s additionally lactose-free resulting from its ultra-filtered manufacturing, so it shouldn’t trigger a difficulty for individuals who have bother with dairy. Nonetheless, different milk-based protein shakes won’t be as effectively tolerated.)