Protein Lemonade Is Popular on TikTok—But Is It Healthy

A new TikTok trend has arrived just in time for summer: frosted protein lemonade. Online creators are putting a new spin on their protein shakes, subbing fresh fruit and yogurt for lemonade and ice. The result is a frosty, sweet smoothie that many claim is a healthier way to enjoy a summer frozen treat.

Protein lemonade first went viral when TikTokers started making copycat versions of Chick-fil-A’s Frosted Lemonade. The goal was to find ways to make this refreshing summery beverage lower in calories and sugar, and higher in protein.

The ingredients in the original from Chick-fil-A include a combination of whole milkfat and nonfat dry milk, sugar, water, lemon juice, and a variety of preservatives and stabilizers. Nutritionally, it clocks in at 65 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of protein, and 6 grams of fat.

The resulting copycat TikTok recipes feature lemonade and ice blended together, plus protein powder, typically vanilla flavored. Some add vanilla extract, as well.

And though the protein lemonade trend has its fair share of naysayers, dietitians agree that the drink could be another way to enjoy a protein shake, so long as people are drinking it in moderation.

“It’s not much different than a standard protein shake that you’d mix up,” Jamie Nadeau, RD, founder of The Balanced Nutritionist, told Health. “But if you’re not a fan of protein powder, it can be a great protein shake alternative.”

Here’s what experts had to say about the health benefits of protein lemonade, and what to keep in mind before giving the trend a try.

Is Protein Lemonade Really Healthy?

Scouring TikTok and bloggers’ protein lemonade recipes, the reimagined versions have quite the surprising variety of ingredients. Recipes include everything from sugar-free lemonade to lemon juice, cottage cheese to almond milk, and vanilla protein powder to powdered vanilla pudding mix.

Though people online play around with the ingredients in their homemade protein lemonade, many opt for certain kinds of lemonade to make the beverage as healthy as possible.

“The lemonade most often used in this TikTok trend is Light or Zero Sugar lemonade that has no added sugar, but is instead sweetened with artificial sugars like aspartame,” Blair Persyn, RD, LDN, CNSC, founder of Bites With Blair, told Health.

When it comes to buying lemonade at the grocery store, looking for “freshly squeezed” on the label can signify the top-tier brands. If someone does prefer lemonade with traditional sugars such as can sugar or high fructose corn syrup, it’s important to keep an eye on how much sugar they’re consuming. In general, lemonade has about six teaspoons of sugar in a 12-ounce serving, and adults should have no more than 12 teaspoons of added sugar daily.

If someone prefers a low or no-sugar variety, be aware that it may contain artificial sweeteners that can bother your stomach. Some recipes also call for fresh squeezed lemon juice with honey, agave, or maple syrup to make the drink sweeter.

“Both sugar and artificial sugar have their drawbacks,” said Persyn. “But I believe most things are fine in moderation.”

On the protein side of things, the TikTok version of Frosted Lemonade has 15 to 30 grams of protein per serving—much more than the Chick-fil-A original.

Based on current evidence, bodies can absorb about 20 to 25 grams of protein at each meal and protein should be distributed across meals and snacks throughout the day. When using protein powder, aim to use no more than 20 to 40 grams per day.

“Protein powders can help people fill in the gaps to meet their protein needs,” Persyn said. “Older adults, vegans, and athletes all have higher protein needs, so this frozen protein lemonade can be a fun way to get in extra protein.”

As far as protein powders go, there are hundreds on the market. Choosing one really comes down to personal preference. Some protein powders are made from whey protein while others are made from vegan sources of protein, such as soy or pea.

Most recipes call for a vanilla protein powder to give the frosted drink a creamy flavor to complement the tanginess of the lemonade.

Keeping Safety and Overall Nutrition In Mind

Though this drink in moderation can be good additions to a person’s diet, there are some important tips to keep in mind before giving protein lemonade a try.

Consuming too much protein powder may displace protein from whole food sources, so it’s important to get protein in other ways beyond just powder. Other good sources of protein—such as chicken, beef, eggs, tofu, nuts, and beans—also provide vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that the body needs.

Also, “if the protein powder contains additional vitamins, minerals, or herbs, you definitely want to make sure you’re not over-supplementing,” Nadeau said.

Beyond daily quantity of protein powder, it’s also important to pay attention to the quality of the protein powder, as well as your goals for incorporating it into your diet. Selecting the right kind of protein powder also means choosing one that doesn’t trigger any intolerances or insensitivities.

Talking to a registered dietitian can help answer any protein powder questions.

Since protein powder is not regulated by the FDA in the same way that food and drugs drugs are, be sure to find one that is third-party tested to ensure your protein supplement label is accurate and meets safety standards. NSF International Certified for Sport does comprehensive third-party testing of nutritional supplements for sport.

But because because protein powders are not as heavily regulated and because they “can sometimes contain other ingredients like heavy metals and contaminants that are not listed on the label,” Persyn recommends kids avoid protein lemonade.

So protein shakes such as this one can certainly be part of a healthy diet, so long as a person is also eating enough other sources of whole food proteins, carbohydrates, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables, experts agreed.

Making protein lemonade could even be another opportunity for people to add other nutrients to their diets—protein lemonade variations with fresh or frozen fruit could be another healthy move, Nadeau added.

While protein lemonade may not be a necessary dietary addition if a person is already meeting their protein needs, these kinds of protein-rich drinks can certainly be a healthy part of someone’s diet—in moderation. Whether it be to add more protein to your diet or to find a healthier alternative to Frosted Lemonade or other treats, protein lemonade could be a good addition to your summer drink rotation.

Skin patch shows promise in toddlers with peanut allergies

 A “peanut patch” showed promising results in a late-phase clinical trial in toddlers with peanut allergies, according to a new study.

Researchers from the French biopharmaceutical firm DBV Technologies and institutions around the world conducted randomized double-blind trial of the Viaskin Peanut patch in children ages 1 through 3 years old who had been diagnosed with a peanut allergy, they reported Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The trial involved 362 toddlers from eight countries; 244 were randomly assigned to receive the Viaskin patch – which features 250 micrograms of peanut protein, the equivalent of about 1/1000th of one peanut – and 118 got a placebo patch. They wore the patches between their shoulder blades daily for a year before undergoing screening for peanut challenges.

After 12 months, two-thirds of the children who used the Viaskin patch and one-third of the placebo group had met the trial’s primary endpoint. Children with a less sensitive allergy could safely tolerate peanut protein equivalent to consuming three or four peanuts, and children who were more sensitive could tolerate the equivalent of consuming one peanut.The researchers also noted “a shift towards less severe food challenge reactions” in the Viaskin group, DBV said in a news release.

Nearly all of the young study participants had adverse events, with the most common being application-site reactions such as redness, itching and swelling. Serious events were reported in 21 children who used the Viaskin patch and three in the placebo group.

Over the course of the study, a dangerous allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis was reported in 7.8% of the Viaskin recipients and 3.4% of children who got the placebo. Only four of the reactions were deemed to be related to treatment. Eight participants dropped out of the trial because of adverse events.

The researchers note that their study has several limitations, including that children with a history of severe allergic reactions were excluded for safety reasons and that there was a lack of racial diversity among the participants.

An estimated 2.5% of US children may have peanut allergies, and only about 20% will eventually outgrow them. An oral treatment called Palforzia is approved for 4- to 17-year-olds with peanut allergies, but there are no available options for younger kids.“Parents and caregivers are eagerly awaiting FDA-approved treatment options for this age group,” DBV CEO Daniel Tassé said in the news release.

The study’s lead author, Dr. Matthew Greenhawt of Children’s Hospital Colorado, said in the news release that the findings are a “meaningful advancement.”

“I see peanut-allergic patients in my clinical practice daily. I speak with parents who are experiencing increased anxiety and a decreased quality of life due to fear of life-threatening reactions,” he said. “The Viaskin Peanut patch has the potential to give new hope to toddlers and their families who currently have no approved treatment options and must instead rely on avoidance, which can severely impact quality of life.”

In an editorial published alongside the study, Dr. Alkis Togias of the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases noted that “Peanut allergy can be very substantially reduced if peanut is introduced into the diet as early as 4 to 6 months of age.” Health care providers around the world now advise such introduction, but there are questions about dosage, age, frequency and duration, he said.“Toddlers are of particular interest since their immune systems have plasticity that can theoretically allow for higher efficacy and longer-lasting benefits from allergen immunotherapy after therapy is discontinued,” wrote Togias, who was not involved in the new research.

Compared with oral therapy, he said, skin patches may have less of a protective effect but a better safety profile.

Still, he said, the Viaskin trial findings “are very good news for toddlers and their families as the next step toward a future with more treatments for food allergies.”

Trump's comments about violence during Jan. 6 attack on Capitol

Trump's comments about violence during Jan. 6 attack on Capitol

Former President Donald Trump asserted Wednesday night that “a couple” of the January 6 rioters “probably got out of control,” comparing the insurrection to left-leaning protests that turned violent in other cities.

Facts First: This statement is false. Hundreds of rioters have been charged with violence toward police on January 6 and Trump downplaying of the violence and equivocating the insurrection with social justice protests fails to recognize the severity of the attack on the Capitol.

The January 6 riot of by Trump supporters who overran the Capitol has resulted in the largest law enforcement response in modern history – because of the sheer amount of violence on the ground, especially toward police, that day.

The number of rioters who’ve been charged with violence toward police is in the hundreds.

According to the Justice Department this week, 346 people face federal charges for assaulting, resisting or impeding officers or other employees. That includes more than 100 people charged with using a weapon or causing serious injury to an officer. About five dozen have pleaded guilty to felony charges for these types of crimes.

And the FBI is still seeking information to identify more than 220 others who may have committed violent crimes on the Capitol grounds.

Even Trump-appointed federal judges have countered claims that left-leaning rioters in Portland, for instance, acted similarly to the pro-Trump crowd on January 6.

Judge Trevor McFadden wrote when handling a January 6 rioter’s case in 2021: “Although both Portland and January 6 rioters attacked federal buildings, the Portland defendants primarily attacked at night, meaning that they raged against a largely vacant courthouse. In contrast, the January 6 rioters attacked the Capitol in broad daylight. And many entered it.”

And another federal judge in DC, Carl Nichols, wrote: “The Portland rioters’ conduct, while obviously serious, did not target a proceeding prescribed by the Constitution and established to ensure a peaceful transition of power. Nor did the Portland rioters, unlike those who assailed America’s Capitol in 2021, make it past the buildings’ outer defenses.”

For the next news

Trump's claims about E. Jean Carroll and the civil trial jury verdict

A day after a Manhattan federal jury found former President Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed the writer E. Jean Carroll, Trump claimed that the jury in the civil trial found he did not rape her and said he “didn’t do anything else either.”

“They said 'he didn’t rape her,' and I didn’t do anything else either,” Trump said.

Facts First: This statement requires more context. While the jury did not find that Carroll had proven rape, it did find that she proved Trump committed sexual abuse, sufficient to hold him liable for battery.

Carroll alleged Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s and then later defamed her when he denied her claim.

In the civil suit, the jury had to determine whether Carroll’s legal team proved that Trump committed battery against Carroll by a preponderance of the evidence.

While it did not determine that Carroll’s team had proven rape – the state’s law says that a person is liable for rape when a person forces sexual intercourse with another person without their consent – it did find that they proved Trump committed sexual abuse.

The jury had been instructed that a person is liable for sexual abuse when they subject another person without consent to sexual contact, which under New York law means “any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person for the purpose of gratifying the sexual desire of either party.”

For the next news

Some New Hampshire voters say Trump focused too much on 2020 election and should instead look forward

Undeclared and Republican voters from New Hampshire, who were in the audience for the CNN town hall with Donald Trump, said that the former president should have focused more on the future instead of the 2020 election.

CNN asked voters about their thoughts on Trump's overall performance as well. Out of eight audience members participating in the post-town hall discussion, only one said that they would vote for Trump in 2024. The rest said they remain undecided.

 

 

SpaceX and startup Vast hope to put the world’s first private space station in orbit

 a California-based startup and one of the newest entrants in the world of privatized spaceflight — plans to use a SpaceX rocket to launch what it hopes to be the world’s first commercial space station and ferry passengers to and from the orbiting outpost.

It’s not clear how much the agreement, announced by Vast on Wednesday, will cost. Company leadership declined to comment on the matter to CNN. Nor is it clear how much a trip to the proposed space station would cost visitors, which could include professional astronauts or tourists.

Jed McCaleb, the founder and CEO of Vast who previously made a fortune in the cryptocurrency business, said in a statement that the company is “thrilled to embark on this journey of launching the world’s first commercial space station, Haven-1, and its first crew, Vast-1.”

McCaleb said he is investing $300 million of his own money into the effort, and he does not plan to seek outside investment for Vast until the company has its proposed space station built and can generate revenue. He added that he acknowledges the overall project will likely cost him more than $300 million.

It is not certain that Vast will indeed become the first company to put a private space station in orbit. Vast says it’s aiming for a launch date as early as August 2025. Developing a space station, however, is an exceedingly complex endeavor, requiring extensive testing and key technology such as life support systems.

McCaleb said Vast will have an advantage because it can leverage the life support systems already developed for SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which the company plans to use to carry passengers to its space station.

Vast will equip its Haven-1 space station with the necessary consumables — such as oxygen and other life-sustaining materials — but the company won’t have to develop a life support system from scratch, McCaleb told CNN.

Other companies — including several with backing from NASA — are also working to develop private space stations. NASA, along with its global partners, is seeking to use a privately developed space station to replace the aging International Space Station, which has been continuously inhabited in low-Earth orbit since 2000.

The Biden-Harris administration and officials in Canada, Japan and participating countries of the European Space Agency authorized the ISS to stay in operation through 2030. But the other key partner on the International Space Station, Russia, has said it will only guarantee participation through 2028.

It’s not clear how much of the $300 million McCaleb has allocated to the Haven-1 project will go to SpaceX for launch services. Vast did not share financial details about its agreement with the company.

“The Dragon team and the team and leadership (at SpaceX) really want to build a Falcon 9-based space station,” said Max Haot, Vast’s president. Haot led the aerospace company Launcher before it was acquired by Vast in February. “So we’re very, very aligned.”

Vast’s simple, single-structure Haven-1 space station will be able to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the workhorse vehicle that SpaceX has been launching for more than a decade.

After the spacecraft is sent into orbit, SpaceX would provide training to four members of the as-yet-unnamed crew for a mission dubbed Vast-1.

“Vast is selling up to four crewed seats on the inaugural mission to Haven-1,” the company said in a news release. “Expected customers include domestic and international space agencies and private individuals involved in science and philanthropic projects.”

Initially, the company plans for Haven-1 to operate independently, free-floating in Earth’s orbit. Later, the company plans to attach the spacecraft as a module to a larger space station.

Vast said its ultimate goal is to create a massive orbiting space station with artificial gravity that could be launched atop a SpaceX Starship vehicle, a rocket still in the development stages that exploded midair during its inaugural test flight in April.

 

8 Ways To Keep Your Heart Healthy

 The health of your heart is largely dependent on lifestyle changes—here's what you can do.

As of 2022, heart disease remained the leading cause of death for people in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While some factors like genetics may make you more prone to heart disease, the best way to avoid cardiac (or heart) issues is to take good care of your heart health. Many risk factors can be modified or controlled, according to the American Heart Association (AHA).

"Lifestyle is huge with your heart health," Holly S. Andersen, MD, an attending cardiologist and associate professor of clinical medicine at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center, told Health. "It's more important than genetics." Dr. Andersen's statement hits the nail on the head: The AHA estimates that 80% of cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and stroke, can be prevented.

Jennifer Haythe, MD, associate professor of medicine in cardiology at the Center for Advanced Cardiac Care, associate director of the adult pulmonary hypertension program, and director of the cardio-obstetrics program at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, agreed. "A lot of heart disease is preventable," Dr. Haythe told Health. "If people take care of their heart in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, they won't need to see a cardiologist for most of their life."

So what exactly can you do to get a clean bill of cardiac health? Here are some tips on modifying your routine to keep your heart healthy as you age.

Exercise Most Days of the Week

The AHA recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate to intense exercise weekly. Can't swing that? You can work out harder for a shorter period of time: The AHA also says that 75 minutes a week of "vigorous aerobic activity" or a combination of moderate and intense exercise works, too.

Keep in mind, the AHA recommends spreading your exercise throughout the week vs. trying to jam it all into one or two days. "Physical activity is the fountain of youth," said Dr. Andersen. "It makes your cardiovascular system more efficient." If squeezing in an actual workout every day is challenging, Dr. Andersen recommended aiming to do something "to get your heart rate up" every day. (Walking counts, by the way.)

Keep Your Blood Pressure in a Good Range

Annual physicals are there for a reason. Your healthcare provider can check you for heart disease symptoms and stay on top of your blood pressure, said Dr. Haythe. Knowing your blood pressure is incredibly crucial. There are no specific symptoms of high blood pressure (medically known as hypertension), but having uncontrolled blood pressure can lead to heart disease, the CDC says. If you and your healthcare provider are on top of your blood pressure, you can take steps to fix it if it starts to creep up.

If you are diagnosed with high blood pressure, it's important to follow your healthcare provider's recommendations. Your healthcare provider may advise you to make some changes to your lifestyle or put you on medication. If you are prescribed medication, make sure to take it consistently. And you may also want to empower yourself by getting an at-home blood pressure cuff so you can monitor your blood pressure regularly.

Look Into Your Diet

Diet is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle. While the Mediterranean diet gets a lot of airplay for its emphasis on healthy fats and fresh ingredients, the AHA and MedlinePlus also name-check the DASH diet as good for heart health.

If you're unfamiliar with it, the DASH diet is an eating plan based on research from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). DASH stands for dietary approaches to stop hypertension. MedlinePlus cites research showing that a DASH diet lowers high blood pressure and improves cholesterol, reducing your risk of heart disease. The DASH diet generally follows many of the same guidelines as the Mediterranean diet but allows for more dairy products and meat.

However, there is a good reason the Mediterranean diet gets so much attention. It has the most evidence supporting this eating style for reducing the risk of cardiovascular events. For example, a study of 7447 participants published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 2018 found that people at high risk of cardiovascular disease who followed a Mediterranean diet were less likely to have a major cardiovascular event than those who ate a reduced-fat diet.

The Mediterranean diet encourages you to consume and limit the following foods, according to the AHA:

• Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and pulses or legumes.
• Include lots of healthy fats in your diet. Pour on the extra virgin olive oil! Avocados, seeds, and nuts are also good sources of healthy fats.
• Enjoy these foods in moderation: low-fat or fat-free dairy products, eggs, and poultry.
• Have low to moderate amounts of fish. Fish are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have anti-inflammatory properties. Plus, with the large variety of seafood, you'll have many options for mealtime. Also, look into sustainably caught or farmed fish.
• Wine is OK in low to moderate amounts, preferably with meals.
• Limit sugar-sweetened beverages and sweets. For example, reach for fruit instead of sugary desserts.
• Cut back on red meat. Go for fish or poultry instead.
• Try to cut out processed foods. Minimally processed, plant-based foods are better choices than highly processed foods like chips and processed meats.

Assess Your Weight

Maintaining a healthy weight for your heart is like finding the Goldilocks zone. Being underweight may put you at risk of developing cardiovascular disease, according to a 2017 study published in Medicine (Baltimore). This study defined underweight as a body mass index (BMI) below 18.5 kg/m2.

While the study uses Body Mass Index (BMI) to measure the degree of obesity, BMI is a dated, flawed measure. It does not consider factors such as body composition, ethnicity, sex, race, and age. Even though it is a biased measure, BMI is still widely used in the medical community because it's an inexpensive and quick way to analyze a person's potential health status and outcomes.

Being overweight or obese can increase your heart disease risk as well. In a 2021 Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association published in the journal Circulation, the authors wrote that obesity contributes directly to cardiovascular risk factors, including dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and sleep disorders. Obesity also leads to the development of cardiovascular disease and death from cardiovascular disease independently of other cardiovascular risk factors.

However, the authors wrote obesity is a heterogeneous condition. Overall, body fat mass does not alone make a person more susceptible to obesity-related cardiovascular complications. Individual differences in regional body fat distribution also affect heart health.

People with obesity may see several heart health benefits from reducing overall body fat mass. Exercise and dietary changes (as mentioned above) are some ways to help do so. Remember that it is always good to check in with your healthcare provider about the right options for you.

 How Health at Every Size Is Trying To Change the Way We Think About Weight and Wellness

Do Your Best To Minimize Stress

Seriously. Stress can be tough on your heart, but it can also lead to being inactive and overeating, which can cause high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the AHA says. And that can up your risk of heart disease.

Still, it's tough to avoid stress. "We're all so stressed out right now," said Dr. Haythe. "It's hard." Annapoorna Kini, MD, interventional director of the structural heart program at Mount Sinai Hospital, recommended adding meditation and deep breathing exercises to your day—they only take a few minutes.

Don't Smoke

Most people are aware by now that smoking is linked to all kinds of serious health issues. Cigarette smoking raises your blood pressure and puts you at a higher risk of having a heart attack and stroke, Medline Plus points out. "Smoking is bad for the heart and lungs—it's bad in every way," said Dr. Kini. Avoiding smoking is so important that Dr. Haythe noted this is the "single most important thing you can do" to lower your risk of heart disease.

Consider Reserving Alcohol for Special Occasions

There are some confusing messages surrounding alcohol and heart health. A 2017 study published in the AHA journal Circulation suggested that having a glass of red wine a day can lower your risk of dying from heart disease, but there's nothing out there that proves drinking red wine will improve your heart health, according to the AHA. "There's a lot of hype about red wine being good for the heart, but, in general, alcohol is a toxin to the heart," said Dr. Haythe.

That's why Dr. Haythe recommended people try to drink only on special occasions. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that women have no more than one alcoholic drink a day and that men have no more than two drinks a day.

Aim for the Right Amount of Sleep

Everyone's needs are a little different, but the CDC recommends that most adults get between seven and nine hours of sleep a night. Consistently dip below that, and you could be hurting your heart. "Poor sleep has been linked to high blood pressure and can make it difficult to lose weight," said Dr. Andersen. It can also make you less likely to want to exercise, which is not great for your heart.

Sleep is also a good time for your heart to recharge, said Dr. Kini. "When you sleep, your heart rate goes down, your hormones settle down, and you're not under a lot of stress," added Dr. Kini. "It's good for your heart and your overall well-being."