The Best Protein Bars
A quick perusal of the protein bars at your local store reveals a lot of brands to choose from. Some are packed with nutrition and make a perfect snack to satisfy your hunger, while others are just glorified candy bars. Nutrition experts recommend looking carefully at the nutrition facts panel to guide your selection. The following tips will help you to distinguish the healthiest protein bar available.
Tip #1: Check For 250 Calories or Less
A protein bar should be a snack, and therefore not excessive in calories. For example, the Odwalla Super Protein Bar is satisfying without being overly caloric with just 230 calories. Protein bars registering over 250 calories may be due to their high content of oil or sugar.
Tip #2: Look For All Natural Ingredients
Azucena Gamarra, a registered dietitian in Bellevue, WA, recommends her clients look for all natural ingredients when choosing a protein bar. “My favorite brand is Kind Bar. They taste great and are made with unrefined ingredients like nuts, dried fruit, and honey”. She recommends avoiding high fructose corn syrup, palm kernel oil, and partially hydrogenated oils. Bonus for celiac patients: Kind Bars are gluten free!
Tip #3: Include Heart Healthy Fat Sources
When comparing the grams of saturated fat to the grams of total fat on the Nutrition Facts label, a good protein bar will have a low saturated fat ratio, ideally less than half to qualify as heart healthy. For example, Clif Bar Oatmeal Raisin Walnut contains 5 grams of total fat, but only 1 gram of saturated fat, because the walnuts are a source of heart healthy fats.
Tip #4: Energy From Protein, Not Just Sugar
Some protein bars are truly very low on the protein and mainly utilize sugar as a fuel source. In his book Eat This, Not That, author David Zinczenko gave the Kashi Go Lean Protein & Fiber Chocolate Peanut bar an A+ rating because the 12 grams of protein it provides is nearly equal to its 14 grams of sugar. A well-balanced bar will have its grams of protein equal to at least 50 percent of the sugar.
November 26, 2011 @ 9:58 am
I eat 6 meals a day of protein.
May 3, 2012 @ 11:53 pm
To much protein in urine in young people is caused by heavy exercise or cold. Short of having a disease, you shouldn’t worry to much. My primary physician put me on that because blood work indicated low calcium and a vitamin D deficiency.