Health Fitness

Best Protein Bar Ingredients

What are the best ingredients in protein bars when looking to substitute for a fast food that is really poor nutrition? Most people recognize that a protein bar is healthier, but not all are. Here are the things to look for to differentiate between the good and the bad.

The nutrition label will tell you all the details you need to know to make the right decision. Surprisingly, not many protein bars are actually healthy.

1 – Amount of protein

Simply put, the best protein bars have at least 20 grams of protein. As the name suggests, a protein bar should have a lot of protein. Calling a glorified cookie a protein bar because it has a little soy protein is unreasonable.

Research shows that 20 grams of protein is the optimal amount for muscle synthesis. Less and your muscles won’t grow as well. Less is not helpful as your muscles cannot use it effectively.

In another study, a comparison was made of how hungry people felt after eating a yogurt snack with different levels of protein. Those who ate yogurt with lower amounts of protein (0 grams or 5 grams) became hungry much faster than those who ate higher levels of protein (14 grams or 24 grams). The higher dose of protein helped test subjects feel fuller and they were able to last longer before having to eat dinner.

It’s no wonder not many protein bars have that much protein, mainly due to the higher costs involved.

2 – Choose whey protein

The history behind the development of protein supplements shows us that whey protein is by far the best option and now comes in three forms. They use basic whey protein and casein (both found in milk) in the best protein bars. Lower quality bars will use plant-based soy protein as a filler to boost protein levels, but it’s not as good. They use it because it is a cheaper source. The more quality protein you find, the more seriously the manufacturer will take their product.

3 – More grams of protein than carbohydrates

Protein bars are classified as a food, so they should have more than just protein. To be the best protein bar, you need to have more protein than any other ingredient.

The second most common ingredient is carbohydrates that are necessary to replace glycogen in your body as an energy source. A common one is sugar alcohols that can cause gastrointestinal problems in some people. Most poor bars contain large amounts of sugar and artificial sweeteners that are bad carbohydrates and make them more like candy bars.

A really good added ingredient in the best protein bars is fiber, especially if it’s a prebiotic super fiber (inulin).

4 – Fat is not all bad

Fats have the highest calories per gram of any substance you can eat. As a meal replacement, you will want to look for a protein bar with more than 10 grams. Most of the bars are the same amount and write them down, so there isn’t much variation here. Manufacturers just haven’t started maximizing fat content yet. But don’t worry, with all the research on the benefits of fats, it doesn’t take long before they do.

5 – Less is better

A pretty straightforward rule of thumb is to look at the names of the added ingredients, and if you can’t pronounce them let alone identify them, it’s probably not good for you. What are some examples? I found all of these:

Cocoa butter, corn syrup, gelatin, glycerin, maltitol, palm kernel oil, partially defatted peanut flour, potassium sorbate, protein mix (whey protein isolate, soy protein isolate, milk protein isolate, milk protein concentrate, calcium caseinate) – yes, this is a good mix, rapeseed and cottonseed oil, salt, soy lecithin, sucralose

The best protein bar is the one that will give you what you need and nothing you don’t need. Check the Nutrition Facts label to make the right decision, or you can make your own too!

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