What's in YOUR Protein Bar?
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What’s in YOUR protein bar? In the world of “health” bars there are so many to choose from that it’s easy to get confused. There are bars to replace energy, some to lose weight, some build and repair muscle and if you are just blindly eating whatever is FDA approved you could be eating some pretty strange things that you would not expect in your protein and sports performance bars. Whey protein is a main ingredient in a lot of these bars and whey itself is a good protein source but very dry. To make these bars edible or to add moisture, animal by products are added in the form of “Hydrolyzed gelatin” or as it used to be labled till about 2004 “hydrolyzed bovine protein” or “hydrolyzed collagen”, which is a nicer way to say horse hooves. It can also mean pork skin, cattle bones, and hide. These inedable ligaments and connective tissue and bones are then run through a series of caustic vats to separate out the collagen. This is what you are putting into your body when you eat a bar or shake that has hydrolized gelatin in it. Its not what you normally have in mind when you think of eating a health bar or something chocolate coated. Our bodies have to work overtime to try to digest these ingredients which takes away from keeping your immune system strong and repairing your muscles after a workout. Stick to more natural ingredients. Usually the less ingredients the better. Also be aware that many of the ingredients on the list are MSG in disguise. Names like malt extract, textured vegatable protein, autolyzed yeast extract, and sodium casinate are all converted to MSG in the body. These bars are prime example of overengeneering or overprocessing. I hear it all the time, “I eat healthy so I don’t understand why I can’t lose the weight.” What some people think is healthy is NOT always healthy! The food companies have learned that there is some money to be made in the health food industry and is the reason why they make health claims to their products. There are many protein bars out there that are nothing more than a candy bar with a little protein and sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. Sometimes the protein they are adding is the equivalent to hotdog quality protein, which is usually an incomplete protein that isn’t bioavailable or absorbed readily by your body . Many protein bars and shakes claim to be healthy but are also full of other ingredients that are not healthy. For example they may be a good source of protein or fiber but also contain a whole list of other ingredients that your body can’t even process. You will see on many protein bar wrapers eat 2-3 per day. Of course they want you to eat that many. That’s just more money in their pocket. However I always advise people to stick to 1 per day. When we are traveling or have a really long day at work where I can’t eat whole foods than I sometimes make an exception to this rule. Don’t get stuck on eating multiple bars a day. Eat real and whole foods in their natural form and you cant go wrong, but if your in a pinch or on a long training session at least pick bars with good ingredients. Before I had breast cancer I chose my bars and shakes based on taste, cost and then I wanted high protein and low sugar. That’s all that really mattered. The rest of the ingredients I didn’t really care about. Post breast cancer I changed the way I looked at these products and all foods. I still want them to taste good. I still want the least amount of sugar and some protein. However now I look at all those other ingredients differently. I choose natural bars and smoothies. I make sure I can pronounce every ingredient on the list. If a bar is higher in sugar or fat but they are natural like in fruit or nuts then they are ok. As for the cost, you get what you pay for. When choosing a bar don’t only look at the calories, sugar, protien, etc. look at the ingredient list. It only takes a few seconds. If we knew we were eating horse hooves or some of these other ingredients than we would never put that in our body no matter how good we think it may taste. You can apply these principles to everything you eat or drink; protein shakes, bars, and electrolyte replacements. A few bars that I like because they taste great and are all natural: Lara bars- Few ingredients like cashews, dates, or other fruit, one of the best and great for after a workout. Lots of flavors. Raw Revolution-These are great for recovery or so you don’t bonk on that bike ride. Kind Bars- The coconut almond is really good. Bora Bora Bars- Another with only a few ingredients. Bumble Bar organic energy- Chocolate Crisp= Awesome! Fuco Protein- which is a high protein thermogenic bar that naturally burns more fat. Jay Robb’s Bars-all natural ingredients and yummy! Hammer Bars- All their products are great, bars, shakes, and electrolyte replacements. Cliff Bars- one of the originals, 70% organic. Now the bad Junk bars There are more bad ones than good but here are some of the worst offenders Detour bars- Candy bar in desquise. Corn syrup and 2 kinds of artificial sweetners! Pure Protein- Horse hooves- need I say more? Power bars- Basically just a candy bar and full of artificial ingredients. Snickers Marathon Bar- Too much soy processing here. Jessica Hambrick's article for Driven magazine. .