What are protein bars for: benefits and benefits

The fashion for a healthy lifestyle has contributed to the appearance on the market of many products claiming to be healthy. These include diet muesli bars. According to the manufacturers, they are made entirely from natural, healthy ingredients, have low calorie content and help you lose weight.

But before you buy fitness bars, you need to find out what beneficial and harmful properties they have, and whether they are really suitable for your diet. Athletes can take note of several recipes for products that can be prepared at home.

The benefits and harms of fitness bars for weight loss

There is a large assortment of sweets marked “Fitness”, “Health” or “Diet”. According to the manufacturers, they are rich in whole grains, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, berries, protein and other components. These sweets have the following beneficial properties:

1. Contains grains: barley, oatmeal, wheat, rice, etc. These components are rich in fiber, which cleanses the digestive tract of toxins and waste, and makes the intestines work more actively. They are suitable for snacking because the rough dietary fiber swells inside the stomach, causing a feeling of fullness without spikes in blood sugar.
2. They have high nutritional value, a breakfast bar will quickly and permanently relieve hunger, energize, and stimulate brain function. There is no need to waste time preparing food.
3. They have a natural, balanced composition. Healthy sweets are rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, which are necessary for normal life. Saturate the body with B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, fatty acids, etc.
4. The grains in the composition normalize metabolism (including carbohydrates). Coarse dietary fiber helps break down fats and reduce cholesterol levels in blood vessels.

Diet bars allow you to restore strength after an active workout or hard physical work. They are suitable for a snack, and can also replace a full meal. In addition, fitness bars are tasty, healthy and convenient.

Including them in your diet is an effective way to avoid dieting breakdowns. Healthy sweets are an excellent substitute for unhealthy confectionery products that spoil your figure and contribute to an increase in body fat.

Fitness bars have the following disadvantages:

• high calorie content - about 550 kcal/100 g. This is due to an excess of sugar, other sweeteners, fatty components and flour in the composition;

Attention! Nutritionists say that it is enough to eat 30 g of a muesli bar per day to replenish energy reserves, satisfy hunger and saturate cells with useful substances. You should drink it with unsweetened tea or water.

• large amounts of sugar or sweeteners (sucrose, fructose). Simple carbohydrates lead to increased glucose levels, metabolic disorders, and digestive problems. Such desserts are contraindicated for diabetics;
• palm oil is practically not processed by the body, settles on the walls of blood vessels, in the liver, slows down metabolic processes, contributes to an increase in body fat and the development of diseases of the cardiovascular system;
• A large amount of fat is found in nuts, seeds, vegetable oil or butter. These components increase the calorie content of the product and additionally load the liver;
• Most bars are rich in flavors, flavor enhancers, dyes, and preservatives. These chemical additives disrupt the functioning of the liver and kidneys and can cause allergies.

Also, the bars may contain low-quality condensed milk, molasses (maltodextrin), and wheat flour. These components increase calorie content, disrupt digestion, promote weight gain, and can cause allergies.

Be sure to check out:

When is the best time to eat protein bars: before or after a workout?

The healthy confectionery product is consumed in the same way as protein shakes:

• barely waking up;
• immediately after training;
• during the day, replacing one of the meals.

On average, such meals are provided 2-3 times a day. If there are no sports activities, then you only need to eat 2 chocolates a day. To avoid harm and unnecessary weight gain, you should avoid using this product in the evening.

Attention! The protein confectionery product exhibits its beneficial properties most after training.

Are they really dietary and low calorie?

Sports bars differ depending on the composition:

1. Cereals – made from pressed cereals with honey, nuts and seeds, etc. Ideally, they contain a lot of complex carbohydrates and a minimum of fat. They speed up metabolic processes, quickly fill you up, and satisfy your hunger after a fat-burning workout.
2. Protein - contain 40% protein. Used for muscle growth throughout the day or after training (including on a low-carb diet).
3. Protein bars with carbohydrates (1:3 or 1:4) contain from 400 kcal in 1 snack. Especially useful after intense exercise and hard physical work.
4. With L-carnitine – contains the fat burner of the same name, which creates conditions for weight loss. The low-calorie bar can be eaten before and after exercise.
5. Oatmeal – this option is suitable for weight loss, as it contains a minimum of carbohydrates and healthy ingredients. The product is suitable for use before/after training, morning or evening.

To understand whether you bought low-calorie bars or not, you need to study the composition. If sugar, fats, and chemical additives are in the first positions, then they are completely unsuitable for weight loss.

A chocolate bar that contains a lot of protein, complex carbohydrates, a minimum of fat and simple carbohydrates is considered dietary. Allowable calorie content – ​​up to 200 kcal/100 g.

If the composition of the bar meets dietary standards, then you can include it in the menu. The main thing is to use it in moderation. It is correct to replace unhealthy sweets with them during tea drinking, use them as a snack or replace a meal. If a person eats more than 2 of them daily, then weight will increase due to excess calories and carbohydrate levels in the body. For example, athletes during mass-building training can consume protein bars, reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the diet.

Important! None of the groups of bars directly affects weight loss. Weight will decrease when the body expends more energy than it receives from food.

Preservatives: used, but not always

To confirm or refute the myth that candy bars are unnatural products in which the level of preservatives is off the charts, we determined the level of three acids used in food products as preservatives.
Products of all trademarks were tested for compliance with TR CU 029/2012 “Safety requirements for food additives, flavorings and technological aids”, for which the content of benzoic, sorbic and sulfurous acids in them was determined. For information

Benzoic acid and its salts are used in food preservation (food additives E210, E211, E212, E213). By blocking enzymes, it slows down the metabolism in many single-celled microorganisms and fungi, inhibits the growth of mold, yeast and some bacteria. It is added to food products in pure form or in the form of sodium, potassium or calcium salts.

Benzoic acid (E210) was found only in products 4, RAW Life, Champ, Ironman (32 Protein Bar). But even in the case of the “My Like” bar with the highest content of benzoic acid (539.6 mg), this cannot be called a violation: the norms of TR CU 029/2012 allow less than 1500 mg of the substance.

However, the natural content of benzoic acid in raw milk can reach 6.0–10.0 mg/kg, in sour cream – 11–18 mg/kg, fermented milk – 12.5–20.0 mg/kg, and with more With a high concentration of raw milk, the content can reach higher quantities. Considering that concentrated whey can be used as protein in bars, the presence of acid in small quantities can be explained by its natural origin.

Sorbic acid was immediately found in 8 TM bars, but again without exceeding the standards of TR CU 029/2012 - no more than 1500 mg. Sulfurous acid was found in 11 TM bars. And again, none of the manufacturers exceeded the standard of 2000 mg/kg of the substance.

As you can see, the myth that the bars consist of solid preservatives is not confirmed. Manufacturers, if they use them, do so without exceeding regulatory standards.

Read more about preservatives HERE

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Which protein bars are better: factory-made or homemade?

High-quality fitness bars have a balanced composition, they charge you with energy, speed up your metabolism, and relieve hunger for a long time. If you choose the right store product, it will only bring benefits. To have a snack and replenish your energy, all you need to do is buy a healthy chocolate bar and eat it with pleasure, rather than wasting time on cooking.

However, it often happens that factory products contain excess sugar, fats, simple carbohydrates, and chemical additives. This invariably leads to disruption of metabolic processes, digestive disorders, increased body fat, and allergies.

If desired, the diet bar can be made at home. Then the composition will depend entirely on you. Sugar can be replaced with honey or natural sweeteners such as stevia. There will be no dyes, preservatives, flavors, flavor enhancers, or palm oil in the recipe. The composition can be replenished with useful substances, and the amount of fat can be reduced.

As you can see, it is safer to make your own protein bars. However, in a store-bought product, the proportions of dietary supplements, vitamins and minerals are correct. But if desired, their quantity can be calculated together with a nutritionist.

How to choose a protein bar

All protein bars differ in composition and are designed for specific situations. The principle of operation of this product is based on the action of its constituent carbohydrates. The bars can also be divided according to the speed of absorption and breakdown of fats.

To feel the full force of the impact, one cannot exclude good nutrition, a healthy lifestyle and mandatory exercise. A sedentary, passive lifestyle will turn consumed protein into fat.

The best representatives of such dietary products are brands that are in high demand and included in a kind of rating.

Experts' opinions

Nutrition experts say that not all diet bars are healthy and can be included in the diet when losing weight. To choose a good product, you need to study the composition, pay attention to the proportions of BZHU, calorie content. If sugar or sugar-based syrups, fats (palm oil, butter), chemical additives, and milk chocolate are in the first positions, then you should avoid such food.

A healthy dietary bar should contain whole grains, dried fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, and high-quality protein. Such products nourish, charge, serve as material for the construction of new cells, improve metabolic processes, digestion, cleanse, and promote weight loss.

You can make delicious and healthy candies yourself. A nutritionist will help you calculate the proportions of BJU and calorie content in order to get the ideal product for a particular person.

Margarita Koroleva, nutritionist

A well-known nutritionist advises to always read the ingredients when choosing diet bars. According to M. Koroleva, you need to buy products with whole grain flakes, freeze-dried pieces of fruit, flax seeds, and chia. The amount of almonds, dried apricots, walnuts, prunes, and dates should be small. The fact is that nuts and dried fruits are quite high in calories.

The list of not the most healthy ingredients looks like this: sugar, fructose, palm oil, lecithin, emulsifier E476, molasses, etc.

Elena Kalen, nutritionist

An expert in the psychology of weight loss and a certified coach says that store-bought bars contain many harmful additives that cause more harm. They always contain simple carbohydrates, which cause spikes in blood glucose levels, causing an immediate rise in energy, and then a sharp decline.

The nutritionist advises avoiding store-bought bars with flavorings, sweeteners, large amounts of chocolate coating, hydrolyzed gelatin, corn syrup, and palm oil.

E. Kalen argues that a high-quality diet bar cannot be cheap. She also advised preparing healthy sweets at home using a nutritionist’s recipe.

Liz Applegate, sports nutritionist

A California expert speaks out against store-bought granola bars for weight loss. She claims that they contain an excess of sugar, fats, and simple carbohydrates. In terms of the amount of these ingredients, the bars are comparable to candy, so when losing weight it is better to give them up or consume them in minimal quantities. In addition, the level of simple carbohydrates indicated on the wrapper is often exceeded.

Recommendations from nutritionists

It is difficult to imagine a dessert that contains a minimum of calories and provides true pleasure when consumed. These are the qualities that protein bars used to lose weight or gain muscle mass have.

They are easy to prepare yourself, eliminating the entry of harmful substances into the body, which many manufacturers often add in the form of flavorings and preservatives.

This will provide a healthy diet, and sometimes is suitable as a food replacement if it is not possible to take a full meal.

Cereals (oats, rice, barley, wheat) are used as fiber. Natural protein sources include skim milk or yogurt, soy and green peas. In addition to the fact that such a product promotes weight loss and muscle growth, it ideally cleanses the intestines. Advice from nutritionists for those who decide to introduce a protein bar into their diet:

• the fiber content is the same as in a serving of oatmeal;
• protein, as in an omelet made from two eggs;
• the amount of fat is equal to one teaspoon;
• There are as many carbohydrates as one orange contains.

The product is tasty and safe for both professional athletes and their family members.

Main conclusions

As you can see, not all diet bars are suitable for weight loss. When choosing and consuming healthy treats, you need to follow these recommendations:

1. Study the ingredients before purchasing a store-bought diet bar. Avoid products with a lot of sugar, fats, and chemical additives.
2. Choose a diet bar with whole grains, honey, dried fruits, quality protein, a small amount of nuts and seeds.
3. Give preference to a product that contains more proteins, complex carbohydrates, low fat and simple carbohydrates.
4. Use diet bars instead of a snack or replace them with a full meal.
5. Consume no more than 30-50 g of product per day.
6. If you have free time, prepare your own nutrition bars. A personal nutritionist will tell you the proportions of BJU and calorie content separately for each client.

If you follow these recommendations, diet bars will help you steadily and safely lose weight and saturate your body with useful substances.

If you have your own proven recipes for healthy sweets that have helped you get rid of extra pounds, then share them in the comments.

Rating of the best manufacturers of protein bars

The popularity of a product always provokes the appearance of fakes and fakes on the market. Many claim to be the best protein bars, but this could not be further from the truth. The rating of the best manufacturers will help simplify a complex task. When compiling it, the opinions of professionals, nutritionists, and athletes were taken into account.

When compiling the top protein bars, the percentage of protein content was taken into account. The best analogues included bars with a protein content above 20%. A short review will help you make the right choice.

• Protein Bar from Weider, contains 52% protein, weighs 50g;
• Protein Pack Bar (Multipower) – weight 100 g, protein 50%;
• Protein Big Block (Power System) – 100 g, protein 50%;
• Full Protein Bar (QNT) – 50 g, 50%;
• Maximum protein (Weider) – 100 g, 42%.

These are not all reliable representatives. If you have difficulty choosing, you can prepare the bar yourself.

Are protein bars good for pregnant women and children?

Doctors agreed in one opinion: pregnant women and children under 18 years of age are not recommended to consume such sports nutrition; the treat can only cause harm.

However, there are a few exceptions to the general rule.

1. Pregnant women can lose a significant amount of protein, especially in the first trimester, so they can consume no more than 1 high-protein bar per day after mandatory consultation with a specialist.
2. Children who are actively involved in sports and often participate in various competitions, where the athlete’s weight and muscle mass are important, can also consume this confectionery product, but only after mandatory consultation with a pediatrician or specialist.
3. After taking chocolate for the first time, you should definitely pay attention to possible health changes and allergic reactions.
4. There is no more than 1 piece per day.