Day 277 – Pay Attention to Protein Bars
Posted: March 4, 2011 Filed under: Food, Nutrition | Tags: Business, Food and Related Products, health, Meat, nutrition, Protein, Snickers, Sugar Leave a comment »
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I have to say, protein bars can be amazing. If you’re in a hurry, and need something nutritious, they can be really handy…just be sure to pay close attention to the labels, because most of the protein bars I’ve seen on shelves are full of grossly unhealthy things.
Here’s a few guidelines I use when choosing a good protein bar:
1. If it has more sugar than protein, it’s a sugar bar, not a protein bar.
2. If it’s covered in chocolate, tastes sweet and delicious, and boasts having 0 sugar, check the ingredients for carcinogenic sweeteners such as sucralose.
3. Watch out for TBHQ in the ingredients. http://www.feingold.org/Research/bht.html
4. If it’s more than 400 calories in one bar, than it most likely either has more whey protein than is healthy to consume all at once, or it has too many simple carbohydrates from processed sugars. http://diet.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Side_Effects_of_Too_Much_Protein_in_the_Diet
5. Don’t eat it if it has more than 10 grams of sugar (especially if it isn’t sugar from a natural, unrefined food).
Once again these are just guidelines I go by. I want a protein bar to nourish my muscles and my appetite without spiking my blood sugar or giving me a temporary energy fix with sugars. If you aren’t careful, your protein bar could be just as bad for you as a Snicker’s Bar.
In general, I don’t take protein supplements of any kind, whether it’s a shake or a bar, unless I’m missing my protein from my regular diet that day. Now that Michelle and I have raised the bar on the meats we buy, we aren’t eating as much meat. So, when we’re going through long periods without meat I’ll use whey protein a lot more.
Anyway, I just felt like sharing this after seeing a new protein bar on the shelf today, which looked healthy at a glance, but upon closer examination turned out to be horrifying: TBHQ, more sugar than protein - all the above listed red flags were present in this particular bar. It just goes to show that you have to be careful even when buying “health foods”. Companies will slip grotesque ingredients into them and market them to people seeking to change their lifestyles. Be a prude about food!
Related Articles
- Protein: What You Need To Know (thefitnesspump.com)
- Sugar Free, Low Carb And High Protein. (veggiefitness.wordpress.com)
- Home made protein bars (kellypriebe.wordpress.com)
