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
Image via Wikipedia
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)
Day 75 – Things you Should Know About Some Common Ingredients On Nutrition Labels
Posted: August 10, 2010 Filed under: Nutrition | Tags: Business, Fat, food, Food and Related Products, Hydrogenation, Snickers, Sugar substitute, Trans fat Leave a comment
I'll pass on the Snickers Bar, with it's partially hydrogenated rancid butter smelling grossness. Image via Wikipedia
When you read a nutrition label, there’s usually a long list of ingredients which consists mostly of things we are all clueless about. I’ve decided to start posting up a little information on the more common ones I’ve seen.
Here’s my general rule when shopping for good, natural foods: The smaller the ingredient list, the better. Having said that, sometimes you just can’t seem to avoid it. A lot of those mystery ingredients are preservatives that make the food last longer and, inevitably, help make them more affordable. Some ingredients are just cheap ways to add flavor, which translates to lower prices on the shelf.
Here’s my research on a couple of mind bogglers:
Maltodextrin – this is an additive used mainly as a sweetener in processed foods. It’s basically a white powder made from corn or soy. Because it’s derived from natural, whole foods, it may be easier to digest than other artificial sweeteners. On the other hand, it’s still an artificial sweetener with a fishy reputation. I’ve read that, depending on where the maltodextrin was manufactured, it could have been made with certain bacterias that do something to the organic development of the process. Now I haven’t looked into that too much, so it may be a load of garbage. Maybe I’m paranoid. Nonetheless, here’s my verdict: I would avoid it if possible, but don’t freak out of you end up with some in a food product or two.
Partially Hydrogenated Oils: If you see an ingredient on your nutrition label that says “partially hydrogenated”, you should put it down and run away. Hydrogenation is a process where they heat an oil to a high temperature and pass hydrogen bubbles through it. The oil will take on some of the hydrogen, which makes it more dense. When it’s “partially hydrogenated”, that means that the manufacturer brought the oil, using the process of hydrogenation, to a butter-like consistency. This creates a cheap butter alternative for manufacturers.
Hydrogenated, or partially hydrogenated oils have what’s called “trans fat”. “Trans” is short for “transmogrified”. Basically, it means that the fatty acids in the fat have been all whacked up on the molecular level. So, what you get is a completely unnatural, man-made type of fat. “Trans fat”, being that it is unnatural, is not meant to be consumed by human beings. The body does not deal with it well, so it actually can interfere with critical metabolic processes, kind of like rat poison, or nicotine. Catch my drift?
Here’s the best part: Hydrogenated oils smell so bad they have to steam it a certain way to get the raunchy stink out. I’ve heard it smells like the most rancid butter you could ever have. Delicious.
Well that’s all for today. I’ll post more as I do more research.
Choose. Read. Pray. Work. Eat. Sleep. Live. 