The Truth About Protein
Bars: Performance Nutrition or Candy in Disguise?
Author: Tom Venuto
Date: Mar 01, 2000
Publisher: Fitness Renaissance
Meal replacement (MRP) bars,
protein bars and
energy bars range in quality and nutritional value
from fair to horrible. Some bars are a decent way to
get 30 grams of quality protein when you're in a
hurry, while others are nothing more than candy bars
in disguise. None of them are great because they are
all processed foods. As a general rule, you should
always choose whole natural foods over shakes and bars
when given a choice. The powdered (MRP) drink mixes
(such as Met-RX, Myoplex, or Rx-fuel) are better than
the bars because they are very low in fat and they are
sweetened with Aspartame (no calories) instead of
refined sugar (lots of empty calories). MRP powders
are also high in protein, with 37-50 grams per
serving. If a bar is all you can manage because you
are at work or on the run, then you should scrutinize
the labels carefully and make the best choice
possible.
There are a few things you should look out for in
an MRP bar. First and foremost, check the sugar
content. The problem with virtually all of the bars is
that they can't manufacture one that tastes good
without using a lot of refined sugars. Don't just look
at the "Nutrition Facts" panel; the sugar listing can
be deceiving. The grams of sugar doesn't distinguish
between sugars that are naturally occurring and those
that are refined. Looking at the ingredient list is
more informative. FDA labeling laws require that all
ingredients be listed in order of the quantity used.
If refined sugars are the first or second ingredient,
it is not a good choice. The refined sugars, Sucrose,
corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, brown rice syrup
and chocolate are frequently found high on the list. A
typical bar might list protein powder (such as whey
isolate) as the first ingredient and corn syrup as the
second ingredient. Don't be surprised if some
so-called "nutrition bars" list sugar or corn syrup as
the first ingredient. Many bars are nothing more than
ordinary candy bars with protein powder added in. You
might as well have a Snickers!
Another ingredient to be on the lookout for is
saturated fat. Many bars have moderate amounts of fat,
(4-8 grams per bar). The total fat grams, however, is
not as important as the type of fat used. Some bars
derive their fat from peanut butter, which is fine in
small amounts. Unfortunately, others use hydrogenated
oils and tropical oils such as coconut oil or palm
kernel oil. These are the "bad fats" that have been
implicated in heart disease and cancer. Watch out for
those 40-30-30 bars - they are notorious for this.
There is nothing magical about the 40-30-30 ratios
just because a best-selling book says so. One popular
brand of 40-30-30 bars lists soy protein as the first
ingredient, corn syrup as the second and fractionated
palm kernel oil as the third. These companies are
really taking advantage of the public's naivete by
calling these "health food" or "nutrition bars." If
you think you're eating some magical combination of
nutrients, think again - what you're really eating is
empty sugar calories and saturated, artery-clogging
fat!
When choosing a bar you should also look at the
total calories and the carb to protein ratio. There
are several different types of bars available,
including energy bars, protein bars and meal
replacement bars. The ratio of nutrients in each type
can vary greatly. Your best bet is to choose one with
a substantial amount of protein (30 grams of protein,
preferably whey, is good for a bar). A meal
replacement bar is usually around 300 calories with a
ratio of one part protein to two parts carbs. If
you're on a fat reducing program, then you may want to
choose a protein bar with the opposite ratio: Two
parts protein to one part carbs. Other bars are
marketed as "energy bars" because they are primarily
carbohydrates.
An example of a meal replacement bar is the
original Met-Rx "Food bar." They contain 320 calories,
48 grams of carbs and 27 grams of protein (a pretty
good ratio for a meal replacement). But let's examine
where the carbs come from: On the ingredients list,
Metamyosin (Met-Rx's proprietary whey, milk and egg
protein blend) is the first ingredient. So far, so
good. But look at the second ingredient: Corn syrup
(sugar!) What's the third ingredient? High fructose
corn syrup (read: more sugar!) So the second and third
ingredients are refined sugar. Not exactly diet food
is it?
Protein bars such as "Pure Protein" by Worldwide
Nutrition are immensely popular these days because so
many people are on low carb or reduced carb diets. The
bad thing about the "Pure Protein" bars is that most
are coated with real chocolate (yes, the same stuff a
Hershey's bar is made of). Others are coated with
Yogurt (a slight improvement.) The good thing about
"Pure Protein" is that with 280 calories, 31 grams of
protein, 16 grams of carbs and 4 grams of fat, the
calories and ratios of nutrients are good for a fat
loss program. And the total carbs and sugars are low.
Also, it's a convenient way to get 31 grams of whey
protein.
Power bars are energy bars that were designed with
endurance athletes in mind. Power bars contain about
80% of the calories from carbs, 20% from protein and
minimal fat. An endurance athlete's diet is very high
in carbs, as much as 60% or more of total calories.
That makes the Power Bar a decent energy food for
endurance athletes in intense training. Unfortunately,
the Power Bar has the same problem as many other bars
- it's mostly sugar. Maltodextrin, an excellent source
of Complex carbohydrate, is the second ingredient, but
the first ingredient is - you guessed it - high
fructose corn syrup. You'll probably burn all those
carbs up if you're extremely active, but these are not
the greatest for a fat reducing program and they're
skimpy on the protein. If you need the carbs, why not
just have a piece of fruit instead?
Some of the newest brands of MRP and protein bars
have gotten around the refined sugar and saturated fat
problem by using fake fats such as Salatrim and
artificial sweeteners such as Acesulfame Potassium.
When most of the refined sugars and saturated fats are
removed, using fake fats and artificial sweeteners is
the only way left to make the bars palatable. There is
an ongoing debate about the safety of artificial
sweeteners and fake fats. The Center for Science in
the Public Interest rates Acesulfame Potassium as one
of the top ten worst food additives, because tests
showed that it caused cancer in animals. It is
important to note however, that these tests involved
giving laboratory rats hundreds of times the amount
that humans would normally ingest in a day.
Furthermore, the Food & Drug administration (FDA)
categorizes it as generally recognized as safe (GRAS),
a classification for all food additives that are
considered harmless. The American Dietetic Association
(ADA) also approves of fake fats and artificial
sweeteners including Aspartame and Acesulfame K. The
ADA's position statement on "fake" fats says "Fat
replacers may offer a safe, feasible and effective
means to maintain the palatability of diets with
controlled amounts of fat and/or energy." The ADA's
position statement on artificial sweeteners says, "It
is the position of the ADA that consumers can safely
enjoy a range of nutritive and non-nutritive
sweeteners when consumed in moderation and within the
context of a diet consistent with the Dietary
guidelines for Americans." Probably the best advice is
to just do like the ADA (and your mother) told you and
partake of all things, including artificial
sweeteners, in moderation.
The new Met-Rx "Protein Plus" bar is one of the new
breed of bars that uses artificial sweeteners and fake
fats. Let's take a look at what's in them: The
"Protein Plus" bar contains 300 calories and only 15
grams of carbs. The first ingredient is "Metamyosin"
protein. With 32 grams, there's probably no easier way
to get a whole meal's worth of high quality complete
protein when you're in a hurry.
The second ingredient is a "faux" chocolate coating
that includes Maltitol, Salatrim, peanut butter and
Acesulfame Potassium. Maltitol is a "sugar alcohol"
that is used as a sweetener. It has half the caloric
value of sucrose because it is not completely absorbed
by the body. The FDA classifies it as GRAS. Salatrim
is a reduced calorie fat developed by Nabisco that has
only 5 calories per gram as opposed to 9 calories in
conventional fats. Salatrim is used in both solid and
liquid forms in snacks, cookies, dairy products, (and
now protein bars).
The third ingredient is Glycerine, a crystalline,
viscous liquid formed when fat molecules split. It is
half as sweet as sugar and is used to keep baked
goods, jelly beans and marshmallows moist and to
plasticize foods such as fudge, chewing gum, gelatin,
cheese, etc. Glycerine is GRAS. Additional ingredients
in the bar include peanut flour, polydextrose (a
bulking agent with only 1 calorie per gram), natural
flavors, malt barley syrup and peanut butter. Clocking
in with 8 grams of fat, or about 24% of the total
calories, the Protein Plus bar is not exactly low fat,
but the fat is not saturated and the total calories in
the bar are not excessive.
Source One bars, also by Met-Rx, are similar, with
the protein blend as the first ingredient, Salatrim
the second, and cocoa the third. The only difference
is the Source One Bar has only 190 calories with 30
grams of carbs and 15 grams of protein. That makes it
a decent snack for people on a reduced calorie diet.
All things considered, if you are concerned with
staying lean and muscular, then you're better off with
bars that use artificial sweeteners and fat replacers
than ones loaded with corn sweetener (refined sugar)
and palm kernel oil (saturated fat). No bars are
"excellent" nutrition-wise, but some are definitely
better than others. My advice is to read the labels
carefully and choose one that is low in calories and
refined sugars, uses no saturated fats and has a good
protein to carb ratio. Always stick with whole foods
whenever possible and make the powdered MRP shakes
your second choice. Don't make it a habit to eat bars
regularly - use them for convenience only. But
remember, you have to eat something every 3 or 4 hours
for a muscle-building or fat reducing diet to work, so
if you have no other alternative, a bar might be the
only way to get your fill of protein in a pinch.
References:
1. Position of the American Dietetic Association:
Use of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners. Journal
of the Americal Dietetic Association. 98: 580-587,
1998.
2. Position of the American Dietetic Association:
Fat Replacers. Journal of the Americal Dietetic
Association. 98: 463-468. 1998
3. Anderson, Jean, Deskins, Barbara. Nutrition
Bible. William Morrow & Co, New York, 1995.
4. The Best of Nutrition Action Healthletter, "The
Ten Worst Food Additives," Center for Science in the
Public Interest, 1996
This article was provided courtesy of Tom Venuto
and
www.burnthefat.com. Tom is a lifetime
natural bodybuilder, personal trainer, gym owner,
freelance writer, and author of Burn The Fat Feed
the Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of the World's Best
Bodybuilders and Fitness Models.
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