Protein bars – why to get them, when to eat them, and how to choose them

Why to supply protein

Proteins are an important macronutrient that has irreplaceable functions in our body.

• support growth and maintenance of muscle mass
• support normal bone condition
• are important for normal growth and bone development for children
• have structural, protective, and transfer function
• are a source of energy
• have a filling effect that reduces hunger

When to get a protein bar

Protein bars are ideal if you seek a quick and nutritious snack in between meals. They help you supply protein and many of them are a source of fibre. Nowadays, producers try to prepare such products that are suitable also for patients with celiac disease or for customers that are looking for products that are low in sugar for their weight loss diet. Nevertheless, protein bars should only bring a variety to our diet; a regular meal is always the most important one.

How to choose your protein bar

Ingredients

The ingredients are the most important criteria. The largest proportion of contained ingredients is always in the beginning of the list. This means that a protein bar’s ingredient list should start with a protein. If you suffer from any food allergy, note the ingredients highlighted in bold.

Protein content

A bar may be labelled as a source of protein if the protein content is at least 12 % of the energy value. A bar with a high protein content is such a bar that has at least 20 % of protein per the energy value. Athletes who seek to optimize muscle growth should have regular food portions containing 20 to 25 g of protein per portion.

A 25 g load of protein can be found in Protein Bar 50 or a full 21 g of protein can be found in the popular Qwizz Protein Bar.

Sugar content

If you watch sugars in your diet due to weight loss regime, you should check their ratio in protein bars. It is always better to favour complex carbohydrates – those that are absorbed slowly and release energy gradually. If you don’t use much energy, it is better to consume simple sugars in a small amount. Sugar has many names – dextrose, fructose, molasses, or cane sugar. Another sugar you can find is isomaltulose. Isomaltulose has lower glycemic index and thanks to its stronger binding between glucose and fructose (against sucrose) it has up to 5 times longer absorption time. Anyway, there is no need to say no to all protein bars with a high carbohydrate content; after workout they will give you a lot of energy that is necessary for regeneration.

Great choice without added sugars is Be Slim bars that are also high in fibre.

Fat content

It is good to keep an eye on the ratio between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in all foodstuffs. The fats used must also be suitable for the technological bar production, that is why it is often tricky to do so without palm oil. The amount of consumed fats in the regular Czech diet exceeds the recommended daily dose of 30 % out of the total daily energy income. Therefore, we should focus on groceries with a reduced fat content.

Such bars are also a great source of natural energy. Enjoy a crunchy bar made of nuts, seeds and honey DeNuts.

Additional benefits

Many producers enrich their products with beneficial substances such as vitamins, fibre, or popular stimulating caffeine. Protein bars usually contain minimum 3 g of fibre and some of them contain even 10 to 15 g of fibre, which is almost half of a recommended daily income for an adult human. Added vitamins are simply beneficial for their positive effects on our organism.

Among these bars we can find Protein Bar that is enriched with some B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, and biotin.

Protein Quiz

How many grams of protein per day/per kg of body weight it is generally recommend consuming (for a regular individual)?

Can you name 5 protein functions in a human body?

Which type of protein is more quickly absorbable – casein or whey protein?

Proteins are a natural source of amino acids. Can you select out of the below those that are essential to our bodies (and our bodies cannot produce them itself)?

1. L-Leucine
2. L-Tyrosine
3. L-Arginine
4. L-Valine
5. L-Glutamine

Name at least 3 significant plant sources of protein.

Where does whey, often used in food supplements, come from?

What does BCAA stand for?

Answers

1. 0,8 – 1 g/kg of optimal body weight
2. Structural function, protective function, source of energy, transfer function, hormonal function, filling effect, source of essential amino acids
3. Whey protein
4. L-Leucine, L-Valine
5. Legumes, soya, nuts, seeds, hemp, spirulina
6. From milk
7. Branched-chain amino acids – specifically three amino acids L-Valine, L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine