Your Protein Bars Might Be Cheating On you!

Your protein bar ingredients might be doing more harm than good without notifying you. You might be just peeling your protein bar thinking it will nourish you, but you must know the real facts about protein bars. There are limited protein bars available in the market that truly providing nourishment without causing any harm to your health. Most of the bars are made of unhealthy ingredients and in this article, we will talk about both of the qualities. 

Which protein bars considered to be healthy for consumption?

Protein – packed bars that actually provide you health benefits are made with different ingredients. The base ingredients are granola, cereals, puffs, nuts and raisins, and rolled oats. Each of these ingredients provide multiple healthy nutrients that are essential for human consumption. 

Let’s learn about these ingredients in more detail to understand the benefits in better way.

Granola bars – Granola bars are made of rolled oats, honey, and dried fruits. These bars provide immense energy and thus, these are best for consuming post heavy workout. Granola is conveyed by individuals who are camping, hiking, or exploring on the grounds that it is nutritious, lightweight, high in calories, and simple to store. Granola bars have vitamins, minerals and enough calories to keep you on your feet throughout the day. Benefits of granola bars are –

• Boost energy
• Reduce cholesterol 
• Prevents anemia
• Best source of vitamin E
• Protein rich 
• Good source of fiber 
• Reduces weight 

Cereal bars – Cereals are healthy choice to make, especially if you are an athlete. Cereal bars usually have starch and fiber. You can avail major benefits from these bars –

• Decrease the fatigue 
• Enhance athletic performance 
• Replenish energy faster after heavy workout
• Nourish your muscles 
• Good for digestive tract 

Nuts and raisins bars – peanut high-protein bars for instance, are good source of multiple essential nutrients. In India, these are famous by name of peanut chikki and made of jagger and peanut. Sometimes, few brands may add other nuts like pistachio for flavour. Peanuts are rich in energy and contain antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins that are essential for good health. Major benefits of having peanut chikki –

• Your cholesterol will remain in check
• Your muscles get stronger
• Your heart becomes healthier
• Your constipation gets resolved
• Your PMS symptoms will disappear 

Which ingredients make protein bars less healthy snack option?

If you want to buy a healthy protein bar for yourself, you must start shopping for them differently. You must check for the ingredients listed below and avoid protein bars made of these ingredients –

Sugar alcohols – Xylitol, sorbitol, mannitol are few examples of sugar alcohols that are usually used by protein bar manufacturers to sweeten sugar-free products, including sports bars and protein bars. Some people may find these sugars reactive to their intestine and cause gas, irritable bowel issues like intestinal pain, diarrhoea, and constipation. 

Carrageenan – Carrageenan is derived from seaweed and manufacturers of protein bars use this ingredient as emulsifier. Carrageenan may cause intestinal irritation in many individuals. It is better to check the label list before buying any protein bar.

Soy – Almost every protein bar and cereals contain soy. There is no health issue related to consumption of soy, but it may be allergen for some people. Moreover, if the soy used in protein bar is not organic, it may contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms).

Whey and casein – There are all the more additional sorts of protein powder on the supermarket store today than any time in recent memory — from rice and hemp to insect and beef. Be that as it may, two kinds of protein have stood the trial of time, staying all around regarded and popular throughout the years: casein and whey. Vegan and those who are intolerant to dairy products should put back those protein bars on the selling shelf if it has whey and casein. Casein and whey protein contain distinctive bioactive peptides, which are intensifies that advantage your body.

Other Synthetic ingredients – Many protein bars contain several types of preservatives and chemical compounds. Such ingredients enhance the taste of protein bars and increase the shelf life of the products. 

High fructose corn syrup – This ingredient is commonly used as sweetening agent in protein bars nowadays. You need to pick only those protein bars that don’t have high fructose corn syrup in them. 

Please remember, your soy protein based bar won’t help you in gaining muscles. You must look for the protein bar ingredient that helps in muscle growth. The proteins that are healthy for your consumption are whey protein, P-protein, caseinate, brown rice, etc. Keep the count of ingredients and calories in check so that you ensure that you are having right amount of quality ingredients for best results.