I currently eat protein bars. They are a convenient way to get extra protein in between meals. Here are some comments:
Protein bars should be eaten when it is not possible to eat a meal. Real foods are preferred. Also protein powder is preferred to protein bars. However, it is convenient to have the bars on hand in the office drawer.
I made an Excel chart to make some points about protein bars. It is modified from an Excel chart taken from Bodybuilding.com. I will refer to that chart several times.
Comparison of prices: First, the purpose of the protein bar is to get protein. The main cost point is thus the price per gram of protein. In the chart, I have ranked the bars available at bodybuilding.com (using their prices) in order of price per gram of protein. As you can see, the best value is the MLO bio protein bars at 5.04 cents per gram of protein, and the Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex bars at 5.1-5.2 cents per gram of protein. Other good values include the Eclipse Deluxe Protein Bar at 5.19 cents per gram and the Twinlab Protein Fuel Sports Bar at 5.23 cents per gram. Any bar that is over 6 cents per gram of protein is overpriced.
Protein quality differences: Most bars have a fancy name for their proprietary blend of ingredients. These can include egg albumin, whey protein concentrate, whey protein isolate, calcium casseinate, soy protein isolate, and hydrolized proteins. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell the relative portions of each ingredient in these proprietary blends. The companies might show you comparison charts and assays claiming their blend is better than the other blend.
In general, I would say that whey protein in either isolate or concentrate is an excellent source of protein. Combine this with another quality ingredient, such as soy protein isolate or egg albumin, and you have a more complete protein. This would be a quality blend. Cheaper proteins are the calcium casseinates and the hydrolized proteins. These are the proteins that the companies use to bring the protein content up at low cost. They trumpet the fact that their proprietary blend contains whey isolate, but who knows, it might be 99% hydrolized protein. The list of ingredients must be in descending order by weight, but not the subset of ingredients in the protein blend.
Whey isolate is a pricier ingredient than whey concentrate, but if you're going to add sugars and glycerol to the bar anyway, why not just go with the whey concentrate? I believe that whey concentrate is fine. So I just assume that all of the bars are equal in terms of the quality of the protein.
Vitamins and minerals: Some bars may be fortified with vitamins and minerals. That's fine, but a multivitamin cost about 3 cents a tablet, so you shouldn't be willing to pay more for these bars. You can take a multivitamin at home when it's convenient; you don't have to have it in your bar.
Low carb bars? Recently, companies are making a big deal about their low-carb protein bars. What they don't tell you is that they are just substituting glycerine for carbs, so the bars still have the same number of calories. Glycerol (or glycerine) is a sugar alcohol (just like malitol and sorbitol, used to sweeten sugarless chewing gum). It has a caloric value of 4.32 Kcalories per gram. Glycerine was approved by the FDA in 1999 as a food additive ingredient. It helps to give a soft texture to protein bars, candy bars, coatings, and other foods. When glycerol first came out, it was touted as a hydration aid. In fact, it does help to assist in fluid absorption. Some endurance energy gels and sports drinks contain glycerine, and some bodybuilding companies sell solid glycerine bars as an aid to volumize the muscles. A cheap source of solid glycerine are laxative suppositories.
Because glycerol is technically not a carbohydrate, it is not listed under carbohydrates in the nutrition label (some bars will insert a footnote), but you can calculate how many grams of glycerol are present by subtracting the protein, carb, and fat calories from the total calories. Divide the remaining calories by 4.32, and this is the estimated number of grams of glycerol in the product. You may be off by a gram or two due to rounding error. Many low-carb bars have 11-18 grams of glycerol. The most is the Twinlab Protein Fuel Sports Bar, with 25 grams of glycerol per bar. I listed the amount of glycerol in the chart.
Lots of glycerol is not bad, though. The important thing is to realize that you are eating for high protein, not low carb. If you are trying to limit calories, you should be looking at the percentage of calories from protein. A higher value of this means a smaller percentage of calories comes from all other macronutrients: glycerol, carbs, and fats. In the chart, I list the percentage of calories that come from protein (p/tot%).
If you are on a reduced calorie diet, the best bars would be those that are at least 40 percent calories from protein. However, if you are eating a pre-workout meal replacement, it may be better to have a balanced bar that contains more carbs, and only 25-30 percent calories from protein.
Another sidenote is the NCAA ergogenic aid regulation. Beginning in August 2000, the NCAA placed restrictions on what supplements the athletic departments could supply to its athletes at no cost. The NCAA wants the athletic departments to supply only fluid-replacement and calorie-replacement sports supplements, and vitamins and minerals. The athletic departments cannot supply creatine, protein powder, and other muscle-enhancing ingredients. Any bar that is over 30% calories by protein is considered muscle-building and cannot be given to its athletes at no cost. (It should be noted, however, that these supplements are not banned like steroids; NCAA student athletes can buy creatine, protein bars, and powders at their own expense.)
On my chart, I indicate which bars are considered calorie replacement. Even so, the bars that are between 25 and 30 percent calories by protein supply ample amounts of protein. The calorie replacement bars are preferred for pre-workout or pre-game meal replacement. You don't want to have a very-high protein bar before intense exercise. You are better off having the high-protein, low-carb bars post-workout.
Personally, I currently use the MLO bio-protein bars and the PowerBar Protein Plus bars pre-workout. The MLO bars were recently on sale at GNC, and are cheap at bodybuilding.com. The PowerBars were recently on sale at my local supermarket at $1.49 per bar. Post-workout, I choose the Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex bar, the Eclipse Deluxe Protein bars, and the Twinlab Protein Fuel Sports bars. I will sometimes get others when they are on sale.
I hope this article helps you choose wisely.
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Last modified 28Aug01 comments
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