How to Choose a Nutrition Bar

©All articles are copyright of Dr. Susan Mitchell and Practicalories, Inc. and cannot be reprinted or used without permission. To obtain permission, please contact Dr. Mitchell.

Nutrition bars fit into one of four basic categories which include meal replacement bars, protein bars, energy bars and weight loss bars. For the most part, the bars are pretty similar with a couple of specific differences.

Do you call energy bars by other names such as snack bars, sports bars, granola bars, or power bars? These bars can vary significantly in their ingredients. For example an energy bar that focuses on whole grains will be high in fiber, usually five grams or so which means the total carbs will be higher (maybe close to 40 grams per bar). The protein level will be lower, probably under five grams with around 200 calories per bar. Other energy bars will also contain close to 200 calories as that seems to be a common thread. Other energy bars may focus more on protein than carbs and contain up to15 grams of protein and less carbs at around 20 grams. Many energy bars average around 5 grams of fat.

In comparison, meal replacement bars are designed to nutritionally replace a low calorie meal of about 200 to 400 calories so this bar is more calorie dense than the other three types. It will usually have 15 to 20 grams of protein, around 30 grams of carbs and five to ten grams of fat. A variety of vitamins and minerals are included as well.

The third type of nutrition bar is the protein bar. A protein bar is an energy bar with the same calories of around 200 or so and 20 grams of carbs but with an extra boost of protein, typically in the range of 15 to 35 grams.

Weight Loss Bars vary from diet plan to diet plan in the nutrition that they contain. They might be high protein, low carb; high fiber, high carb; or more moderate in protein and fat. It all depends on the diet they are designed to go with.

The best energy bars have:

1) An average of 200 calories unless it’s for meal replacement and then expect a range of 200-400 calories per bar.

2) Varying amounts of protein depending on the purpose of the bar. You’ll find less protein in a bar that focuses on whole grains (probably five grams of protein or less), around 10-15 grams of protein in the average nutrition bar, a little more protein (around 15-20 grams) if you use it to replace a meal and the most protein (up to 35 grams) in a high protein nutrition bar.

3) At least three grams of fiber, preferably five or more. Remember most bars only talk about total carbs which usually average about 20 grams or so but you want to know that your carbs are made from whole grain and contain fiber.

4) 5 grams of total fat or less

5) Low saturated fat grams

6) No trans fat indicated by the words “partially hydrogenated or fractionated fat” nor fats that are naturally saturated such as coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil. Some bars have a coating that contains trans or partially hydrogenated fat so pay close attention to the ingredients list as well as to the Nutrition Facts label.

7) Various vitamins and minerals that naturally occur such as iron from dried fruit or that are added (fortified) such as calcium, vitamins D and B12. Look at the Nutrition Facts label and the ingredient list on the bar to see what makes up the ingredients and what vitamins and minerals have been added. Remember that fortified means that something was added that did not occur originally. In this case, the ingredient list will show the added vitamins and minerals. Think about these in relation to supplements you may already be taking.