Energy Bars or Junk Food?
By Barbara Day, M.S., R.D., C.N.
If you have cruised the grocery store aisle lately for something fast and convenient to eat, you have undoubtedly seen an increase in the number of nutrition/energy bars on the shelves. The energy bar industry is a multimillion-dollar booming business. You can find these bars at the grocery store, the pharmacy, the health food store, discount stores, your fitness center and even at the gasoline station. We are moving in a fast paced world and all want a quick-pick-me-up snack so we can keep our energy levels up. The energy bar, once used exclusively by the elite athlete, is now being marketed to seniors, weekend warriors, teens, weight watchers and a multitude of other markets not yet even thought of.
Nutrient Composition
Energy bars contain simple and complex carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals in varying amounts. (See Bar Wars below for the specifics). They generally fall into three basic categories: high protein, high carbohydrate and a balance of nutrients (40-30-30).
Energy bars range from 120 calories to 515 calories per bar. The larger the bar, the more calories and nutrients it contains. During long, strenuous exercise, eating or drinking about 100 – 300 calories per hour, depending on your sex and body size, to keep your energy levels up is recommended. So, munching on one of the bars may help improve your performance.
The bars typically range from 2 – 55 grams of carbohydrate per bar. The carbohydrate source is from complex carbohydrates like rice, oats, and a starch called maltodextrin. The simple carbohydrate source is generally from high fructose corn syrup, dried fruit or brown-rice syrup. If you are using this bar for quick energy or energy maintenance during exercise, than you need about 30 – 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour of exercise.
Since the recent high protein, low carbohydrate diet rage, more energy bars are on the market that contain higher protein and less carbohydrate like the Advantage Bar or the MetRx bar. The protein source typically comes from milk or soy protein. Bars contain about 2 – 33 grams of protein. Use these type bars as a meal replacement rather than a pre-exercise snack or a munchy during exercise. Bars which contain more than 10 grams of protein may slow digestion down which in turn slows the amount of carbohydrate that will reach your exercising muscles.
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