How Good Are Energy Bars For You Anyway?

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Consider this: You are running late to your meeting. You are rushing from work, it is 3 pm and you suddenly realize the meeting is going to run long and you last meal was at 8am. There is no time, you look and spot on an old energy bar lying in your car. Perfect! A perfectly healthy snack for times like these.

Well think again. Before you make energy bars (how long do energy bars last?) your go-to for quick lunches and skipped breakfasts, there are some important facts you should learn about the so called “energy bars”.

There is an unwritten rule of the society that adults don't eat sugary cereal. No, those are for children. Candy, chips, soda and the like have earned a bad rep with those who are health conscious.

What are Energy Bars?

The Enlightenment of high fructose corn syrup (how long does corn syrup last?) products/hydrogenated oils products that many of us had in the mid-2000s led us to understand which of the stuff was absolute crap and which ones were reasonably healthy.

The one “food group” that still triggers confusion is Bars. Protein, granola (how long does granola last?), energy -call them what you like. You will find them in office kitchens, sponsoring marathons or being advertised by adventure athletes.

The bug of living off energy bars hits most people once they join the gym. One cannot be at a gym without seeing stacks of brightly packaged bars that promise to add power to your workouts. They taste good and the labels have so much jargon you can barely understand.

But there doesn't seem to be any sort of consensus on which of these bars-if any at all-do actually provide wholesome nutrition.

Companies have produced a wide range of mindless products for vulnerable customers. And energy bars are one of those products manufacturers want to market under the pretense of them being “healthy” foods.

So, let me help burst this energy bar balloon for you.

The Beginning of the Energy Bar

These bars can be traced back to a trend in vogue in the early 1980s. They were meant to serve as a lightweight fuel for American combat forces on the go. MRE, Meal, ready to eat were high calcium blocks that left Westerners enraptured and cemented the way for a Canadian athlete to found PowerBar, an energy bar company in 1986.

PowerBar was a phenomenon and was soon favored by cyclists around the world. While at the height of its success, Nestle, bought it for $375 million in the year 2000. Meanwhile other bar companies were successfully marketing their products to adventure athletes. Honestly, it was fine till here. The bars were made for high endurance athletes who clocked lots of active miles daily. They were not designed for someone who sat in front of a desk, i.e the common man.

In simple terms energy means calories. Therefore, any food that has calories is technically an energy-giving food. But not all energy is the same. You have energy from wholesome foods like nuts (how long do nuts last?) or grains, and then you have energy from HFCS, saturated fats and hydrogenated oils.

The reason behind why granola bars (how long do granola bars last?) may be considered as relatively healthy has a lot to do with savvy marketing.

But here's the thing: marketing shouldn't be stopping you from reading labels on your food. Every energy bar available on the market has its ingredients printed right there on the pack. So, what is it that you should be looking out for when you are buying an energy bar?

Let's find out!

First Up, The Number of Ingredients

This one goes for all foods, not just energy bars. The less crowded the food label, the better it is. Funky sounding ingredients that you can barely pronounce can never be good. Real foods and zero preservatives or minimal additives are what we ae looking for. Real ingredients- rolled oats (how long do oats last?), bran, real fruit and as few as possible is the best bet.

Hidden Sugars

Sugar (how long does sugar last?) is never just presented in plain words. The claim that energy bars are supposed to give you energy is backed by the number of calories each one provides. These calories are more often than not supplied by sugars. Whether it is organic brown rice (how long does rice last?) syrup, cane molasses (how long does molasses last?), or straight up sorbitol-added sugars are best kept at a minimum.

Hydrogenated Oils

If this dreaded ‘h’ word appears in the first five ingredients of your energy bar, put it right back on the shelf. Palm oils, High oleic sunflower oil, Vegetable glycerin are all just complicated words of the same substance. Hydrogenated oils are responsible for increasing bad cholesterol levels, so you want to stay far away from those!

Additives And Preservatives

The last thing you want on your energy bar or any food sitting on the store shelves are additives and preservatives. Synthetic flavorings and colors are really counteractive to the claim of energy bars being a healthy snack.

Food scientists are now adding synthetic fiber to packaged foods, so you get 100% of your daily recommended fiber intake without ever eating a piece of fruit or grain! Chicory root fiber, gum acacia, bamboo fiber, and wait for it, Xylooligosaccharides. These fibers are extracted from natural sources sometimes or are completely synthetic.

Fiber And Protein

Look for sources of real fiber and protein in the first three ingredients. Think rolled oats, bran, almonds (how long do almonds last?), macadamia nuts, egg whites, dates, hemp protein and the like. REAL fiber and protein in an energy bar will offer you more satiety and will be better of your digestive health.

Do Energy Bars Actually Give You Energy?

Per say, if you are running to the gym before or after wok and have no time to eat, a healthy energy bar will give you the boost. But so will a good trail mix (how long does trail mix last?) or a piece of fruit and some nuts. In other words, there is nothing miraculous about an energy bar that other real foods lack. A simple cheese stick offers more calcium than an energy bar. A cup of yogurt with some dried fruit (how long does dried fruit last?) will do you better too. Simply said, when it comes to snack bars, exercise caution!