7 best protein bars

Recently, protein bars have become very popular. And if before they could be found only in sports nutrition stores, now protein bars have increasingly begun to appear on the shelves of ordinary supermarkets. This contributes to the increased in recent years, interest in a healthy lifestyle and in particular to proper nutrition (PP). Those who adhere to the rules of proper nutrition, try to comply with recommendations on the amount of protein consumed, more and more often including protein-rich foods in their diets: protein oatmeal, protein breakfast, protein cookies, waffles and, of course, candy bars.

About the best protein bars and will be discussed in this ranking.

Pros and cons of protein bars

Pros:

• Quickly: does not require cooking, ready-to-eat product;
• Conveniently: do not take up much space, are stored for a long time;
• Yummy: they can replace the "harmful" sweetness without harming the health of the nervous system;
• Low calorie: proteins are not deposited "in reserve", excess amino acids are excreted from the body;
• Make up for the lack of protein in the diet.

Important! Do not get involved in proteins, their adequate consumption is important for the health of the liver and kidneys. It is better to adhere to the recommended consumption rate: minimum - 1 g of protein per 1 kg of weight (it is very easy to remember). For sports purposes - a set of muscle mass or weight loss - the amount of protein can be increased to 1.5-2 g per 1 kg of weight. In general, the required amount of protein consumed depends on many factors: the set of sports goals, the chosen diet, health status, weight, age, gender.

Minuses:

• Do not replace a full meal: bars are necessary in cases where there is no opportunity to eat normally, and from the alternative only fast food. That is, bars - this is a snack, but not the basis of the diet;
• It is necessary to carefully read the composition: not all protein bars are equally useful, so you should have a general idea of ​​the calorie content of foods and the ingredients of protein snacks, because under the name "protein bar" can hide the usual sweetness.

Important! Even if, in terms of calorie content and protein and other nutrient content, everything looks “normal”, it is worth resorting to protein snacks if necessary.

Types of Protein Bars

• Proteinaceous (a large amount of protein, eat some carbohydrates and fats);
• Protein-carbohydrate (about the same amount of protein and carbohydrates);
• Carbohydrate (small amount of protein, high carbohydrate content). These are a variety of muslin and fruit bars, which do not belong to protein bars, as such, and which are sold in ordinary supermarkets.

Protein Bar Protein Bar strife. They can be purely protein, and may be protein-carbohydrate. This does not mean that the latter should be avoided. It all depends on the goals and needs. For those who work on muscle building, any bars will be interesting, but especially protein-carbohydrate (this is, in fact, a small portion of a geyner in the form of a bar), since it is important to maintain an increased caloric intake during weight gain. And this is the case when carbohydrates are as important as protein itself. Accordingly, such "heavy" high-calorie bars are primarily the choice of those who strive to gain weight.

Those who want the opposite lose weight, you should choose protein bars with high protein and low - carbohydrates, as well as pay attention to the amount of fat.Ideally, such a bar is similar in function to a protein shake - it is a source of protein with the minimum amount of carbohydrates and fats.

If bars are used not for sporting purposes, but simply as a source of essential nutrients, then protein-carbohydrate bars (as well as pure carbohydrate) are better eaten when energy is needed, for example, in the morning when the body needs glucose very much. Protein bars are best consumed in the second half of the day or in the evening when the body is getting ready for bed and does not need too much energy.

Top Protein Bar Ratings

What should I look for when choosing a protein bar?

• Composition (ideally, the smaller it is, the better): what are the main ingredients in this bar ?; is there any fiber in it and what ?; there are additional components (vitamins, source of healthy fats, etc.).
• Calorie content: if you need to gain weight / recharge your batteries, then give preference to “heavy” bars; if you want to lose weight / take a snack in the evening - low-calorie.
• Amount of protein. Manufacturers very often indicate on the front side of the label information about the percentage of protein in the bar, for example, 30%. This does not mean that this bar contains 30 g of protein, which means that for a third the bar consists of protein, the other two thirds are other ingredients (carbohydrates, fats, fiber, various improvers and formers, etc.). Therefore, if, for example, the bar weighs 60, then the protein in it will be 20 g. The protein source most often are concentrates and isolates of whey and milk protein, soy isolate. Very often collagen is added to the bar. It is nothing like gelatin, that is, hydrolyzed, split into amino acids, connective tissue protein. Compared with milk protein, collagen has an inferior amino acid composition, therefore gelatin in protein bars should be considered as an additive to give a uniform texture and shape to the bar, and not as a source of protein.
• Carbohydrate amount. The fact that they are in a protein bar does not mean that such a snack automatically becomes bad. Looking for whom, and for what purposes. For massaborina protein bars with carbohydrates fit perfectly. And already for a low-calorie diet, they are not the best choice. The source of carbohydrates in such bars can be syrups (corn, rice), maltose, tapioca starch, maltodextrin and regular sugar.
• The amount of fiber (dietary fiber). Directly by humans, it is not absorbed, so it does not bear any load on calories. But dietary fiber is absorbed by beneficial bacteria living in the human large intestine, microflora, so fiber is necessary for good digestion. It gives a feeling of satiety, and in combination with protein, it will allow to satisfy hunger for several hours, since amino acids from protein in the presence of fiber are absorbed longer. Sources of dietary fiber in bars are most often isomalt-oligosaccharides, inulin, fructooligosaccharides, soluble maize fibers.
• Sweeteners. Additional ingredients. Sugarlose, maltitol (maltitol), stevia and erythritol (erythol) are most often used as sweeteners and sweeteners in the manufacture of bars. All of them do not have calories. Bars are often enriched with vitamins and minerals, carnitine and creatine are added. This does not give special advantages to the bar, because more often additional ingredients are added in small quantities.