Thread: Protein Bars?

I eat them.

the only time I cut them out is for contest prep, and I do not see that happening again any time soon.

obviously real food is a better choice, even an MRP, but bars are convenient and they help satisfy my sweet tooth so I do not go off and eat other crap.

Most protein bars have a lot of garbage in them. You need to be carefuly of the glycerin and the added junk. personally I stay away from them and stick with protein shakes or as Rob said, homemade MRP's with whey, oats and natty pb. If you must eat a protein bar I've found the trioplex to one of the better ones.

Originally Posted by tannywild

for awhile I was eating Met-RX Big 100 bars, read some good reviews on them, then some incredibly knowledgable person (cough emma =P ) told me they're crap.

How much crap are they?

Ahhhh... So you don't believe me?!

Better then nothing to eat I'd assume, because sometimes I just flat out dont have time to prepare a meal. Or carry a shake around for that matter. Protein bars are just convientent..

Some of them are better than nothing.... At other times it would be more sensible to just increase the volume of your other meals and only eat 4-5 times a day instead of 5-6...

But if you can carry around a protein bar why can't you carry around something else? eg: tupperware container with some rice and a can of tuna in it? Or even a shaker bottle with some ground oats, skim milk powder, whey powder and a tbs of PB in it... Then just add water and mix when you need to... You can even make yourself some home-made bars and carry these with you!!

Or - if you are planning on buying the bar then just duck into any 7-11 or convenience store and get yourself a carton of skim milk, an apple and a tuna foil... Easy enough to do...

Geezzzz... I don't know!!! You just can't seem to get anyone to be anal enough to carry their own food around anymore!!



Really though, even though I don't touch them - it is a personal choice of mine (I may be seen as somewhat over-the-top when it comes to selecting foods - many people are much more relaxed)....

If you like the convenience of not bringing your own stuff... and you like the taste of them - then you realy don't need to sweat on it that much. As long as it fits into your daily intake and you get a semi-decent variety you will not do yourself any harm.

I dont care about the tastes, but if I have to go for a protein bar, what brand/flavors would you guys recommend?

As Jodi said - My pick would be something like Tri-o-plex as it has less processed/artificial ingredients (and, well, **we need a drool icon** )...

Protein bars come in very handy every now and then, but I don't make them part of my every day diet. The only ones I really like are peanut butter Trioplex and original Detour bars.

So something like, my morning shake would be better ? Just carry it around in shaker cup?

1/2 cup oats
1 and 1/2 scoop whey
10 oz milk
1 tbsp natural peanut butter

That works? Much better then the P-Bars?

I'll still buy a protein bar here and there, and I do believe you Emma! Which is why I'm not eating them anymore! Ruined my favorite part of my meals, bleh.. they were just too good to be true =P

Thanks. kinda

- Jared

Originally Posted by I Are Baboon

Protein bars come in very handy every now and then, but I don't make them part of my every day diet. The only ones I really like are peanut butter Trioplex and original Detour bars.

Trioplex...yummy
Protein bars are only a last act of desperation in my diet.

Does anyone know how glycerol and these other sugar alcohols "float" through the body unabsorbed?

Originally Posted by grant

Does anyone know how glycerol and these other sugar alcohols "float" through the body unabsorbed?

It is not that they are not 'absorbed' - they are - just more slowly than other carbohydrates (well, they are absorbed to a certain extent anyway). And they do still have some calorie value. There is a good table of the calorie values here.

Also - some information on glycerin/glycerol:

Not Counting Carbs (Glycerin)
Is glycerin a carbohydrate? No, according to the manufacturers of several nutrition bars. Yes, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Who would you believe?

Glycerin, sometimes spelled glycerine, is a commercial product whose principal component is glycerol. Glycerin is a trihydric alcohol that is derived from animal fats and plants emollients. The terms glycerin, glycerine, and glycerol are often used interchangeably.

"Glycerol and glycerin refer to the same substance," according to James E. Hoadley of FDA's Office of Food Labeling, quoted in the Winter/Spring 1999 Newsletter of the Institute of Food Technologists. "Carbohydrates are polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones conforming to the general formula (CH20)n and their derivatives... ...three carbon sugars include glyceraldehyde (an aldehyde) and dihydroxyacetone (a ketone). The hydrogenated derivative of both these is glycerin [CH20)3H]. The chemical definition of carbohydrate is clearly inclusive of all three compounds...There is no rational basis to consider glycerin as anything but a carbohydrate," he says.

But several companies that make nutrition bars haven't been counting their glycerin. One half of the 30 nutrition bars that ConsumerLab.com just tested exceeded their claimed levels of carbohydrates, often by large amounts. This organization, based in White Plains, New York, provides independent test results and information to help consumers and healthcare professionals evaluate health, wellness, and nutrition products.

"One product, which described itself as a low carbohydrate diet bar, claimed only 2 grams of carbohydrates, but was found to actually contain 22 grams," the ConsumerLab site says. "A clue as to why this discrepancy existed was a statement written in small type on the product's label indicating that it contained glycerin but that the manufacturer was not counting glycerin as a carbohydrate."

This is apparently CarbSolutions, a protein bar made by Richardson Labs, which says it is "for Low Carb Diets" and has "only 2 carbs," according to a review of the ConsumerLab site in the October 30, 2001, issue of The New York Times. Richardson Labs is a division of Rexall Sundown, which in turn is a unit of Koninklijke (Royal) Numico N.V. of the Netherlands. On April 26, 2001, the FDA sent a warning letter to the president of Richardson Labs saying the bar was misbranded, adulterated, and in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

"This product is misbranded because the label bears nutrient content claims that are not authorized by regulation or the Act," the FDA's warning letter says. "The claims include 'For Low Carb Diets Only 2 Carbs!' (Section 403(r)( 1)(A)). The product is further misbranded because the label bears the statement 'Glycerine, polydextrose, xylitol, maltitol . . .have been omitted from the “Total Carbohydrate” count...' Glycerine, polydextrose, xylitol and maltitol are carbohydrates and must be included in the value declared for 'Total Carbohydrates' in nutrition labeling (Sections 403(a), 403(q) and 21 CFR 101.9(c)(6))."

The FDA has also sent warning letters to several other manufacturers. On January 25, 2001, it told the president of Premier Nutrition that its Premier Eight Ultra Low Car Sports Bar must include the glycerol that it contains in its total carbohydrates. On November 30, 2000, it sent essentially the same letter to the president and CEO of Optimum Nutrition about its Protein Diet Bar. Nevertheless, the Optimum Nutrition Web site still advertises a Protein Diet Bar that includes the statement, "The product contains Glycerol. Glycerol is not a carbohydrate but has a colric [sic] value of 4.32 calories per gram."

But what is the glycemic index of glycerin? I'm not sure, so I haven't added it to my Glycemic Index Lists. But apparently the reason that glycerin is not listed as a carbohydrate by these manufacturers is that glycerin does not effect blood glucose or insulin levels, they say.

The dispute over glycerin is bad enough. But if the FDA bans the term "low carb," it's going to be more difficult for us to find these foods in the supermarket.

And here is a little info on sugar Alcohols too.