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There was a day when the only snack you could get was a candy bar, especially in convenience stores. This sweet snack is still available however today they are not alone on the shelves. Nutrition bars have been added to the inventory. For quite some time the only way you could get these bars was through a fitness magazine or special mail order service. With the rise in interest in health and nutrition, these bars are now available on most store shelves. The only question left is whether these nutritional snacks really nutritional?
In all honesty determining whether nutritional bars are healthy must be done on a case-by-case basis. Some will be worse than others when it comes to nutritional value, which is why you should know how to determine the difference. Here are a few criteria you can use
Does the bar contain healthy supplements? Carbohydrates are essential for energy and after workout recovery while protein helps build muscle, if a nutrition bar contains these in large quantities it is definitely nutritious. Finding a bar packed with vitamins and minerals are also a big plus. Bottom line, if a bar contains ingredients that are helpful it makes sense it would be in the healthy range.
It should go without saying that sugar content is bad news. If you find a nutritional bar high in refined sugar, you should chunk it aside. That being said make sure you read the fine print, brown sugar is not refined therefore the bar could have nutritional value. High fructose corn syrup and refined sugar nutrition bars are to be avoided. These ingredients are junk food and therefore the bar is not healthy.
Find the fat content on the bars nutrition label. There are three components most all food items are made of, fats, carbohydrates and protein. This means if protein is low then carbs and fat will be higher, naturally. Having one ingredient outweigh the others a bit is not terribly bad however if the fat content becomes too high the nutrition bar is not nutritious. Heavy fat content is another reason to put a bar back in favor of something else.
How many calories does your nutritional bar contain? Sugar and fat are tied to this number quite closely. When the bar is high in caloric value this is a good indicator the bar is not a healthy choice. If fat calories are the main culprit, this is even truer. Use bars that are low in calorie count and high in good ingredients.
When in doubt, try to stick with name brands. Yes, new nutritional bar brands do pop up on store shelves all the time. Some of these bars are quite good and definitely contain nutritional value. However, if you want to play it safe, you may wish to keep purchasing nutritional bars that have name value and have been on the market for an extended period of time. This way you will have a better idea as to what you are getting.
In all honesty determining whether nutritional bars are healthy must be done on a case-by-case basis. Some will be worse than others when it comes to nutritional value, which is why you should know how to determine the difference. Here are a few criteria you can use
Does the bar contain healthy supplements? Carbohydrates are essential for energy and after workout recovery while protein helps build muscle, if a nutrition bar contains these in large quantities it is definitely nutritious. Finding a bar packed with vitamins and minerals are also a big plus. Bottom line, if a bar contains ingredients that are helpful it makes sense it would be in the healthy range.
It should go without saying that sugar content is bad news. If you find a nutritional bar high in refined sugar, you should chunk it aside. That being said make sure you read the fine print, brown sugar is not refined therefore the bar could have nutritional value. High fructose corn syrup and refined sugar nutrition bars are to be avoided. These ingredients are junk food and therefore the bar is not healthy.
Find the fat content on the bars nutrition label. There are three components most all food items are made of, fats, carbohydrates and protein. This means if protein is low then carbs and fat will be higher, naturally. Having one ingredient outweigh the others a bit is not terribly bad however if the fat content becomes too high the nutrition bar is not nutritious. Heavy fat content is another reason to put a bar back in favor of something else.
How many calories does your nutritional bar contain? Sugar and fat are tied to this number quite closely. When the bar is high in caloric value this is a good indicator the bar is not a healthy choice. If fat calories are the main culprit, this is even truer. Use bars that are low in calorie count and high in good ingredients.
When in doubt, try to stick with name brands. Yes, new nutritional bar brands do pop up on store shelves all the time. Some of these bars are quite good and definitely contain nutritional value. However, if you want to play it safe, you may wish to keep purchasing nutritional bars that have name value and have been on the market for an extended period of time. This way you will have a better idea as to what you are getting.
About the Author:
Want to stay healthy and shed unwanted pounds at the same time then you owe it to yourself to check out author Dorthy Weatherbush's list of diet reviews. On that list you will find the Medifast diet plan that has been recommended by over 20,000 doctors since 1980. Their nutrition bars are delicious.
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