Protein bars: how to make the right choice?

Increasingly popular, protein bars are practical and accessible everywhere. Sold in gyms, supermarkets and sports nutrition stores, the choice is vast and it’s easy to get confused. Let’s find out how to choose the right protein bar!

How to choose a protein bar?

A protein bar should contain a minimum of 10 grams of protein to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. This helps recovery and optimizes muscle fiber adaptations.

A protein bar should also contain carbs. It is important to replenish carbohydrate reserves in the muscles following physical effort. Between 10 and 25 grams of total carbohydrates following exercise may be worthwhile, depending on the intensity of the physical activity. Another option might be to simply add a piece of fruit to a low-sugar protein bar.

Protein bars on the market:

Here’s a comparison chart that can come in handy the next time you’re shopping for protein bars!

When should a protein bar be considered?

After physical exertion, a protein bar can be a useful aid to muscle recovery. However, if a complete meal (with carbohydrates and protein) follows the workout within two hours, there’s no need to eat a protein bar.

Here are a few instances when a protein bar would be appropriate, and a suggestion from the chart above.

• Double workout in one day: if you combine two physical activity sessions in one day, the RX bar is particularly interesting as a quick and easy recovery snack.
• During endurance sports: for sporting activities such as hiking, downhill skiing, cycling and all long-distance sports where protein requirements can be more challenging to satisfy, the protein bar is easy to slip into a pocket before setting off!  In this context, avoid bars too high in fiber (>5g/bar) and favor bars containing carbohydrates (particularly sugar), not sweeteners. In this instance, Cliff’s Builders bar would be the ideal snack.
• Post-workout: in a context where the next meal is more than two hours after training, a protein bar would be adequate. However, it should be rich in fibre (at least 3 grams per bar) to ensure satiety, and Sprouted Protein and Simply Protein bars would be suitable.
• Snack: A snack should ideally combine between 10 and 20 grams of protein with a source of carbohydrates, including a minimum of 3 grams of fibre. The Val Nature and Simply Protein Bars represent a complete snack.

What to avoid when choosing a protein bar?

Protein bars are often high in saturated fat. When comparing one bar to another, choose the one with the lowest percentage of saturated fat. Over 15% of the daily value would be considered a lot of saturated fat. In addition, staying away from long, hard-to-pronounce ingredient lists is often helpful in opting for a less processed bar. 

Beware! It’s important to remember that a protein bar is not a meal replacement. In fact, accompanying it with a whole grain such as whole-wheat crackers (4-5) would make it a complete meal. However, your bar should contain a minimum of 20g of protein. Don’t hesitate to call on our team of nutritionists for guidance on this subject, or if you have any questions about your eating habits and the implementation of new products.

Protein bars: how to make the right choice? is a post from Nautilus Plus. The Nautilus Plus blog aims to help people in their journey to fitness through articles on training, nutrition, motivation, exercise and healthy recipes.
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