A practical guide to the weird world of protein bars.
Protein bars are what happens when we lose touch with the wholeness of a food. I say that as someone who consumes them, although after writing this missive, it will be far less.
Protein bars encourage us to look at the front of the package with their bold claims in grams. 10 15 20 grams per bar! No added sugar, 1g of sugar, 5g of sugar!
We've become inured to the insane ingredient lists. Besides, how bad could it be?
Well, if you're trying to keep a healthy weight, it's not great.
Average 24-hour energy intakes during the weeks bars were consumed were elevated significantly (7–13%) from control weeks with no difference between bars. Postprandial appetite scores were significantly below fasting scores but did not differ between bars. Body fat mass was significantly elevated (+3%) at the end of each feeding period compared to the control week.
The model for evaluating macros to assess a food's health is faulty (at best). At worst, it allows us to eat overprocessed.
"Nutrition research is plagued by inconsistencies and contradictory findings, and a lot of that confusion appears to stem from the legacy belief that you can break a food down into its component parts, assess those parts individually, and extrapolate from those assessments meaningful conclusions about a food’s health profile. By and large, you can’t."
It's also a hangover from dieting. We've been taught that the path to health begins with counting, instead of a meaningful evaluation of how it will affect us.
Here's my take on different kinds and how or if I would consume them.
The concentrated fruit/nut kind.
These have the advantage of not using industrial by-products as ingredients, but they pack a sugar punch. Since my goal in midlife is to limit sugar and keep spikes to a minimum, I pass on these. Concentrated dates still pack a glycemic punch.
Exception: if I were on a long or hard hike ot bike ride, I might welcome the sugar.
The candy bar kind.
I have first-hand experience with these weirdly delicious bars.
My first reaction to these was that they have been engineered to the hilt. They are too tasty. They fall apart in my mouth too rapidly. The marketing is pitch-perfect.
My second reaction is to be suspicious of the claims. The supposed low sugar content doesn't really account for the overeating they compel. This bar caused me to consume more sugar throughout the day, which is a signal of its glycemic impact.
Anything that disrupts my hunger or satiety cues is a straight no for me.
The protein maxxing kind.
Lord, I hate these bizarre terms. Someone should do a study on the psychological effects of creating distorted labels for something as natural as eating.
But, I digress. This bar is the one I like. It tastes faintly of lemons and has a pleasing consistency. I find it causes fewer issues with sugar cravings, but the good news stops there.
It's calorically dense. If you know my work, I don't count calories, but adding a dense food to my daily rotation is just a bad idea, as the study outlines above.
Midlife women have to be concerned with cholesterol because we no longer have the buffering effects of estrogen.
I'll allow myself one of these every two weeks or so, and only when I'm on the move.
All of these bars (ones I mentioned and didn't) fall into one of two categories: highly and ultra. Nothing less, even for the ones with egg whites and dates. The use of sugar alcohols alone qualifies them as overprocessed.
This is what proportion those two categories should represent in a healthy weight (or weight loss) diet.
What to eat instead.
The snack I turn to most often is a Wasa cracker with peanut or almond butter and berries. It's satiating, nutritious, and doesn't create metabolic havoc.
Sooooo, is it time to break up with protein bars?
Yours in joyful eating and living,
Rebecca ✌️
PS. Next week, I'm announcing a 30-day program dedicated to daily action. Health is what you do, and if it feels overwhelming to tackle everything, this one is for you. It will have a (peri)menopause specific focus.
