NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — If you've grabbed an energy bar for a quick snack lately, you're not alone.
About 40 percent of us eat them regularly, but new testing shows that these convenient snacks might not deliver the boost you expect.
Consumer Reports dietitian Amy Keating oversaw Consumer Reports testing of 31 popular bars, checking nutrition and taste.
“The key to choosing a healthy bar isn't just looking at the calories," said Keating. "It's looking at what's actually inside, like the added sugars and ingredients. The best options contain whole foods like nuts, seeds, dried fruit and grains.”
In their testing, Consumer Reports found winners and duds in every category.
For fruit and nut bars, this Patter Bar stood out with its complex flavor and chewy texture and contained more fruits and nuts than this Nature Valley bar, which fell short with what testers described as a dry, tough consistency. Kind's whole-grain bar got high marks for its moderate sweetness with hints of coconut and honey, but Bobo's Oat Bar Original got low marks as it has more than twice the added sugars of the Kind bar. It tasted mild and slightly underbaked.
And in the protein category, this 88 Acres bar impressed testers with its sweet and slightly salty mix featuring real pumpkin seeds that give it its protein -- as opposed to more highly processed isolates like in this Think bar which testers also thought tasted bland and had a slightly bitter aftertaste.
When shopping for your next bar, Consumer Reports says to look for bars with no more than 7 grams of added sugar.
Real sources of protein like nuts and seeds rather than soy or pea powders. And fiber from whole grains rather than added fiber!
So, read the label before you grab that energy bar for your afternoon pick-me-up. What looks like a healthy snack might be closer to dessert.
And if you’re wondering how much sugar is too much, the American Heart Association recommends women limit added sugars to 25 grams per day and men to 36 grams.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at jennifer.kraus@newschannel5.com.
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-Rebecca Schleicher
