Looking for the best protein bar? Low-sugar, high-protein bars are frequently the solution to your nutritional requirements, whether you’re searching for a healthy on-the-go alternative or a portable snack to preserve muscle mass between workouts.
Protein bars are excellent for travelling, pre-or post-workout snacks, and regulating blood sugar throughout busy days. They are easy to keep at your desk or in your backpack for a fast snack. They are also excellent for a quick meal on the move.
The protein source, amount, and other nutrients in protein bars must be considered when evaluating their nutritional value.
That’s why we polled scores of nutritionists and health enthusiasts to find out what makes the healthiest protein bars.
Eating high-protein or low-calorie protein bars may help you achieve your fitness objectives. Unfortunately, most protein bars on the market are high in sugar alcohol, saturated fat, and low in fibre.
Choosing a clean and nutritious protein bar looks for a satisfying mix of healthy fat, protein, and fibre. A protein bar with 400 calories and 20 gm of protein per serving might not be the best protein bar for weight loss.
When selecting the best protein bars for men or women, macronutrients aren’t the only factor. Ingredients are equally essential. Check for foods like nuts, healthy grains and fruit in the ingredient list.
Know your protein sources, such as whey protein isolate, pea protein, brown rice protein, and eggs.
Protein Bar Nutrition
We studied several protein bars. Interestingly, some of the protein bars have much more calories than those mentioned on the label. Some of these have too little protein to be called a protein bar.
Protein: Considering that a normal adult’s weight is 60 kg or more and the protein intake has to be 1 gm per kg, any serious snacking has to have 8 to 10 gm of protein, and a meal should have more.
Sugar: There are 40 to 100 gm protein bars available in the market with a sugar content of 10 to 30gm. It will be apt to call these sugar bars instead of protein bars. Natural sweeteners are the best for added sugar.
Fibre: Most companies ignore fibre content in protein bars, and whatever content is there is only incidental.
Daily Fiber Intake
Every snack or meal should contain 4 to 10 grams of fibre, or you will experience the most vexing of problems known as constipation. However, it is also associated with several other issues.
| Fibre | Age 50 or younger | Age 51 or older |
|---|---|---|
| Men | 38 grams | 30 grams |
| Women | 25 grams | 21 grams |
We should have protein bars that include high-quality isolates and concentrates and whole-food components like grass-fed meats, eggs, nuts, legumes, and more.
Protein bars containing whole-food or natural ingredients and no artificial flavors or sweeteners are the best. It is better to stay away from artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols.
Fats: Fats help your body absorb nutrients and keep you full. We chose protein bars with nuts and seeds as fillers and binders over those with vegetable oils.
But in protein bars, it is essential to limit the carbs and fat content if the target is to build lean muscle or weight loss.
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Best Protein Bars
We share here the most popular and best-selling protein bar brands. Only some of these are high protein bars with a protein-calorie percentage of 40% or more compared to total calories. Then there are high-carb bars and high-fat bars as well. Except for Special K Bars, most all qualify as meal replacement bars rather than snack bars. The sugar content in some is very high, which one needs to be aware of while consuming.
| Name | Size | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat | Sugar | Fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkland Protein Bar | 60 | 190 | 21 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 15 |
| RX Bar | 52 | 210 | 12 | 23 | 9 | 13 | 5 |
| Think Protein Bar | 42 | 150 | 15 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| One Protein Bar | 60 | 220 | 20 | 23 | 8 | 1 | 3 |
| Zing Protein Bar | 50 | 210 | 10 | 22 | 12 | 9 | 8 |
| Kind Protein Bar | 50 | 250 | 12 | 17 | 18 | 7 | 6 |
| Quest Protein Bar | 60 | 200 | 20 | 22 | 8 | 1 | 15 |
| NatureValley Bar | 40 | 190 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 6 |
| Truth Bar | 45 | 180 | 1 | 27 | 12 | 5 | 8 |
| Barebells Protein Bar | 55 | 200 | 20 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
| Robert Irvine Bar | 88 | 380 | 30 | 27 | 16 | 6 | 2 |
| Pure Protein Bar | 50 | 200 | 20 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Met Rx Protein Bar | 100 | 410 | 32 | 42 | 14 | 25 | 3 |
| PowerCrunch Bar | 40 | 220 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 5 | 1 |
| Balance Protein Bar | 50 | 210 | 15 | 22 | 7 | 17 | <1 |
| Gatorade Protein Bar | 80 | 340 | 20 | 43 | 10 | 28 | 0 |
| Special K Bars | 35 | 160 | 8 | 17 | 7 | 9 | <1 |
Kirkland Signature Protein Bar
- Gluten-free, Kosher, non-GMO and doesn’t contain any artificial flavor.
- This product’s calcium comes from food, not a fortified additive. So you get various extra nutrients.
- This is highly processed which is for extending shelf life and retaining taste. This product has a lot of fibre. Small doses of fibre are good but too much may cause bloating.
RX Bar
- Sodium – 260mg, Calcium – 60mg, Iron – 2mg, Potassium – 480mg
- The calcium in it is from food and not a fortified additive. So you get various extra nutrients.
- It is a high-carb bar but with a good amount of fibre.
think! High Protein Bar
- Cholesterol-5mg, Sodium-160gm, Calcium-80mg, Iron-2mg, Potassium-4mg
- It has the least calories among all the bars studied but with a high protein content.
- It is highly processed.
One Protein Bar
- Sodium-150mg, Potassium-80mg, Iron-0mg, Calcium-102mg, Phosphorus-129mg
- It has artificial sweeteners and a high amount of saturated fats and is highly processed as well.
- It is a meal replacement bar.
Zing Bar
- Sodium-75mg, Calcium-4%, Iron-10%
- Only 19% of protein calories out of 210.
- It has high fibre but high sugar content.
- Its iron content is naturally sourced.
Kind Protein Bar
- No Genetically Engineered Ingredients, 0 gm Transfat
- Sodium-135 mg, Calcium-2%, Iron-6%, Potassium-4%
- high-fat content. 65% of calories are from fat.
- Multiple sugar ingredients.
Quest Protein Bar
- Cholesterol-5mg, Sodium-220mg, Calcium-120mg, Iron-0.5mg, Potassium-110mg
- It is a natural source of good calcium.
- The sugar quantity is very small but it has artificial sweeteners.
- Good protein quantity but high fibre as well.
- Is highly processed.
Nature Valley Protein Bar
- Cholesterol-5mg, Sodium-160mg, Calcium-30mg, Iron-1.3mg, Potassium-130mg
- less protein but a good quantity of fibre.
- high sugar content with multiple ingredients.
- Highly processed.
Truth Bar
- Sodium-85mg, Calcium-5mg, Iron-0mg, Potassium-121mg
- It has only 1 gm of protein, and the fibre is on the higher side.
- Sugar from multiple ingredients.
Barebells Protein Bar
- Cholesterol-12 mg, Sodium-63 mg
- good quantity of protein and very little sugar.
- Multiple sources of sugar
- Highly processed
Robert Irvine Protein Bar
- Sodium-490mg, Calcium-78mg, Iron-1.8mg, Potassium-270mg
- This meal replacement bar has 30 gm of protein in it.
- It has multiple sugar ingredients in it.
- Highly processed bar.
Pure Protein Bar
- Cholesterol- 10mg, Sodium-200mg, Potassium-140 mg, Vitamin A- 25%, Calcium- 20%, Vitamin E- 25%, Riboflavin- 25%, Vitamin B6- 25%, Vitamin B12- 25%, Pantothenic Acid- 25%, Iodine- 25%, Zinc- 25%
- good quantity of protein and other nutrients. But highly processed
- low sugar but from multiple ingredients.
- It contains artificial sweeteners and colors.
Met Rx Protein Bar
- Sodium-430mg, Calcium-240mg, Potassium-410mg, Phosphorus-330mg, Magnesium-40mg, Copper-1mg
- Multiple ingredients. 100gm bar with 25gm sugar.
- Highly processed bar
Power Crunch Protein Bar
- Cholesterol- 10mg, Sodium-100 mg, Calcium-60mg, Iron-0.5mg, Potassium-100mg
- Calcium sourced from foods
- 53% of calories are from fats.
- Highly processed
Balance Protein Bar
- Sodium-200mg, Potassium-110mg, Calcium, Iron, Phosphorus, and various other minerals and vitamins.
- 34% of the 50gm bar is sugar and has various sugar ingredients.
- Highly processed bar with less than 1% fibre.
Gatorade Protein Bar
- Cholesterol- 30mg, Sodium-190mg, Calcium-25%, Iron-2%
- 51% of calories are from carbs.
- Zero fibres
- 28gm sugar, which is the highest of all the bars considered. high in added sugars
- High in saturated fats.
Special K Protein Bar
- Sodium-210mg, Calcium-55mg, Iron-0.9mg, Potassium-65mg, Phosphorus-6%
- This snack bar has 9gm of sugar with various sugar ingredients.
- It is highly processed with less than 1 gram of fibre.
