Friday, 3 April 2009

Nutrition bars

Nutrition bars, you?ve probably heard about them or may have actually have one for lunch today. With today?s fast paced lifestyle, that even going out for lunch seems like impossible, nutrition bars may just be the answer. These nutritious and pocket sized bars are now sold everywhere.

Once used as an energy bar for dietary supplements for athletes, it is now an alternative nourishment for everyone. From athletes who consume these bars for its healthy contents to executives who keep one on their briefcases for lunch, consuming nutrition bars is a good option for quick and healthy diet.

The main ingredients of nutrition bars are proteins, carbohydrates, fat and sugar. Today, there are different types and brands of nutrition bars out in the market (meal substitute or diet bars, energy bars, protein bars, women only bars, breakfast bars, brain boosting bars, etc. just about anything a manufacturer can think of). Even in choosing one particular bar that is suitable for your dietary needs is very confusing. Each type of bar differs from one another. Some of these bars contain more amount of protein than the other nutrition bar, which of course, will depend on the intended goal of the one consuming it. Nutrition bars are designed for athletes (marathoners and cyclist) to enhance their endurance and energy. The main ingredient is carbs. Carbs are like additional ?fuel? for athletes such as professional golfers or body building to make it through a competition. Nutrition bars make a perfect ?eat-and-run? kind of food for individuals who are always on the go. Nutrition bars are healthy alternatives to burger, fries and soda from a fast food outlet. Though some of these bars contain too much fat, most of the nutrition bars available nowadays have health benefits.

Though nutrition bars are quite handy don?t let them take over the whole food in your diet. Some important ingredients in food that are essential to your body might be missing in these bars. Even though nutrition bars are, in some way, a healthy alternative, always read their labels carefully. So that you may know, Consumerlab.com (in an effort to independently evaluate products that affect health, nutrition, wellness and meditation, ), conducted a series of test on various brands of nutrition bars. Many bars did not meet what the labels claimed. Most nutrition bars have high sugar content; which make them as bad as an ordinary chocolate bar.

Always choose the bar that has little refined sugar and low saturated fat. Don?t consume too much of these bars if you are not very active for you might end up gaining weight. Nutrition bars are a good source of nutrition for some individuals who have an active lifestyle, don?t have time to sit down for lunch.

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