Getting Healthy Bars: Energy Bar Nutrition Review

Healthy Eating Tips
Getting Healthy Bars: Energy Bar Nutrition Review
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Finding a Healthy Energy Bar

The majority of meal replacement bars on the market today with the label of “energy bar” are not what the their packaging makes them out to be. Many of these bars end up having more high fructose corn syrup and processed ingredients than popular candy bars. This is why it is so important to read the label of any type of bar that you may purchase.

Besides not looking closely at the label, many people tend to choose their bar based on taste. In any market today there can be seen a higher range of bars that are desert flavors, while those that have nut or fruit based flavors are becoming less common. This is something to watch out for and can give a great indication that the flavor name will offer a less healthy choice of energy bar. For example, a bar that had the flavor of double milk chocolate fudge brownie is not based on a healthy nutrition value.

Here we are not going to be focused on desert flavors nor bars that end up being more like a candy, but we will take a closer look at the top five healthy energy bars that are on the market today.

Clif C Bar

The Clif company began because it’s founder wanted to create a better tasting energy bar than what had been released. Their staple product The Clif Bar, has been popular but it is with their new Clif C Bar’s that they are going with less ingredients and lower calories.

The nutrition information for an Apple Clif C Bar is as follows:

  • Calories 130
  • Polyunsaturated Fat 0.5g
  • Monounsaturated Fat 3g
  • Trans Fat 0
  • Saturated Fat 0
  • Cholesterol 0
  • Sodium 15mg
  • Potassium 260mg
  • Total Carbs 25g
  • Protein 2g
  • Sugar 17g
  • Fiber 4g

This bar is also created from a focus on organic ingredients. All the ingredients that are in the Apple Clif C Bar are: organic dates, macadamia nuts, almonds, organic apples, organic apple juice concentrate, organic cinnamon, sea salt, organic lemon juice concentrate and vitamin E. That’s it for the whole bar, there are no complicated chemicals and no toxic preservatives.

Luna Bar

LunaBerryALmond

The line of Luna bars are also made by the Cilf Bar company but they are geared towards women. Of the full line of energy bars that are under the Luna, the healthiest one that is offered is the Berry Almond bar.

Nutrition information for the Berry Almond Luna Bar is as follows:

  • Calories 170
  • Fat 3.5g
  • Saturated Fat 0
  • Trans Fat 0
  • Cholesterol 0
  • Sodium 115mg
  • Potassium 170mg
  • Total Carbs 29g
  • Sugars 11g
  • Fiber 3g
  • Protein 9g

As with the Clif C Bar, this Luna bar focuses on organic ingredients without the added chemical preservatives that are common for many energy bars. The organic ingredients are rice flour, soy flour, oats, flaxmeal, brown rice syrup, almonds, cranberries, sunflower oil, apple juice and oat syrup. The non-organic ingredients are almond butter, chicory extract, elderberry, chokeberry, black currant, raspberry juice concentrate and vitamin E.

Bumble Bars

The Bumble Bar company focuses on creating healthy energy bars that fit a variety of diets, including those who stick to a gluten free way of eating. Their main ingredients are sesame and flax seeds which provide the consumer with more calcium than a glass of milk and enough omega 3’s to help in brain and circulatory health. By far the energy bars created by the Bumble Bar company seem to be the healthiest choice currently available, even though their fat content is a bit higher than the bars listed above. One reasoning for this is due to the nut fats and the fish oil, both of which are healthier fats for the body. This is why three of their flavored bars are a part of this top five selection.

The three flavors that have been selected, based on nutrition are the Lushus Lemon, Chunky Cherry and the Awesome Apricot. Each bar holds the same basic nutritional items with the exception of the organic fruit that makes the lemon bar 190 calories. Both the cherry and apricot bars are 180 calories a piece.

BBarApricot

Nutrition information for the Awesome Apricot are as follows:

  • Calories 180
  • Fat 12g
  • Sat Fat 4g
  • Trans Fat 0
  • Cholesterol 0
  • Sodium 80mg
  • Total Carbs 17g
  • Fiber 4g
  • Sugars 12g
  • Protein 5g

The organic ingredients of this bar are agave, sesame seeds, dried apricots, coconut, flax seeds and almonds. The non-organics are sea salt and vitamin E. As with each bar listed here, none of the Bumble Bars contain chemical preservatives or toxic ingredients that can harm human health.

References

Nutrition.gov, https://www.nutrition.gov

Clif Bar Nutrition, https://www.clifbar.com/food/products

Bumble Bar Nutrition, https://www.bumblebar.com/Nutrition.aspx

Image Credit: © 2011 Clif Bar, 2011 BumbleBar, Inc. & WorldPantry.com®, Inc.