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Is Your Nutrition Bar Right for You?

man_on_bikeToday’s on-the-go lifestyle can make it difficult to get the proper nutrition you need to keep you going throughout your day.  Between rushing through the airport, dashing from one meeting to the next, or heading to or from a workout, it’s challenging to find the time to fuel your body.  But, if you are one of the 33 million people who purchase nutrition bars and shakes, you know that optimal nutrition can be just a bite or sip away!

If you’ve chosen wisely, you’ll enjoy a welcome boost of energy and continue on with your busy day.  But, if you didn’t stop to look at the ingredients, you may soon find yourself the victim of the classic sugar spike and crash, where your energy level drops and you feel hungry sooner.

The fact is, not all nutrition bars are created equal!  While many nutrition bars are nutrition power houses, a few popular bars have at least, if not double, the amount of sugar as a glazed doughnut,  Confused?  Don’t worry -- you are not alone. According to two recent surveys -- one of 1,000 people just like you and another survey of 1,000 personal trainers -- there is a great deal of confusion about smart options for quick and nutritious energy. Let's explore common misperceptions about nutrition bars, get label-reading tips, and learn how the right nutrition bar can see you through your busiest days.

 

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About the Kelton Surveys

Kelton Research conducted two surveys -- one of 1,000 people in October 2006 and one of 1,000 fitness professionals in January 2007 -- designed to learn more about nutrition topics and behaviors. Both surveys were commissioned by Atkins Advantage® nutrition bars and shakes and each had a margin error of plus or minus 3.1 at a 95 percent confidence level.

According to the January 2007 survey of fitness professionals, time and knowledge are the two biggest challenges their clients face in eating well.  Forty-eight percent of personal trainers said their clients’ biggest challenge in eating healthfully is not having enough time to prepare healthy foods, while close to a quarter said their clients don’t know how to eat healthfully.

Kelton’s October 2006 survey echoed these findings:  many consumers read labels, but knowing what to look for when evaluating nutrition content can prove tricky.

So, how do you cut through the confusion to make sure you get the reliable nutrition support you need? Nutrition bars remain an excellent food choice for snacks, workouts or on-the-go meals. But, as with everything else you eat, it’s important to read the labels to find a nutrition bar that fits within your lifestyle needs.  The bars that provide the highest levels of nutrition -- such as Atkins Advantage nutrition bars -- offer a bundle of health benefits, including low sugar, high protein, high fiber, and vitamins and minerals.
 

How Much Sugar Does Your Nutrition Bar Contain?

In the early 1800s, the average sugar consumption was 12 pounds per person each year. This increased to 124 pounds in 1980 and to 152 pounds in 1997. Today, we consume an estimated 156 pounds of added sugar per person per year. This translates into more than 5 tons in a lifetime. Common table sugar represents about 20 to 25 percent of the daily caloric intake of the average American.

All of which makes it no surprise that fitness professionals who responded to the Kelton survey named sugar consumption as the number one issue facing their clients and the most difficult issue for their clients to control. Consumers, meanwhile, ranked eating less sugar as the most difficult nutritional challenge they face -- more difficult than eating fewer calories or eating less carbohydrates.

However, the Kelton research shows that consumers and fitness professionals are equally confused about the sugar content of nutrition bars and other snacks. Both groups incorrectly identified doughnuts as having the most sugar on the list, when, in fact, two popular "nutrition" bars (both containing as much as 20 grams of sugar) outrank a glazed doughnut, which clocks in with 10 grams of sugar. Fitness professionals made the mistake despite stating that 1) they count eating too much sugar as the number one issue their clients face, and 2) they rank sugar as the number one item to look for on nutrition labels.

To avoid high sugar content, you simply need to read the nutrition facts panel to see how many grams of sugar are listed.  It’s important to note that sugar content will include naturally occurring sugars (found in fruits and nuts, whole grains and dairy) as well as added sugars (also listed in the ingredients section) which include:

  • High-fructose corn syrup
  • Sugar
  • Sucrose
  • Dextrose
  • Maltose
  • Honey
  • Malts

Atkins Advantage® nutrition bars have only 3g or less of sugar, preventing the dreaded spike and crash that can occur after eating other nutrition bars.  Also, Atkins Advantage bars have more protein, and more fiber than most other leading nutrition bars.  Compare Atkins Advantage bars to bars offered by PowerBar and Clif Bar, some of which clock in at a hefty 18 to 20 grams of sugar.

An Atkins Advantage®  Morning Peanut Butter Crisp bar has only 1 gram of sugar. Click here to "Take the Atkins Advantage Challenge" and see for yourself how our nutrition bars stack up against the competition when it comes to protein, fiber and sugar grams.


How Much Protein Does Your Nutrition Bar Contain?

Including protein in every meal provides your body with the material it needs for repair and maintenance, helps build muscle, and keeps your appetite satisfied. It's easy to compare bars based on the protein count listed in the Nutrition Facts panel, but that's not the whole story – you also need to pay attention to the types of protein, which can be found in a product's ingredients list. The protein used in Atkins Advantage nutrition bars comes from a blend of protein sources to insure the optimal amino acid profile.

Sources include:

  • whey protein isolate
  • soy protein isolate
  • sodium caseinate
  • calcium caseinate

 
Why do we use these sources? Simple:  They are among the best available in terms of your body’s ability to maximize protein’s inherent benefits:

  • Whey protein is very low in carbohydrates, high in protein, and has been shown in studies to possess immune-boosting capabilities. Whey protein also provides substrate and bioactive components to extend the overall benefits of physical activity.
  • Soy protein isolate has been shown to lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol, increase HDL ("good") cholesterol and inhibit the progression of atherosclerosis.
  • Sodium caseinate and calcium caseinate are milk proteins. Research has shown that resistance exercise plus a high-protein diet supplemented with caseinate, resulted in the greatest increases in lean mass and strength and greatest decreases in fat mass compared with an unsupplemented high-protein diet and resistance training.


How Much Fiber Does Your Nutrition Bar Contain?

Fiber offers huge benefits to your health, from helping to regulate the flow of fats and nutrients into your blood stream and helping your digestive tract function efficiently to aid in the prevention of some kinds of cancer.

Women need -- at a bare minimum -- 25 grams of fiber a day, while men need at least 35 grams, and the hard truth is that most of us don't get that much from the foods we eat. We get it from nuts, seeds and fiber-rich vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower and others. Getting enough fiber can be extremely challenging.

You can determine how much fiber you're getting from the foods you eat by checking the Nutrition Facts panel on the product label. The right nutrition bar or shake offers a great way to supplement for the fiber that you may not get from natural foods, helping you meet your optimal quota.

Among the various nutrition bars available on the market, Atkins Advantage bars, as well as our shakes, are rich in fiber. The bars have up to 11 grams of fiber, while the shakes have up to 4 grams. That means that each bar has 20 percent of the minimum daily amount of fiber needed for men. No matter what bar or shake you select, be sure to scan the label and use it to help you meet your daily fiber needs.


Learn More at the Learning Center

To learn more about evaluating your food choices to make sure they support optimal health, energy, and longevity, be sure to enroll in this month's featured free course, "Is Your Nutrition Bar Right for You," at the Atkins Learning Center. You'll learn more about reading labels and making sure your nutrition bar fits your lifestyle; you'll also review the health and energy benefits of high protein, high fiber, low sugar and the other principles that add up to the Atkins Advantage.

This free, instructor-led course has a lively Message Board where you can ask questions and discuss your goals with others. Also, be sure check out our other great course offerings and discussion groups at the Atkins Learning Center. See you in class!