Like many processed meals, packaged protein bars are sometimes filled with numerous types of sugar (beet syrup, brown rice syrup, cane syrup), extra fat (palm kernel oil, sunflower oil), and synthetic colours and flavors. Plus, protein bars generally comprise gas-causing compounds like sucralose (a sugar substitute) and chicory root (a fiber additive).
“I’ve found that a bar just doesn’t register the same as a meal for me, and I’m hungry again shortly after no matter how many grams of protein or fiber it says are on the label,” says Jess Cording, R.D. If you’re nonetheless set on snacking on a post-workout protein bar, Brissette suggests on the lookout for a “clean label” that lists actual food elements, not ones you may’t acknowledge.
