The Best and WORST Protein Bars

Don't be fooled by "protein bars" that are really candy bars in disguise... read below for
The 6 Most Important Things to Look for in a Bar
by Mike Geary - Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist
Author of best-seller:  The Truth About Six-Pack Abs

I know there's a lot of confusion these days about what actually constitutes a truly healthy "protein bar" or meal replacement bar... let's face it... most protein bars on the market have at least one or more of these evil ingredients:

• Too much sugar
• High fructose corn syrup
• Soy protein  (and no, soy protein is NOT healthy)
• Nasty artificial sweeteners  (anybody want some cancer with that protein bar?)
• Other chemical additives
• Artificial forms of vitamins, instead of naturally occuring
• Excessive amounts of sugar alcohols
• and even occasionally, shockingly, trans fats in some bars!

So with that said, some of the worst protein or "energy" bars out there have at least 1 or more of these problems above.
In all honestly, it's actually really hard to find a good bar that doesn't have one of these problems.  I've even seen some bars marketed as "healthy" that contain corn syrup as the 1st ingredient!  No, I'm not joking... they should be arrested for false advertising like that!
I'm not going to "name names" and name all of the junk protein bars (because there's simply too many bad ones to name), but you now know to avoid everything listed above.  And also, here's the absolute MOST important things I look for...
The 6 most important things that I look for in a good protein bar are:
1.  One of the first things I look for on the ingredient label is to make sure there is ZERO soy protein.
Remember that soy protein and soy products in general are one of the most contaminated crops with pesticide and herbicide residues (which are xenoestrogens that increase your "stubborn" belly fat)...
Soy is also the most genetically modified of any crop (which has it's own potentially scary issues we won't even delve into in this article)... and even worse, soy proteins in particular typically concentrate much of the phytoestrogens in soy (different than xenoestrogens), which adds a double whammy for adding belly fat to your body.  Organic soy is a step in the right direction, but I'd still stay away from it for many reasons.
Instead of soy protein, I look for healthier protein sources in my bars, such as brown rice protein, hemp protein, whey protein, or even just obtaining the protein content from various nuts and seeds.
2.  The 2nd most important thing that I make sure to avoid in protein bars are artificial sweeteners.... so I look out for sucralose, aspartame, acesulfame potassium (a.k.a acesulfame K), or any other artificial sweeteners.
I also try to avoid large amounts of sugar alcohols.  If a bar only has 1 or 2 grams of sugar alcohols, that's not a big deal, but I try to avoid anything more than that.
3.  The 3rd thing I look at is total carbohydrates and total grams of fiber.  Specifically, what I look for is a good ratio of grams of fiber to grams of total carbohydrates.  The higher the ratio of fiber compared to total carbs, the better this bar will be for your blood sugar stabilization, and therefore, appetite control.
For example, if bar1 has 5 grams of fiber, but 50 grams of total carbs, that's only 10% fiber content out of total carbs.  Not good!
However, if bar2 has 4 grams of fiber, and 16 grams of total carbs, that's actually 25% fiber content out of total carbs!  Bar2 had 1 gram less fiber, but had a MUCH better ratio (2.5x better ratio) of fiber to total carbs.  Bar2 is the clear winner... assuming it doesn't contain the other evil ingredients we talked about above.
4.  The 4th most important thing I look at on the nutrition label of a protein bar or energy bar is the protein content vs the carbohydrate content.
Generally, I look for at least 10 to 15 grams of protein or more, and maybe no more than 20-30 grams of total carbs.  However, we have to make sure that there's no soy protein, and also, if the fiber content is super high, it doesn't matter if the total carb amount is over 30 grams, as long as the ratio of fiber to total carbs is very high (at least 25% or more fiber content of total carbs)
5.  Another thing I generally look for in a good bar is about 8-15 grams of healthy fats (usually obtained from nuts and seeds in the ingredients, coconut oil, or almond butter).  This is important not only for having a good tasting bar, but also to make sure the bar has a better glycemic profile (which the healthy fats help with), and help to satisfy your appetite longer.
6.  The last thing I look for in a good bar is simply a bonus if it does contain any... and that would be if it has any superfoods or greens... superfoods such as spirulina, maca, blue-green algae, kelp, chlorella, goji berry, raw cacao or organic cocoa powder, and other greens, etc.
So with all of those things in mind, what are the BEST bars out there?
Well, I previously used to recommend a couple that were my favorites - Larabars and Organic Food Bars.
I still think both of these are excellent bars, and use almost solely organic, raw, natural ingredients without any soy protein, HFCS, artificial sweeteners, or other junk.  However, I've always felt they could do slightly better on the fiber content and the protein content... as those are 2 of the most important aspects of a good bar that I look for.
So, just last week, I found a NEW bar, that has just become my new favorite bar!  It's called the Boku Superfood Bar and I just received my box in the mail a couple days ago... and I'm blown away at not only how delicious these bars taste, but also how practically perfect they are in terms of nutrition!
And they're even cheaper than most bars at my local health food store... and better quality.  Needless to say, I'm a little excited about this new find!
Here's why I think these bars are almost perfect nutrition-wise:

• 15 grams of protein (from raw sprouted brown rice protein... and some from the almond butter too)
• a whopping 11 grams of fiber out of 30 grams of total carbs!  (that's a 37% ratio of fiber content... pefect for blood sugar stability)
• there's 13 grams of healthy fats (mostly from the almond butter and almonds)
• these bars also have some sprouted quinoa, and celtic sea salt (but are still low sodium)
• and best of all, they contain loads of superfoods from the Boku Superfood blend of greens, maca, goji berries, antioxidant-rich mushrooms, probiotics, enzymes, and more

Overall, these are the best bars I've found in terms of taste and nutrition combined!  You've gotta give em a try!
Also, I love this company because of their focus on super high quality ingredients.  I've also tried their Boku SuperProtein and and their Boku SuperFood, and I love the quality of both of those products too.  I think they're one of the best companies out there these days in the health food space for sure.
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Grocery Store Health Deception - Understanding the Truth about Food Labels

Nutrition & Weight Loss Tips that Start with Your Food Shopping

by Mike Geary, Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Nutrition Specialist

I was at the grocery store the other day picking up some ingredients for a black bean & brown rice with seasoned venison strips dish I was planning to make, when an interesting thing happened.
I had gone straight to the grocery store after training a couple clients at the gym. Well, as I was grabbing some frozen veggies, a friendly lady (who must have seen that I was a fitness coach from my shirt), asked me my advice on a couple frozen prepared box meals she was picking out which had "healthy" claims on the labels (by the way, those prepared frozen meals are usually highly processed crap loaded with sodium and other chemicals).
Now I will say that this woman was VERY overweight, and she mentioned that she has "tried everything" to lose the excess weight and has always failed.
Keep in mind I hear about 50 people a day tell me they've "tried everything" to lose weight and get in shape. The problem that they don't realize is that they're trying all of the wrong things... they're trying all of the gimmicks and fat loss fads that are out there instead of just adopting a TRUE healthy active lifestyle that will make them lean and healthy for life.
Back to the woman in the store...
So we started chatting about her struggles with losing weight and getting in shape, and I began scanning her grocery cart. If I can remember, these were some of the contents she thought were healthy:

• Slim fast shakes (far from healthy...they're actually loaded with high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and a bunch of other chemicals)
• Fat Free Rice Cakes (ok...despite so many people believing these pieces of crap are healthy...they really are nothing but pure refined starch with zero fiber, which basically breaks down immediately into sugar in your body, spiking insulin and promoting fat storage...doesn't sound so good anymore, huh)
• Protein bars "Scientifically Slim Body Engineered" or some BS statement like that (I took a gander at the ingredient list of these so called "healthy" protein bars and sure enough... hydrogenated oils, high fructose corn syrup, and enough sugar alcohols to give you diarrhea for a week!)
• Canned fruit in syrup (I guess she could do worse here...but still, why not just eat fresh whole fruit which still contains the skins, fiber, active enzymes, etc, instead of resorting to processed, canned fruit that's been cooked and loaded with syrup)
• Reduced Sugar Dessert Cakes (ok, so these are loaded with nasty artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols, preservatives, and a chemical ingredient list about 15 lines long)

Do you see what's going on here? This is the same scenario that I see all the time.
Most people are fooled by what the FRONT OF THE BOX says, leading them to believe what they are buying is healthy. On all of these items, the FRONT of the packages had all kinds of great sounding things like "fat free", "reduced sugar", "high protein", "low cholesterol", "low carb", etc.
However, the TRUTH is on the BACK OF THE BOX! Ah yes, the ingredient list and nutrition info is where the real truth is. However, I've realized that most of the general public doesn't know how to fully understand the ingredient list and nutrition info, so they rely on the advertising claims on the front of the package to guide them.
BIG MISTAKE!
If you notice, this woman thought she was doing great with her grocery shopping and buying all kinds of healthy stuff for her and her family.
In reality, EVERYTHING she was buying was highly processed and full of chemicals and industrially refined ingredients. No wonder "nothing has worked" for her to get in shape and lose the excess body fat... she actually hasn't been doing anything right. She's been mislead by all of the confusing marketing and labeling and conflicting nutrition info in the mass media.
If you want to discover the TRUTH about what it really takes to eat a truly healthy diet that maximizes your metabolism, brings your hormonal balance back to normal, reduces cravings, and strips off body fat faster than you'd believe is possible... it's all found in my Truth about Six Pack Abs program.
Here's what some of my readers from all over the globe are saying about their experiences with this fat loss program:
Truth about Six Pack Abs Reviews
Have fun and choose wisely on your next grocery store trip!
Feel free to copy/paste this link (or share below) on to any friends, family, or coworkers you think might enjoy this article.

Stay lean,

Mike Geary
Certified Nutrition Specialist
Certified Personal Trainer
Founder - TruthAboutAbs.com

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Is Your Protein Bar, Energy Bar, or Nutrition Bar Actually Healthy, or Are They Just Candy Bars in Disguise? 

The Truth May Surprise You...

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

There are so many types of "health bars" on the market today, how do you know if you're actually buying something healthy or junk food in disguise?
Again, just as I've talked about grocery store food choices, you really need to know how to read labels if you're going to stand a chance at finding a truly healthy food bar.
To be quite honest, most of the nutrition bars out there are pure junk food... candy bars disguised through labeling as a health food bar.
Just recently, I was going on a mountain bike ride and needed a quick nutrition bar to make sure I had enough energy for the ride.
Well, I didn't have any of my usual healthy food bars on me, so my friend gave me an extra Slimfast bar he had.
Keep in mind that this Slimfast bar is marketed as a "health food", that is supposedly appropriate for someone trying to lose weight.
What a freakin joke these bars are!  In my opinion, these Slimfast bars are WORSE for you than a candy bar!
The 1st ingredient in these "weight loss" bars is corn syrup! Then the 2nd ingredient is sugar (yay more sugar!), followed by hydrogenated oils (trans fats), and then the list went on with nothing but junk such as artificial flavors, colors, more hydrogenated oils, nasty artificial sweeteners, and rounded out with some highly processed soy protein isolate just to give your body some more junk.
*By the way, you should stay away from processed soy products like the plague if you care about your health... I can't go into detail on this today, but this was a previous article on the dangers of eating too much processed soy. Just remember when it comes to soy that this is a HUGE multi-billion dollar industry, so they have a lot of power in trying to portray soy as a "health food" so that most people are eager to devour this fake food in almost every form... in reality, it couldn't be further from the truth.
Back to these "worse for you than candy bars" Slimfast bars... not only are they a disaster nutritionally, but the bar tasted horrible... it tasted like chemicals and was way too overly sweet (not a surprise with all of the corn syrup, sugar, sugar alcohols, AND artificial sweeteners). This is a prime example of "over-engineering" of food.
So how do you determine a healthy nutrition bar?
I look for simplicity in a good bar.  Many of the healthiest and tastiest bars I've found have only a couple basic ingredients such as nuts, seeds, and fruit. I also look for organic ingredients and raw ingredients if possible.
A couple of my favorite truly healthy bars:

1. Organic Food Bars - This is actually the brand name.
Depending on which flavor, these are usually a base of organic almond butter (or cashew butter) with a certain type of fruit, organic seeds, organic biosprouts (quinoa, etc), and some organic rice protein. Some flavors include an organic dark chocolate as well. They also have a line of bars that use exclusively raw ingredients.
Not only are these food bars extremely nutritious, but I think they are delicious as well and have a lot of flavors to choose from such as blueberry, cranberry, chocolate chip, high protein, and more.
You won't find these bars at your local grocery store, but I have found them at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, and several health food markets.

2. Lara-bars - These are even simpler in ingredients than organic food bars. Usually larabars are just 2 or 3 ingredients, and mostly raw... a blend of crushed nuts along with a type of fruit is the usual combination, but they have a lot of different flavors so it can vary.
These are also delicious and you will NEVER see a list of chemicals a mile long in their ingredient list... usually just nuts and fruit, and that's it! Simple IS better. I don't know who this Lara is, but she made a great product.
Again, I've found these bars at various health food markets.

3. Prograde Cravers - These are made by Prograde Nutrition. I know the founders of this company personally and am good friends with them, so I have a high level of trust in their nutritional products.
These are definitely some of the tastiest nutrition bars I've ever had (especially the peanut butter flavor!)... and they are also made with all organic ingredients using nut butters, rice protein, organic dark chocolate, etc.
You actually can't get these in any stores, but you can get these online at the following site:
Prograde Cravers - a Healthy Snack Bar
When you actually find truly healthy nutrition bars like these examples above, they make great quick snacks while you're traveling or while you're at work or just need a quick pick-me-up energy bar at any time.
I carry some on me almost at all times, just to make sure I have healthy options to eat whenever I need a snack, so that I'm not tempted by fast food joints or junk food vending machines.


That's it for today. Please feel free to copy/paste this link and email this article to your friends, family, and coworkers if you think it would help them make healthier food and nutrition bar choices.

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