Dietary bars – How and where to choose the most suitable

Name: Homemade Diet Bar
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Yield: 5
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: A cup of Oat Flakes from FoodSeries; Two teaspoons of Desiccated Coconut from FoodSeries; Two teaspoons of Coconut Powder from FoodSeries; 30g nuts; Two tablespoons of pure honey; One grated tangerine; One teaspoon of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil de BioSeries; One teaspoon of cinnamon powder; A pinch of sea salt

María José García 6 min. of reading Well-being habits 1 Comment

Are all dietary bars equal?

Dietary bars, so popular that they are used for children’s breakfasts in school, in the gym, at home, even office office snacks, are not as safe as they’ve made us believe, as they’ve been manipulated by exacerbating their nutritional value, without calories, zero cholesterol and few carbohydrates.

Index

1 Are dietary bars as healthy as they are made out to be?
2 What are the ingredients of the commercial bars?
3 Recommended sugar intake
4 Reality of dietary bars and where to get them
5 Option for a healthy dietary bar
6 Other advantages of eating dietary bars
7 Recipe to make homemade dietary bars
8 Recipe Tips: Homemade Diet Bar
9 Ingredients
10 How to make: Homemade Diet Bar
11 Bibliography Sources
12 Related Entries

Are dietary bars as healthy as they are made out to be?

Dismantling the myth of the dietary bars sold in supermarkets

Popular belief, encouraged by marketing labs, is to idealise dietary bars, without knowing that those sold in supermarkets, given their processing, are very unhealthy.

You’ll be thinking – how can you make such a scary imposing statement when you and all of your family members consume them like water?

Yes, even if you think it’s an exaggeration or nonsense, these bars you buy in the supermarket, mostly granola with vanilla or chocolate flavours, contain huge amounts of sugar and saturated fat, which, according to studies by nutritionists, they can add a high amount of calories from a very questionable source.

As we mentioned, bars are very easy to buy in a supermarket, and people usually buy them because they want to lose weight or to do sport, trying in this way to avoid eating flour and sugars present in breads and sweet cakes, but it turns out that the remedy may be worse than the illness.

In addition to all this, the flavours of vanilla, chocolate, etc and colourings are completely artificial

Yes, because predictably, uncontrolled consumption of this product means their intake can often begin to replace meals, and this can lead to illness

What are the ingredients of the commercial bars?

Chocolate bars are generally made of certain ingredients, which can contribute to the appearance of certain pathologies, since they have been made with a chemical called 4-methylimidazole (4-Mei).

In addition to the above we have a normal bar, it can contain 20, 30 or even 50 grams of sugar. Can you imagine how many sweets you’re ingesting, not counting the ones you consume in your day-to-day life?

Even studies of the nutritional aspects of this product have concluded that they are not as transparent as they make out to be

Let’s look at why I’ve made this statement

Recommended sugar intake

Daily, according to recommendations, 10% sugar can be ingested, which translates to 12 teaspoons, WARNING not tablespoons, or 55 grams

Moreover, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the American Heart Association reduce that to 9 teaspoons for men and 6 for women, 3 to 6 teaspoons for children per day, depending on their age, and it doesn’t have to be table sugar, it may come from fructose, lactose, etc.

In this way, if the children consume a normal dietary bar, they should no longer eat more sugar in the day, so they won’t be able to eat flours and all those foods that contain sweets or that can be converted into sugar when processed by the body.

Why are these regulations in place?

Because diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease come into play. In addition to sugar, these products are made with palm oil, among other questionable ingredients.

Given the low nutritional value and low quality of their ingredients, these bars do not serve either as a snack, nor as energy for exercise or after exercise, as you have to accompany it with other foods to not feel hungry and have a correct nutrient supply.

However, it’s not all bad, and there are specific places where you can get healthy dietary bars

Reality of dietary bars and where to get them

So far we have discussed the disadvantages of buying bars in supermarkets, the good news is that there are bars with high standards in their nutritional values, due to their ingredients, and they can be purchased in sports nutrition shops.

The cereal bar is an excellent dietary supplement because it has a high fibre content that causes satiety, because it slows down glucose and this slows digestion, and the added value of fibre is that it facilitates intestinal transit.

As digestion slows down, we go longer without feeling hungry, this diminishes the anxiety responsible for snacking between meals. These bars are often also low in fat and include an interesting protein content

Option for a healthy dietary bar

As we said, if you are interested in buying bars of this kind, I recommend that you go to sports nutrition stores

In our case, a great choice is the Evobar.

This bar, with an exquisite taste and pleasant texture, is suitable for vegetarians, provides 30% protein, is low in calories, with less than 2g sugar per unit, and contains no palm oil.

The Evobar can be enjoyed at any time of day, as a snack in the middle of the morning at work, guaranteeing a good protein supply, or in the afternoon

Other advantages of eating dietary bars

The fibre cleans the intestine, avoiding constipation.
If it contains oats, you’ll be ingesting the iron present in it, preventing anemia, as iron helps the body produce haemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the whole body.
Our heart is supported because the fibre contained in oats helps in the elimination of bad cholesterol.
If the bar also contains nuts, a source of omega 3 is ensured, vital to keeping our heart in good condition.
Low-fat grain or cereal is healthier than traditional grain.
This type of cereal is usually made from natural ingredients such as spelt, wheat, rye, oats and mixed nuts.
Many of them are also an interesting source of protein, which makes a bar perfect for supplying the nutrients you need in a meal in a timely manner.

Here’s a recipe for making a homemade bar, but if you want comfort and better storage, don’t miss out on the bars in our online store.

Recipe to make homemade dietary bars

Recipe Tips: Homemade Diet Bar

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Portion size: 1 Bar
Number of servings: 5
Cooking style: American

Ingredients

A cup of Oat Flakes from FoodSeries
Two teaspoons of Desiccated Coconut from FoodSeries
Two teaspoons of Coconut Powder from FoodSeries
30g nuts
Two tablespoons of pure honey
One grated tangerine
One teaspoon of Extra Virgin Coconut Oil de BioSeries
One teaspoon of cinnamon powder
A pinch of sea salt

Nutritional Information per serving
Calories:	206,6kcal
Fat:	12,2g
of which saturates:	5,8g
Carbohydrates:	19,2g
of which sugars:	7,3g
Fiber:	3,3g
Proteins:	5g
Salt:	0,04g

How to make: Homemade Diet Bar

Heat the oil over a low heat.
Add the oats, coconut and cinnamon.
Mix gently for fifteen minutes, until the ingredients feel crisp.
Add the nuts and salt.
Stir for a few minutes.
Add the honey and the grated tangerine. Turn off the heat.
Place in a bowl or tupperware, put it in the fridge, and let it rest until it cools down and hardens.
Finally, cut your desired shape with a knife.

It’s important that you purchase dietary bars in sports nutrition stores or on truly reliable websites, to ensure you are consuming a quality product

Bibliography Sources

“Guía práctica de nutrición deportiva”, Asker Jeukendrup
“Nutrición esencial”, Estela Nieto e Iván Iglesias
“Nutrición, salud y alimentos funcionales”, Socorro Coral, Carmen Gómez, Consuelo López y Miguel Ángel Royo
“Barritas energéticas, recetas para hacer una en casa” Tikal