A Look At Energy Bars

By Wendy Gordon

Last year, every family in charge of soccer snacks at my son's games brought some brand of energy bars. Energy bars play a major role in both children and adult lunches, serve as breakfast, are munched on in the car and in front of the computer. I don't know what percentage of the American diet derives from these compressed chewy rectangles, but I'm willing to bet it's high.

When energy bars, defined by Ana Cintado of Vanderbilt University as a "convenient fortified snack food containing a blend of simple and complex carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals" first came on the scene in 1986, they were a specialized product geared for endurance athletes. During endurance events (long-distance running, hiking, biking, swimming) the body relies on its stores of liver and muscle glycogen for energy. When those stores become depleted (usually not before ninety minutes of continuous exercise), fatigue sets in. Energy bars eaten before an event theoretically maximize glycogen stores (the technique known as "carbohydrate loading"). During an event they quickly restore glycogen levels; eaten after an event they speed recovery. Old-fashioned food, containing a comparable mix of nutrients, will do exactly the same thing. One study of cyclists in Indiana found no difference in performance between those who ate energy bars and those who ate bagels. But a bar is sturdy, neat, and convenient: food as fuel.

Most athletes and nutritionists agree that carbohydrate loading and/or supplementation improves performance, though its degree of effectiveness remains controversial. What's happened in the intervening two decades is the expansion of the energy bar market to general population, including those whose biggest endurance exercise is walking from their car to their cubicle.

During the late 1990s the quantity and variety of energy bars sold absolutely exploded. Since the FDA defines "energy" simply as calories, nutritional claims exploded too. Bars were fortified with vitamins and herbs, fiber and protein; their flavor enhanced with additions such as chocolate chips, chocolate wafers, and M and Ms. The caloric content of the bars varies between 100-300 kcals, dependent on the size of the bar. While the original bars were hefty and calorie-packed, their size shrunk and they were even touted as weight loss aids. Large companies bought up many small companies, and high-fructose corn syrup often replaced natural sugars. In the high protein bars, ingredients such as whey, soy protein isolate, or casein provided the protein. Partially hydrogenated fats such as palm kernel oil, which stays solid at room temperature, contributed the fat. Recently, there's been a backlash to these highly refined, artificially fortified products, so more natural bars have come on the market.

There are so many brands of bars sold it would take several months to conduct an exhaustive survey. I checked out a representative assortment of bars sold both at natural food stores and conventional supermarkets.

Let's start with the worst. Many of the supermarket bars make exorbitant nutritional claims with little to back them up. The main ingredient in Kellogg's NutriGrain mixed berry bar is high-fructose corn syrup, followed by regular corn syrup, glycerin, apple and blueberry puree (the "real fruit" advertised on the package), sodium alginate, artificial colors, too many additives to mention, and (way down the list) the "grain" — rolled oats.

Quaker Chocolate Chip Bars are less of a laboratory artifact, but essentially an oatmeal cookie: rolled oats, brown sugar, rice, rolled wheat, partially hydrogenated oil, coconut, whole wheat flour, chocolate chips, and corn syrup.

The many high-protein bars on the market derive their protein from soy in various forms, with some sugar and grains thrown in. While there is nothing wrong with eating soy, soy isolates are far more refined than edamame or tofu. Soy in excess may provoke allergic reactions (it's the eighth most common allergen in the world!) or have estrogen-like effects.

Fiber bars, another popular product, derive most of their fiber from chicory root extract, or inulin. Chicory root extract is refined from a bushy perennial related to radicchio. It gives a feeling of fullness without adding extra calories. Again, there's little harm in occasional consumption, but too much inulin, like any other substance that passes undigested through the intestine, leads to gastrointestinal distress.

Kudos, advertising "as much calcium and vitamin D as a glass of milk" are again essentially cookies, (with M and Ms, chocolate chips, or Snickers added), supplemented with calcium carbonate.

The Clif Bar is the most widely sold "natural bar" containing almost all organic ingredients. Problem is, there are an awful lot of ingredients and many of them are made in the laboratory. Organic or not, these are highly refined products. "Cool Mint Chocolate" is relatively simple, containing organic oats, soybeans, green tea, brown rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, chocolate cookies, unsweetened chocolate, "natural flavors," and lots of added vitamins— essentially a fortified oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. The "Builder's Peanut Butter" contains peanut butter, soy protein isolate, beet juice concentrate, brown rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, palm kernel oil, roasted peanuts, rolled oats, soy protein concentrate, cocoa, vegetable glycerin, natural flavors, peanut flour, rice starch, inulin, flaxseed, oat flour, lecithin, safflower oil, and vitamins— basically a peanut butter cookie with lots of soy. The "cranberry apple cherry" contains brown rice syrup, soy protein isolate, rice flour, malt, roasted soybeans, rolled oats, evaporated cane syrup, dried apples, dried fruit concentrate, apple and oat fiber, flaxseed, fig paste, and vitamins. These bars contain 230-250 calories.

Luna Bars are another technically organic product, designed for women, presumably because of their high calcium content. A Luna "Cookies and Cream Delight," providing 180 calories and 35 percent of the RDA for calcium, contains soy protein isolate, toasted oats, roasted soybeans, soy flour, flax-meal, brown rice syrup, palm kernel oil, soy flour, lecithin, chocolate cookies, glycerin, chocolate, inulin, vitamins and minerals. A "lemon zest bar" boasts actual lemon pieces, along with lots of soy, oats, evaporated cane juice, glucose, oat syrup solids, sunflower oil, and vitamin and mineral fortification.

The best bars I found were Lärabar and Skout, both marketed as gluten-free. Along with the gluten, they've eliminated all the wonders of modern chemistry like soy protein isolate, high-fructose corn syrup, and inulin. A Lärabar "Cinnamon Roll," at 210 calories, contained dates, walnuts, almonds, raisins, cashews, and cinnamon. That's it! A Skout "Bumble Bar," at 230 kcal, contained sesame seeds, brown rice syrup, flaxseed, cane juice, almonds, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.

The price of energy bars varies widely. The supermarket bars are a fraction of the price of the higher quality natural bars, which average about $1.50 per serving.

Energy bars are hardly a necessity for the average person. Most people do not come close to depleting their liver glycogen in the course of a normal day. If you're concerned about protein, calcium, or fiber intake, plenty of whole, unprocessed foods provide these nutrients, along with many trace vitamins and minerals lost in highly refined products. The problem is not eating the occasional bar, but allowing them to replace regular foods. Admittedly, energy bars are more nutritious than many snacks; you're better off snacking on a higher quality energy bar than potato chips, soda, or candy. But unless you're in the middle of a marathon, surely it is not that difficult to pack a piece of fruit, or whole grain crackers and cheese sticks, raw vegetables, dried fruit, or a peanut butter sandwich.

I think what offends me the most about energy bars is the way they reduce food to the lowest common denominator, as if your body was a machine whose tedious refueling was a chore to be accomplished as quickly as possible. As one article promoting the original Power Bar put it, they "satisfy energy and hunger needs at the same time."

Personally, I think we should hold our meals—even our snacks—to a higher standard. Next time I'm headed out on a ten-mile hike, I might throw some Lärabars in my pack. But for soccer practice, I'll stick with orange slices.

Wendy Gordon is a writer and restaurant reviewer who lives in Portland, Oregon. She has a master's degree in clinical nutrition from the University of Chicago.