EN
FR
DE
IT
ES
Keto bars can not only be incredibly delicious, but also provide valuable fats - if you do it right. We'll show you the 5 magical steps to create the perfect keto bar.
You wonder what kind of new trend is this? Keto bars can be counted among the so-called fitness bars. You can find these right next to protein bars and energy bars on the shelf, where they now have their own space in the supermarket and fill large shelves.
But even here there are some black sheep hiding under the bars and are not as healthy as the customer may initially believe. In this article we want Save yourself from the trap of supposedly healthy fitness bars and explain to you what a really healthy and delicious keto bar should containso that you really get something out of it.
Keto Bars: Are Fitness Bars Really Healthier Than Chocolate Bars?
Imagine you go shopping and your stomach growls - it's asking for a small snack. What will you choose? Should it be the usual chocolate bar, the bulk of which you were just able to withstand in the candy department, or do you grab a bar from the fitness department and? satisfy your hunger pangs with a clear conscience?
Bars from the fitness department suggest to the customer in the supermarket that they are better and healthier for the body than common chocolate bars or that they are a good way to snack while losing weight with a clear conscience. After all, there is even less sugar in them. There is more protein in protein bars and that's great for the muscles ?! But here, too, the proportion of protein is not the only characteristic that you should pay attention to.
Unfortunately, even today you have to be very careful on the shelves and pick up a few bars beforehand to take a closer look at the ingredients. Because many of the protein bars and other fitness bars are more like the sweet chocolate sins from the candy department than you think.
Because: The probability is high that even the supposedly healthy snacks from the fitness section are full of sugar and starch. If there is no sugar, you will likely find another artificial sweetener in the products. After all, the bar should also taste good. There are also many protein bars filled with cheap protein.
If you do find a bar that is actually healthy, the taste will be disappointing: sticky, disintegrates in the heat or you feel like breaking your teeth because the bar becomes hard when it's cold.
Keto bars, protein bars, energy bars: where does the trend come from?
Before keto bars, or protein bars as we know them today, ended up in supermarkets, there were energy bars has long been an integral part of space travel. Because the first energy bars were made for astronauts. In the 1960s, Pillsbury Space produced food sticks that were formed into small cubes. Astronaut Scott Carpenter ate these on board the Aurora 1962 in 7.
Pillsbury's food technologists were already working hard at this point on similar technical sources of nutrients and calories, such as a non-crumbly cake that could be served in slices and meat.
This did not require cooling, so that the products for space could have a long shelf life. In 1970, the company then registered a brand for space food sticks, gave them new packaging and presented it to consumers as balanced healthy snacks for in between.
But these space food sticks disappeared from the market when the space program was no longer the focus of the government. It wasn't until 1986 that energy bars reappeared when Canadian marathon runner Brian Maxwell started his company claiming "To create the perfect energy bar to help athletes survive long distance events without running out of glycogen. "
Keto bars: what are the disadvantages of other fitness bars?
Now let's take a closer look at what downsides can be hidden in the supposedly healthy fitness bars and what you should pay attention to when buying such bars.
preservative
Preservatives are very common in modern energy bars used to improve shelf life so that they are edible for years. That saves the bar manufacturers a lot of money. However, consuming these preservatives can be harmful to your health.
The preservatives include, for example:
- BHA
- BHT
- Sodium nitrate
- sulfites
- Sodium benzoate
Ultimately, preservatives are added to improve the company's success and not the customer's health.
The health consequences can be mild to severe:1
- headache
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Rashes
Cheap protein
Most bar manufacturers use proteins from cheap sources such as soy protein. These can cause allergies, autoimmune reactions, constipation, gas, and other uncomfortable reactions.
Soy is often touted as a great source of vegetable protein with an amino acid profile similar to meat. However, there are problems with modern soy products that actually block the body's ability to absorb this protein.
Soybeans naturally contain anti-nutrients such as: B.
- Saponins
- Phytates
- Trypsin inhibitors
- Goitrogens
- phytoestrogens
They can cause digestive problems and block the digestion of vegetable proteins in the intestines. Did you know that over 90% of all soybeans in the US are genetically engineered?2
Terrifying - and what's worse, the soy that's in your protein bar probably contains soy protein isolate. The process of "isolating" soy protein leaves traces of neurotoxins such as hexane and aluminum.3 Traditionally fermented soy, such as natto or miso, does not contain these anti-nutrients as they are destroyed during the fermentation process.
Low carbohydrate sweeteners
Isomaltooligosaccharides (IMO) are fiber-like sweeteners. I.n many so-called protein-rich, low-carbohydrate energy bars are IMO's an important “natural” ingredient. It is advertised as "prebiotic fiber," which enables bar manufacturers to increase the amount of fiber on the nutritional label and thus lower the net carbohydrate content. Voilà - the manufacturers can already print “low-carbohydrate” on their packaging. The customer is being deceived.
Many “healthy” energy bars also contain IMO because it tastes sweet enough to make an energy bar tasty, but has fewer calories than natural sugar. Put simply, IMO appears to be a low-carb, low-calorie sweet.
The problem is, that IMO syrup is not a completely indigestible prebiotic fiber .4 In addition, he seems to Boost blood sugar levels in healthy people.5 However, this bites with marketing to a low-carbohydrate target group that typically avoids blood sugar bombs.
Another IMO problem is that syrup not really "natural" is how many bar labels claim. While IMO is naturally found in some foods, it is economical not feasible to obtain it on a large scale from whole foods. Because of this, be commercially available IMO syrups synthesized enzymatically from starchso it is completely wrong to say that the IMO syrup added to food is natural in some way.
5 healthy ingredients for the perfect keto bar
1. Minimize preservatives
The only preservatives that really necessary for the shelf life of a bar are in fact a few simple ingredients such as: B. Sea salt and ingredients with vitamin E such as almonds and tocopherols. The latter come from the family of vitamin E compounds naturally found in foods like nuts, fish, and leafy green vegetables.
The most natural preservative is sea salt. It has been used for thousands of yearseven before refrigerants like refrigerators existed. Almonds also contain a lot of tocopherols as well as vitamin E, which is a natural preservative due to its antioxidant effect.
2. Non-allergenic proteins
In addition to soy and whey, there are other proteins that are not only natural but also good for your health, such as grass-fed collagen and pea protein.
If you combine these ingredients, you get a perfect amount of protein in your keto bar, without any allergens and with minimal preservatives and delicious taste.
Grass-fed collagen
Collagen is a well-researched ingredient that has been extensively studied for its benefits for the gut, joints, and skin. Collagen is highly bioavailable, provides a full spectrum of long chain amino acids to support muscle and serves as the building block of connective tissues such as bone, cartilage, skin and tendons.
pea protein
pea protein provides a unique range of amino acids such as B. high levels of lysine, arginine, branched chain amino acids, enzymes and other vitamins, minerals and nutrients. The vegetable pea protein is unlike peas or legumes themselves very low in intestinal-irritating lectins and phytic acid. This is due to the highly effective hydrolysis process used to extract the protein from the peas.6
3. Sustainable energy from healthy fats
Healthy fats are the key to sustainable energy throughout the day. If you combine proteins with healthy fats in your keto bar, you get a real energy booster!
almonds
Almonds are full of protein and contain monounsaturated fat, fiber and antioxidants. Almonds support performance and the feeling of satiety and at the same time ensure a crunchy texture in the keto bar. your high oleic acid content also makes them a perfect ingredient for supporting the nervous system and the cell membrane.
cocoa nibs
Chocolate of all types (except those found in commercial candy bars) has a variety of health benefits, but cocoa nibs are your best bet. About 30 grams of cocoa nibs contain 9 grams of fiber, which helps keep the digestive system going. They also contain antioxidants, magnesium (64 mg in about 30 g), potassium (more per 30 g than bananas), iron, and other mood-enhancing nutrients.
Coconut flakes
It was once considered unhealthy because it was a food high in saturated fat. Today we know that the fat in the coconut is different from most other fats.
It is a extremely stable saturated fat that does not go rancid in high heat like vegetable oils and is also one extremely rich source of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs).
MCTs don't circulate in the bloodstream like other fats, they do are sent directly to the liver, where they are converted into energy and ketones. Unfortunately, vegetable oils are the more common ingredient in most protein bars.
MCT powders are an optimal choice for keto bars as they have a positive impact on digestion, as it is easy to digest and can keep the intestinal flora in balance.
More about the ketogenic diet and Ketosis You can find out in the Academy >>
4. Small amounts of healthy natural sweeteners
Most common bars do not use healthy or natural sweeteners because they fear increasing calorie count on their label. But Calories aren't the only thing that matters when it comes to health or figure.
Rather, it depends on the quality of your calories:
- Woher kommen sie?
- Are they natural, relatively unprocessed sources?
- Do they have a high nutrient density?
Unless you are on a strict, long-term keto regimen or diet for certain health reasons, the use of less natural, healthy sweeteners fits into a healthy diet.
For example, sorbitol, maltitol, erythritol and oligofructose are recommended sweeteners.
Erythritol
Erythritol tastes just like sugar, 0 calories and a glycemic index of 0! It does not increase blood sugar levels and insulin game. That does it now excellent sweetener for people with diabetes.7 Erythritol also acts as an antioxidant and can improve blood vessel function in people with type 2 diabetes.8
Sorbitol
Sorbitol is also a good sweetener, as is very little effect on blood sugar and insulin Has. Here you will find 60% of the sweetness and approx. 60% of the calories from sugar. It is widely used in sugar-free foods and beverages or spreads.
maltitol
Maltitol is processed from the sugar maltose and has a very similar taste to normal sugar. However, with a comparable sweetness of around 90%, it only has half the proportion of calories.
Oligofructose
Oligofructose is a valuable fiberwhich also has prebiotic properties. It not only has a positive influence on your intestinal flora, but also supports your immune system in this way.
5. Additional nutrients and antioxidants
The Consuming antioxidants from natural food sources can help turn off harmful free radicalscaused by everything from excessive exercise to pollution to toxins, stress, lack of sleep and much more. Almonds, cocoa nibs, and chocolate contain antioxidants and flavonoids. Another ingredient that is high in antioxidants is sesame seeds.
Summary
A sad conclusion, but most modern chocolate, fitness or protein bars are not tested in practice by the brands before they hit the shelves - no matter how tasty or how healthy they really are. Rarely do companies put their food products through rigorous field tests to make sure they don't freeze into a tooth-splitting mass or a giant, greasy pile of melted something.
Anyone who cares about their health and wants to make sure that they are doing their body good and also benefit from sustainable energy when snacking should take a keto bar. As you have learned, there are many ingredients that make a healthy and natural keto bar easy to make - and they taste good! Enjoyment without compromise!
And we wouldn't be aheadif we had already found a solution here. Now test the ACHIEVE Bar in the sample package.
[1] http://www.ijsrp.org/research-paper-0415/ijsrp-p4014.pdf
[2] https://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/311/ge-foods/about-ge-foods
[3] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/soy-health_b_1822466
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26162745/
[5] https://insulinresistance.org/index.php/jir/article/view/32/97
[6] https://selfhacked.com/app/uploads/2014/07/Pea-protein.pdf
[7] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8039489/
[8] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24366423/