Are Barebells Protein Bars Actually Good For You? What To Consider

A good protein bar can be the perfect post-workout snack if you're either rushing to work or heading out to meet friends for dinner. Sure, you'd love a protein shake, but it can be a pain to assemble all your favorite ingredients for your portable blender.

According to Muscle & Fitness, you'll need a certain amount of carbohydrates in your protein bar to help recover your energy stores and refuel your muscles. Aim for a protein/carb ratio of 1:3. Look for protein sources that have a complete amino acid profile, such as casein or whey protein. If you're following a plant-based diet, the protein should come from a variety of sources such as peas, rice, beans, or seeds.

Look for a protein bar that has less than 5 grams of sugar, says Baylor Scott & White Health. Many protein bars have a lot of processed or chemically altered ingredients, so avoid protein bars that have ingredients you can't pronounce. You'll also want to steer clear of sugar alcohols, especially if you already know they make you feel gassy. So let's take a look at Barebells protein bars to see if they're a good choice for you.

The Chocolate Cookie Dough Protein Bar has 200 calories, which is a good aim for a post-workout snack, according to Bodybuilding.com. After all, adding too many calories post-workout could eventually cause you to gain weight if you're not careful. If you're trying to add more muscle, you can probably go for a few more calories in a protein bar before you actually have a solid, post-workout meal.

This protein bar has 7 grams of fat, and its 3.5 grams of saturated fat puts you at 18% of the recommended value suggested by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Barebells protein bars have 20 grams of protein from casein and whey, so these complete proteins will help your muscles recover and build. You'll find that this bar also has 20 grams of carbohydrates, which is a 1:1 protein-to-carb ratio. This might not have enough carbohydrates to replenish glycogen and help with protein synthesis, according to a 2008 position in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

Barebells protein bars have just 1 gram of added sugar, so you'll be well under the 5-gram recommendation of Baylor Scott & White Health. However, you'll also be getting 6 grams of sugar alcohol in this bar in the form of glycerin and maltitol. The product's label says that maltitol may have a laxative effect. So you may want to avoid this protein bar before a workout.

You'll also want to consider some other ingredients. The protein bar has bovine collagen hydrolysate, which is a broken-down protein made by boiling cow bones and cattle byproducts. Polydextrose is a prebiotic synthetically made from glucose to help grow good bacteria in your colon. Sunflower lecithin is used as a stabilizer in this processed protein bar. In other words, there are quite a few processed ingredients in this product.

Barebells protein bars are also sweetened with sucralose. Although the Food and Drug Administration considers this artificial sweetener to be safe, the World Health Organization said that artificial sweeteners might contribute to some chronic conditions such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease. A 2022 article in Frontiers in Nutrition found that sucralose can change your gut microbiota, and a 2023 review in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part B found that a byproduct of sucralose manufacture can break up your DNA.