Energy bars have come a long way since they took off in the 1980s. Early brands like Clif Bar and PowerBar were marketed as workout fuel for athletes, quickly followed by bars from Atkins and ZonePerfect designed to help with weight loss.
Now they’re not just found in gyms and health food stores; they’ve gone mainstream, available in just about every gas station snack aisle, supermarket, and drugstore for anyone looking for a healthy snack or an on-the-go meal. You might have a bar in your kitchen, office, or purse right now. About 40 percent of people say they eat one a few times a week, according to Mintel, a market research agency.
Looking at their wrappers, most bars seem like they’d be good for you. Certainly better than a Payday or a Snickers, right? But many don’t deliver the benefits you might expect. Even some of the ones with health claims like “high in protein” are nothing more than glorified candy bars, says Natalie Allen, RD, a clinical associate professor of nutrition and team dietitian at Missouri State University in Springfield. So how do you know which ones will give you a healthy boost of energy—and taste good? To help you shop, CR tested 31 popular bars for nutrition and taste, so you can take our recommendations to the store with you.
What Gives You Energy, Anyway?
There’s no special ingredient in these bars that supplies energy. That’s because energy really means calories, which is a measure of how much a food or drink fuels the body. “Calories can come from carbohydrates, protein, or fat,” says Leslie Bonci, RD, MPH, a sports dietitian who has worked with the Kansas City Chiefs, the WNBA, and the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre.
Your body breaks down carbs faster than protein or fat. All carbs are converted to glucose, a sugar that enters the bloodstream and is used by cells for energy, Bonci says. Simple carbs, such as sugar and white flour, are broken down fastest of all. That can be helpful if you’re doing an extremely demanding activity, like running a marathon, because that can deplete your cells’ existing glucose. Eating a quickly digested carb can replenish it, giving you the push you need to keep going.
Most people don’t need that kind of energy rush on a normal day. Simple carbs can make your blood sugar level rise rapidly. But it falls just as quickly because your body pumps out insulin to sweep the glucose into cells. This sugar crash can leave you feeling tired and hungry, Allen says.
What you really need most of the time is the sustained energy that comes from carbs combined with fiber, protein, and fat, she says. Those slow the release of glucose into the bloodstream and keep blood sugar levels steadier, she says.
The Good Stuff in These Bars
Many bars serve up a combination of carbs, fiber, protein, and fat, but not all of them use wholesome ingredients to get there. For the healthiest picks, look for bars made mostly from unprocessed foods, such as whole grains, nuts, seeds, and dried fruit, says Amy Keating, RD, the CR dietitian who oversaw our testing. Those ingredients are usually more nutrient-packed than their processed counterparts, such as protein powders and added sugars (see “Ingredients to Avoid” for more on those).
If you’re buying a grain-based bar, check that it’s made with whole grains, such as oats or quinoa. “Whole grains are an excellent base,” Allen says. “They contain carbs and fiber, which keep blood sugar levels steady and help you feel full for longer.” Whole grains also reduce inflammation and harmful LDL cholesterol, which protects the heart. Getting at least three servings a day may reduce the risk of heart disease by 22 percent, according to a 2016 BMJ study.
But most Americans don’t eat that many whole grains. If you’re among them, consider an energy bar like the Kind Healthy Grains Oats & Honey bar. It has 20 grams of whole grains per bar, which counts as about one serving.
Many energy bars contain nuts, nut butters, and seeds. Don’t worry about their fat and calorie content. Research shows that eating these foods regularly prevents weight gain and may even help you shed some pounds. The protein, fiber, and fat in nuts and seeds can fend off hunger. Plus, fat adds flavor. “Without it, biting into an energy bar can feel like eating the bottom of a running shoe,” Bonci says.
What’s more, each nut and seed contains different vitamins and minerals. For example, almonds supply potassium and iron, an energy-boosting mineral, and they’re a big part of many of the bars in our tests, including Larabar Cherry Pie and Patterbar Clean Energy Fruit + Nut + Seed. And walnuts, hemp, and chia seeds are some of the few plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids, healthy fats tied to heart and brain health.
To sweeten their flavor, many bars include dried fruits like dates and cherries. Although dried fruits are high in sugar, they naturally contain fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants, Allen says. That makes them a healthier sweetener than added sugars.
With all of those good-for-you ingredients, should you make energy bars part of your daily routine? It’s perfectly okay if you enjoy snacking on them and the one you choose doesn’t add a lot of extra calories to your day. Energy bars can also work as an occasional meal, and if you have to choose between a healthy bar and nothing, the bar is better. But you can eat most bars in a few quick bites, so they may not be as satiating as something that takes longer to eat. For instance, you’ll probably feel more satisfied after a bowl of oatmeal topped with fresh fruit and nuts than you would after eating a bar.
Ingredients to Avoid
Not all bars are created equal. Look out for the following:
Too many calories: Even the healthiest bars can pack in a lot of calories. Those in our tests ranged from 90 to 340 calories, but some others clock in at 400 calories or more. If you’re eating the bar as a meal or exercising a lot, you may need a bar with 200 to 400 calories, Allen says. If you’re not, the extra calories can lead to weight gain.
Added sugar: The American Heart Association says 25 grams is the daily added sugar threshold for women; 36 grams for men. Too much added sugar raises the risk of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. The bars we tested ranged from 0 to 17 grams of added sugars. Keating suggests choosing a bar with no more than 7 grams. Natural sources of added sugars, such as concentrated fruit juices and honey, aren’t much better than sugar and syrups. “They may contain some nutrients, but they still count as added sugar,” Keating says.
On the flip side, take a second glance at bars with zero added sugar. Some of them are smart choices because they get their sweetness from dried fruit, but others use artificial sweeteners. Although scientists are still studying the effects of sugar substitutes, many are linked to health problems, such as cardiovascular disease.
Processed protein: When it comes to protein, many assume that the more in a bar, the better for building muscle and losing weight. But that’s not always the case. It’s important to know where that protein comes from. Bars with a lot of protein (such as Clif Builders Chocolate Protein Bar, with 20 grams) are typically pumped up with processed protein, like soy or pea powders. Often called isolates or concentrates, these proteins are extracted from their original food, so they don’t contain other nutrients, Keating says. If a protein powder is the first or second ingredient in a bar’s ingredients list, that’s where much of the bar’s protein comes from.
Bars made with whole foods, such as eggs, nuts, or seeds, won’t have as much protein, and that’s okay. The daily recommendation is 0.36 gram per pound of body weight, and most people easily get that in their regular diet. Plus, even lower-protein bars may contain a considerable amount. For instance, most of the whole-food-based protein bars in our tests had 9 to 12 grams of protein. That’s 17 to 22 percent of the daily protein needs of a 150-pound person.
Processed fiber: Most Americans don’t get the recommended 28 grams of fiber each day. But it’s better to get your fiber from whole grains, nuts, and fruits than processed fibers like chicory root or inulin (a plant extract) found in some energy bars. Those don’t provide the same benefits as the fiber in foods because they don’t contain other vitamins and minerals, Keating says. Plus, if you’re not accustomed to large amounts of fiber, eating a fiber-rich bar—such as the 11 grams in Bobo’s Double Chocolate Almond Butter Protein Bar, which contains processed tapioca and chicory root fibers—may cause bloating and stomachaches.
Best & Worst Energy Bars
To make it easier for our testers to compare the bars fairly, we grouped them into three categories based on the ingredients they focus on: The categories were fruit and nuts or seeds; whole grains; and protein. (None of these categories is better than another. There are healthy and not-so-good options in each.) They’re ranked here by nutrition score, followed by taste. Higher nutrition scores went to those bars with more whole-food ingredients and lower amounts of added sugars, sodium, and saturated fat. Those with the same scores are listed alphabetically. Recommended bars scored at least 4 (out of 5) for nutrition and taste and had no processed protein or fiber. The nutritional information provided here is for a single bar.
Fruit & Nut or Seed Bars
With ingredients like almonds, pumpkin seeds, and fruits, these bars can have a satisfying, sometimes crunchy, “real food” texture.