Protein bars

Protein bars are useful food supplements to cover the protein needs of athletes if it is impossible to do it with food.

Protein bars contain energy macronutrients (with at least 20g of protein), mineral salts and B vitamins; most of the time they are not "pure protein" food supplements and the quantity of carbohydrates + lipids assimilates them more like oil powders to the classic whey, casein or egg powders.

Practical and nutritional aspects

Protein bars are a practical alternative to the need to eat after training; in particular, the protein bars can be effectively consumed to counteract muscle catabolism, to "begin" the restoration of energy reserves at the end of the training session and to distribute the peptide quota throughout the day.

The protein requirement of the adult increases considerably with sport. From 0.75g / kg of physiological body weight useful to the sedentary, in the athlete it is commonly reached requirements> 1.5g / kg; in this case, to reach such levels WITHOUT excessively increasing the portion of saturated fats and cholesterol (present in many foods rich in high biological value protein), supplementing becomes a necessity. On the other hand, it is not always possible to transport cans, measuring cups and water bottles for mixing powders and it is easier to consume the protein bars; these, compared to other powdered supplements, have greater ductility and practicality since they are: pocket-sized, storable and in single portions.

Bar protein

In protein bars, the peptide fraction consists of polymers of high biological value; the different proteins are ALL rich in branched chain amino acids (oxidation substrate in muscular effort) and other essential amino acids, while showing different digestibility and absorption characteristics.

The peptides most used in the composition of protein bars are: whey protein (rapidly absorbed) and casein protein (slow absorption), whose association guarantees a rapid but lasting perfusion of amino acids in the blood.

NB . Despite the fact that protein bars provide at least 20g of protein per serving, the most quantitatively present nutrients are carbohydrates!

Taking

As anticipated, often protein bars are NOT pure protein supplements but mixed and as such must be taken; they have a medium-high caloricity (for the carbohydrate and lipid fraction) which greatly affects the way they are taken compared to pure powders; the differences are:

Protein bars are more useful than "pure powders" in post-training integration aimed at muscle recovery and optimization of the anabolic stimulus, but unlike powder gainers, they are more comfortable to use.
The protein bars, being very caloric, are less suitable than the "pure powders" in distributing the daily protein content ... especially in overweight subjects or in bodybuilders in the muscle definition phase.

Controversial effects

Protein bars are often the subject of food abuse; it can happen that, especially in aesthetic culture and fitness, nutritional disinformation leads users to consume more protein than they really need, consequently altering the overall nutritional balance; in this regard, we recall that a protein excess in the diet (sometimes difficult to estimate) can be the subject of renal fatigue and liver fatigue.

Moreover, to favor the protein percentage without exceeding the calories, it is necessary to reduce the grammar of carbohydrates and / or fats (the latter more difficult to affect); Well, for those who carry out aerobic activity, acting negatively on the portion of carbohydrates determines:

A DETERIORATION of the performance due to the lack of energy reserves
With intense and close training, a muscular CATABOLISM for protracted neoglucogenesis

Another controversial aspect concerns the quality of some ingredients included in the formulation of many commercial protein bars; examining the list of ingredients it is not rare to note the presence of vegetable fats (which, although not hydrogenated, are generally of poor quality, mostly derived from tropical oils) and of simple sugars such as glucose syrup or fructose syrup. These ingredients are necessary to give taste and flavor to the product, making it in fact similar to a traditional snack, both in taste and composition.

NB . Protein bars are NOT substitute meals and can ONLY be used as food supplements; in some cases, the abuse of protein bars can induce: diarrhea, abdominal pains and cramps, increased fat mass and metabolic alterations.

Homemade protein bars

The official recipe of MypersonaltrainerTv

Having fun in the kitchen, as well as in the gym, preparing a nutritionally balanced and tasty protein bar, without exceeding with simple fats and sugars, and - why not - saving some money. Alice, MypersonaltrainerTv's personalcooker, explains in detail how to prepare these fabulous homemade protein bars.