{"id":15298,"date":"2021-09-11T04:58:59","date_gmt":"2021-09-11T04:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lifehackerguy.com\/?p=15298"},"modified":"2022-05-27T11:40:19","modified_gmt":"2022-05-27T11:40:19","slug":"rise-of-the-protein-chocolate-snack-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lifehackerguy.com\/rise-of-the-protein-chocolate-snack-bars\/","title":{"rendered":"Rise of the Protein Chocolate Snack Bars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Protein is an absolutely essential part of your diet, and it\u2019s especially important if you\u2019re someone that exercises regularly and hits the gym. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

However, protein has definitely become more of a focus for the mainstream health industry over the last few years, and companies are finding more ways to add protein into traditional products in an attempt to appeal to gym-goers and nutrition-conscious people.<\/p>\n

One of the most recent ways that companies have done this is by producing protein bars – they\u2019re everywhere and you\u2019ll most likely be able to pick up a protein bar in your local supermarket. <\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s not just protein bars out there anymore – popular chocolate bar manufacturers are now producing high protein versions of their sweet snacks.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a huge fan of the fact that there are high protein versions of some of the most popular chocolate bars, like Snickers and Mars, out there now – the thought of having a substantial dose of protein whilst also enjoying a chocolate bar seems great!<\/p>\n

In this article, I\u2019m going to take a look at these protein chocolate bars and see if they really are as good as they seem, as well as compare them to other options, such as more traditional protein snack bars.<\/p>\n

How Much Protein Should We Consume?<\/h2>\n

Before I take a look at the protein within the Snickers and Mars chocolate snack bars, it\u2019s first important to know how much protein you should be consuming daily.<\/p>\n

The minimum recommended amount of protein you should consume per day is 0.36g per pound of body weight. So, you can work out the unique amount of protein you should be consuming daily.<\/p>\n

However, for the average man, this is 56g per day and for the average woman, this is 46g per day.<\/p>\n

Although, if you are someone that does any type of exercise, whether you\u2019re going for a run every morning or hitting the gym a few times a week, you\u2019re going to need more protein than someone who lives a sedentary lifestyle. <\/p>\n

If you are exercising regularly, the reason that you will need more protein is that you\u2019ll be tearing your muscle fibers apart which have to be repaired. <\/p>\n

These fibers need protein to be repaired, and therefore, you are going to need more protein. <\/p>\n

Pro Tip:<\/strong> A great way to get your protein intake whilst getting your micronutrients at the same time is with a Protein Greens Powder<\/a>.<\/div>\n

Looking At The Snickers Protein Bar: What Is Its Nutritional Value?<\/h2>\n

The first protein bar made by Snickers contained 10g of protein. However, there is now a \u201cHi-Protein\u201d Snickers bar that contains 18-20g of protein (depending on whether you purchase the original flavor or the higher protein Peanut Butter flavor.<\/p>\n

Since Snickers is made by Mars (and we\u2019ll be taking a look at the Protein Mars bar later) you\u2019ll be able to see some similarities between the two! <\/p>\n

However, I want to take a look at the nutrition label of a Hi-Protein Snickers Bar.<\/p>\n

One Hi-Protein Snickers bar totals 51g, and there is either 18.2g of protein (in a standard flavor) or 20g (in Peanut Butter flavor) of protein. <\/p>\n

To put this amount of protein into perspective, a traditional Snickers bar without protein has a 4.3 serving of protein.<\/p>\n

Therefore, 18-20g of protein is a substantial dose of protein and you would expect this dose of protein to be found in traditional protein bars or formulas. <\/p>\n

So, that\u2019s great!<\/p>\n

However, when it comes to working out if the Snickers bar is healthy or not, it gets a little more complicated. <\/p>\n

Within one of these Hi-Protein bars, although there are only 199 calories per bar, there\u2019s still 7.1g of fat and 18.4g of carbs (of which sugars make up 9.5g). Therefore, it\u2019s not technically an ultra \u201chealthy\u201d snack. <\/p>\n

Looking At The Mars Protein Bar: What Is Its Nutritional Value?<\/h2>\n

Although Mars produces Snickers, the two bars have different nutritional values, and therefore it\u2019s important to take a look at each so you can figure out if (if you want to consume one) which one you\u2019ll go for.<\/p>\n

A Hi-Protein Mars contains 22g of protein, which is higher than its Snickers counterpart, and it\u2019s actually higher than some popular protein bars and formulas out there too. <\/p>\n

This is also a much higher amount of protein than in a traditional Mars bar – normal bars contain 2.2g of protein.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s slightly more calorific, totaling 231 calories per bar. It\u2019s also higher in carbohydrates too, with 25.7g (with 15.1g being sugars). <\/p>\n

Although, it does have a lower amount of fat, with 5.3g of fat per bar.<\/p>\n

Comparing The Snickers and Mars Protein Bars To A Popular Protein Snack Bar<\/h2>\n

To come to a conclusion on whether protein chocolate snack bars are healthy or not, it\u2019s important to take a look at the alternative options out there. <\/p>\n

For the sake of keeping it simple, I\u2019ve chosen to take a look at one of the most popular protein snack bars on the market – Quest Protein Snack Bar. The nutritional information we will look at will relate to the Quest Peanut Chocolate Crunch Protein Bar.<\/p>\n

One Quest Peanut Chocolate Crunch contains 15g of fat, 14g of carbohydrates (which 1g are sugars), 210 calories, and contains only 10g of protein. <\/p>\n

Therefore, in comparison to both the Snickers and Mars Hi-Protein bars, this actually doesn\u2019t perform as well.<\/p>\n

Both the Snickers and Mars Protein bars contain more protein, less fat, and fewer carbohydrates. <\/p>\n

However, the main difference between Quest\u2019s bar and the chocolate protein bars is that the chocolate bars contain more sugar, whereas Quest\u2019s bar contains only 1g of sugar.<\/p>\n

However, I would assume this is to be expected since the Snickers and Mars bars are still chocolate bars.<\/p>\n

So, overall, I would say that going for a Snickers or Mars Hi-Protein bar is a better choice than a popular protein snack bar such as Quest. <\/p>\n

However, obviously, you may be able to find a protein snack bar that contains less fat, fewer carbohydrates, and more protein. <\/p>\n

So, Are Protein Chocolate Snack Bars Healthy?<\/h2>\n

I can\u2019t say that protein chocolate snack bars are ultra-healthy since they obviously contain high amounts of sugar and substantial amounts of fat and carbohydrates. <\/p>\n

However, they definitely provide a substantial amount of protein, and since they compare better than popular protein snack bars on the market, they could be the perfect snack for after the gym.<\/p>\n

As long as you\u2019re consuming these types of chocolate bars in moderation, they should benefit you. <\/p>\n

However, make sure you don\u2019t go overboard – they are still chocolate bars at the end of the day! Just because these chocolate bars contain protein doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re automatically healthy.<\/p>\n

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The Benefits of Protein Chocolate Snack Bars<\/p>\n