There are many choices that can be made when it comes to food bars and energy drinks. There are bars for gaining and losing weight, as well as meal replacement bars and energy drinks for workout enhancement. Just because these products are really convenient, doesn’t mean that they are something you should use.
It really depends on which specific brands you choose and how you use them. There is plenty of information that you can look at, so that you can buy the energy drink or food bar you think is best for you.
Because a lot of people are trying to avoid energy drinks that are high in caffeine and sugar, natural alternatives are now available. Many of these drinks are made from juice or tea. They’ve also been typically nutritionally enhanced too. When you’re buying an energy drink that’s made from fruit juice, read the label. Find out if it’s artificially flavored or if it contains pure fruit juice. Find out if there’s added sugar too. There are also now many energy drinks made from green or black tea. These tea based energy drinks do have caffeine, but the amount is far lower than the amount of caffeine in the average energy drink. This is provided, of course, that the manufacturer hasn’t added extra caffeine.
Food bars and energy drinks have a lot of sugar in them, and that is why many people won’t use them. There is quite a bit of confusion, however, over alternative sweeteners. The dangers of high fructose corn syrup have been well publicized recently. Sucrose or plain white sugar are bad enough, but maybe fructose is even more harmful. Fructose is naturally present in fruit, but when you consume fresh fruits you’re getting it in limited quantities. There is a larger concentration of sugar in fruit juices, and even more fructose corn syrup in energy drinks. Artificial sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame also have many health risks associated with them. Agave nectar is another sweetener that has been hyped lately, but it comes from fructose as primarily a processed food.
It is possible to find energy or food bars that are healthy, even though most are only candy bars that have some good stuff added. Bars that are made with ingredients that are organic and raw, are more healthy. Some energy bars, for instance, are made mainly from seeds and nuts such as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews or other such foods. At least eat the bars where the content of the protein and healthy fats is high. Nothing but raw ingredients make up some of the food bars. These will be the more expensive of the food bars, but they are healthier. Since people are wanting healthier foods, food bars that contain fruits and nuts and whole grains are becoming more popular. When you are shopping for food bars, the list of ingredients should be looked at.
Energy drinks and food bars are a huge industry today. These products have a lot of hype surrounding them. While some of them can be helpful for certain purposes, you have to be cautious about choosing them. It is possible that a food bar or energy drink might help you, but don’t just pick any one, thinking they are all the same.