When the concept of the nutritional bar first surfaced it was really to help those who were involved in activities such as hiking, marathons and other physical activities. It was a convenient way to get quick energy and the high sugar/calorie content was not problematic because the activities of the consumer burned them off.
Somehow along the way the "diet" industry decided to jump into the equation and people began to believe it was the right way to replace a meal to lose weight. This has several disadvantages in itself because the general public lumped all bars together and there are some on the market that have lower nutritional value and should not be considered as a replacement for a meal.
If you find it necessary to replace a meal with a meal bar you want to look for several things. The better choice would be one that has all natural ingredients, high in fiber and protein content, low in saturated fats, sugars, and carbohydrate. Remeber, you are looking for a good nutritional supplement not a candy bar. If a bar has more than 200 calories you are not doing yourself any favor by replacing a meal with the bar. Often people say the bars sold as meal replacement are not filling so if you are eating a bar with higher calories and two hours later eating a meal because of hunger...it would have been a lot better to have a lower calorie snack until you are able to eat a meal. The other thing to remember is that bars could never replace the nourishment our body gets from eating fresh fruits, vegetables and grains. So...it is OK to have a bar every now and then but they should never be part of our everyday meal plan regime.
For some suggestions of a good easy mid-day snack send me your request.
My Pearls of Health (http://www.mypearlsofhealth.com)
Working together for change to live a healthier lifestyle
Posted By: Belinda Anderson
Wednesday, July 1st 2009 at 1:04PM
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