The 4 Best Protein Bars | The Art of Manliness

in: Health, Health & Fitness

Brett & Kate McKay • October 31, 2024

You know that getting sufficient protein in your diet is essential, as this macronutrient provides the building blocks for muscle, tissue repair, enzyme and hormone production, and overall cell function. Protein supports your overall strength and health, and most people would do well to get at least .8 grams of protein per pound of body weight.

Yet you also know that in our busy, modern, on-the-go world, it can be hard to hit this target.

Enter the ever handy protein bar.

Sure, it’s best to eat whole foods, but it’s not always possible to grill up chicken breasts and tote them around. Protein bars are an easy way to supplement your diet and hit your protein goals each day.

Protein bars used to be poo-pooed by the average joe as being chalky and gross-tasting and by nutritionists as essentially being fortified candy bars. But very few contain much real sugar these days, and their taste and texture has greatly improved; they’ve come a long way in the last couple decades, and now many boast good flavors and nutritional profiles.

But they’re certainly not all created equal.

We’re big fans of protein bars around here and are veritable protein bar connoisseurs. We’ve tried just about all of them.

There’s been plenty of misses.

Quest bars seem to have plenty of fans, but, even as folks who don’t mind the taste of stevia, we found them so awful as to be nearly inedible.

ONE bars used to be our go-to favorite. But then Hershey’s bought the company and introduced a “new and improved taste and texture” that is anything but.

Kirkland bars are cheap, Barebell bars are pretty tasty, but both contain sugar alcohols that can make you gassy and bloated.

Over time we’ve found some good ones too, though (interestingly, nearly all the ones we’ll recommend below were introduced fairly recently, a sign that the market continues to evolve). Our criteria for a good bar involves the intersection of several factors:

Here are four we’ve found meet this criteria and constitute our top picks:

These are in many ways the pinnacle of protein bars. Eschewing palm oil, sugar alcohols, and artificial sweeteners, Peak Protein bars are made with grass-fed whey, real organic chocolate, monk fruit, and a good amount of fiber and just may be the cleanest and tastiest bars out there. A few downsides though: At almost $3.50 each, these are some of the most expensive bars on the market; you’re always going to pay for premium ingredients. The protein-to-calorie ratio is a little low (290 calories; 20 grams of protein). And while the real chocolate does significantly enhance their taste, it also makes the bars melt-y. They wouldn’t be the best for, say, taking on a hike, and if you live in a hot climate, order directly from their site rather than Amazon and ask them to ship your order with ice. Then put the bars in the fridge when they arrive; they may be even tastier when chilled.

If you find that whey protein doesn’t agree with you, try these bars, which are made with soy protein. (While there’s some concern out there that soy protein will lower testosterone/raise estrogen, according to AoM podcast guest Alan Aragon, that’s not going to happen unless you’re eating over 60 grams of soy protein a day.) Reasonably priced at $2 each, Kind Protein MAX bars are nutty (the #1 one ingredient is peanuts), sweetened with allulose, and have a taste and texture that’s a bit like a granola bar.

Endorsed by health guru Peter Attia, the newest bar on the block has gotten plenty of buzz. Does it live up to the hype? Mostly, with some caveats. First the good: The macronutrient profile is killer. They only have 2 grams of fiber, but with zero sugar and a ton of protein, they’re quite satiating. And the calorie-to-protein ratio is incredible: 150 calories and 28 grams of protein. While people have voiced some concern that a chunk of that protein comes from collagen, which lacks the amino acids for muscle-building, the other protein sources in the bar (milk; whey; egg white) make up for that and give the bar the highest possible 1.0 PDCAAS score, which means it provides 100% or more of the amino acids needed in the diet. The taste of the bars is decent — pretty palatable but not knock-your-socks-off delicious (this may be a pro for folks who don’t like their bars to taste so good they’re tempted to eat more than one).

Some concerns: The bars are expensive; just a hair cheaper than Peak bars. They also contain “esterified propoxylated glycerol” (EPG), which is a modified fat molecule that provides far fewer calories than regular fat because it isn’t fully absorbed by the body (this is part of how the bars keep their calorie count down). While studies have generally shown EPG to be safe, it may create digestive issues for some folks (we haven’t experienced any ourselves), and it may reduce the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins when eaten along with other foods. If you don’t like bars with ingredients that are less natural and haven’t been in the food supply for long, this may not be the bar for you.

In some ways, MET-Rx bars don’t meet the criteria we set out for a quality protein bar, as they’re high in sugar and low in fiber. But these older-school bars are worth highlighting for a few reasons. First, they’re one of the few bars these days that aren’t made with non-nutritive sweeteners of any kind, so if you’re trying to avoid those altogether, here you go. Second, they’re relatively cheap — about $2.50, which is good, especially considering their third advantage: they’re big mama-jamas. With 410 calories and 32 grams of protein, they’re a nice option for when you’re looking for something that’s more like a meal than a snack; even without a ton of fiber, they’re still satiating. And they taste good and are nearly always available at gas stations and convenience stores.

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