Cereal bars that are healthy are a great choice for breakfast when you are on the go, but you might not know that some of them contain a lot of sugar and fat.
Cereal bars have become a staple in our busy modern lives because they are a low-calorie breakfast option or healthy snack.
Cereal bars are often advertised as containing healthy ingredients like oats, nuts and fruit, however some popular brands can actually be high in hidden sugar and saturated fat.
“The biggest thing to watch out for when it comes to shop-bought cereal bars (and all kid's breakfast cereals(opens in new tab) for that matter) is sugar content,” says Mina Khan, nutritionist and founder of nutraceutical company Formulate Health(opens in new tab). “A ‘skinny’ or ‘light’ cereal bar may be filled with oats, high in fibre and low in fat, but the amount of sugar in some of these ‘healthy choices’ is a real shock when you look at the packaging.”
We asked Mina to help us rank the best and worst cereal bars for your diet, taking into consideration factors like calories, sugar, fibre and saturated fat.
What are the healthiest cereal bars?
If you want a healthy cereal bar, Alpen's Light Bars range is the best option. It was ranked as the best cereal bar in terms of nutrition, and it has the lowest amount of saturated fat, with only 0.3g in each bar. These bars are also 66 calories each, and come in delicious flavours like Cherry Bakewell and Chocolate and Fudge.
- Best cereal bar overall: Alpen Light Bars (Cherry Bakewell)
- Best cereal bar for sugar content: Fibre One Protein Bars (Caramel and Nuts)
- Best cereal bar for saturated fat content: Alpen Light Bars (Cherry Bakewell)
If you're interested in making your own cereal bars, Weetabix has the fewest calories and is one of the healthiest cereal bars you can find in the supermarket.
The least healthy cereal bars are Rice Krispies Squares Bars. These bars contain large amounts of sugar and very little evidence of nutritional goodness. A typical bar contains 9 grams of sugar, which is the equivalent of four heaped teaspoons. This is one third of the NHS’s daily allowance on sugar.
- Worst cereal bar overall: Rice Krispies Squares Bars
- Worst cereal bar for sugar content: Eat Natural Cranberries, Macadamias and Dark Chocolate Bars
- Worst cereal bar for saturated fat content: Eat Natural Cranberries, Macadamias and Dark Chocolate Bars
Nakd Bars Ingredients
In order to lose weight, you need to make sure that you are consuming fewer calories than you are burning. Choose healthy foods that will help to keep your blood sugar levels stable.
The result of decreased energy levels and poor concentration can be improved by eating Nakd snack bars. These snack bars are made from 100% natural ingredients, such as raw fruits and nuts. There is no added sugar or syrups in them. In other words, they are good for you!
Nakd bars use natural ingredients like dates and raisins to create a sweet treat, without any of the artificial sugars found in other snacks.
There is a wide variety of traditional and delicious flavors to choose from, like Bakewell tart, carrot cake, and blueberry muffin, so you're sure to find something to satisfy your dessert cravings.
Nakd bars are a fabulous fruity snack and are a great guilt-free option as they only contain 94-157 calories per bar, depending on your chosen flavour.
Nakd Bars Nutrition
When considering the nutritional value of a snack, it is important to think about how the calories in the snack will be turned into useful energy. If you are trying to lose weight, it is important to avoid snacks that are high in calories but have no nutritional value.
Nakd snack bars are made from a combination of fruits and nuts which provide the body with powerful antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and minerals.
Some of the Nakd bars contain small amounts of omega 3 essential fatty acids, which are important for heart and skin health.
The nutritional values of Nakd bars vary depending on the flavor you prefer.
For example, the Carrot Cake-flavoured bars contain more fibre and protein than the Cocoa Delight-flavoured bars, but that doesn’t mean that one is better than the other!
The amount of proteins, fibre, and carbohydrates you eat each day is a personal choice. Some people are very careful about what they eat, while others are not so concerned.
It is worth checking the calorie count on the label of each Nakd bar, as some have fewer calories than others.
The Oatie Banana Bread bar has 94 Kcal, whereas the Gingerbread-flavoured bar has 157 Kcal.
If you are looking to increase your intake of Omega 3s, the Coffee and Walnut flavour bar is a great option as it contains 10% walnuts. Walnuts have the highest Omega 3 content of all nuts, while some other nuts only have a trace.
Carbs
Many people wrongly assume that all carbohydrates are bad for you, when in fact, some carbs can be healthy. These healthy snack bars are a good example of carbs that are good for you. The key is to moderate your intake of all types of food.
Approximately 50 grams of carbohydrates can be found in every 100-gram serving of this product. These carbs are “good” carbs that occur naturally in fruits and won't cause a blood sugar spike that could lead to an energy crash later on.
The great news is that most Nakd bars are classified as having a low to medium glycemic index (GI), with approximately 13g of sugar per bar (depending on flavor).
Sugar that is slowly digested, metabolized, and absorbed by the body provides a stead flow of energy when it is needed.
One of the primary advantages of Nakd bars is that they are suitable for diabetics since they do not contain any added or refined sugars.
Fibre
Fibre is an essential part of a healthy diet as it helps to keep everything moving through your digestive system, helping you to feel fuller for longer and keeping your blood sugar levels balanced. The Nakd bar contains 4g of fibre per 35g bar, which is around 10% of your recommended daily allowance. The Nakd bar contains 4 grams of fiber per 35 gram bar, which is around 10% of the recommended daily allowance. Fiber is an essential part of a healthy diet, as it helps to keep everything moving through the digestive system, helps you feel fuller for longer, and keeps blood sugar levels balanced.
In other words, a healthy snack bar with more fiber and protein is a healthier and more filling treat. This also means that your blood sugar levels will not spike after eating a Nakd bar.
Many athletes swear by Nakd bars because they provide increased and longer-lasting energy.
The Nakd Oatie range is full of nutritious fibre that the body slowly breaks down throughout the day, providing an energy boost when the afternoon concentration crash sets in.
Fat
There has been a lot of discussion about fat recently, with new information coming out all the time about which fats are good for us and which are bad. It's hard to keep track of all the changes and know what to believe.
The Nakd bars contain only good fats that naturally occur in nuts.
Some nuts are known for containing a mix of mono- and polyunsaturated fats, but some have more saturated fat than others.
For example, peanuts are not as healthy as other nuts such as cashews, almonds, pecans and walnuts.
Nuts that are high in healthy fats are a great way to help keep cholesterol levels under control and also to maintain a healthy digestive system.
The average bar contains around 8g of fat, depending on the flavor.
Calories
Nakd have done well in finding the right balance of nutrients and each bar has a lovely unique flavor. On average, each bar has around 120 calories.
The average balanced breakfast contains around 400 calories. A balanced lunch contains around 600 calories. An evening meal contains around 500 calories. This brings the total number of calories per day to around 1700 including tea, coffee, milk, etc.
If you added one or two Nakd bars to your diet, you would still be within the ideal calorie intake range for most men and women.
The lightest Nakd bar is the Banana Bread flavor, with only 94 calories. The heaviest flavors are the decadent Pecan Pie and Ginger Bread, with up to 157 calories each.
Nakd bars are not high in calories and their nutrients benefits outweigh the calorie count.
Vitamins and Minerals
The main ingredients in Nakd bars are fruits and nuts, which means they are full of antioxidants like vitamin C. These bars are convenient to take with you on the go.
Nakd bars use no heat in their processing, so some of the vitamin C from the fruit stays in the bars (the amount varies depending on the flavor), as well as the powerful antioxidant vitamin E found in the nuts.
The chocolate-flavoured bars include raw cacao, which is rich in magnesium, zinc and iron. The iron is considered to be nature’s cure for insomnia.
Additional nutritional information
Are Nakd bars vegan?
Nakd products are great for vegans because they don't contain any dairy, eggs, or other animal products. We respect brands that care about animals and the environment, and Nakd is one of those brands.
Are Nakd bars Paleo?
Although all Nakd bars are made with healthy ingredients, some flavors may not be consistent with the Paleo diet. The Cocoa Coconut and Chocolate Orange flavors are Paleolithic-friendly, but others may not be.
Are Nakd bars gluten-free?
The Nakd Oatie range is made using gluten-free oats, so the Cocoa Twist bar is a delicious option to try if you are gluten intolerant.
Some of our products contain gluten because they are made with oats, but we also offer a range of gluten-free Nakd bars that are made with fruit and nuts.
Do Nakd bars contain soy?
The Nakd bars get their protein and crunchy texture from soybeans.
However, the soy used in Nakd bars is in its most natural form, which means that it is GMO-free and contains fewer phytoestrogens.
If you want to avoid soy entirely, you can choose a different bar from the many options they have available, such as the Berry Delight.
The health benefits of Nakd bars
In other words, Nakd bars are just as good for you as eating a small amount of nuts and dried fruit.
The snacks are designed to be healthy and convenient to eat on the go. They offer a balance of nutrients that is valuable to the body.
Many people argue that it is better to eat fruit that has been picked fresh from a tree. They believe that the fruit contains more enzymes and nutrients because it has not been processed or exposed to temperature changes.
When you buy fruit from large supermarkets, at least 50% of the enzymes are usually gone by the time the fruit reaches the shelf. This is especially true if the fruit is packaged in soft plastic, because the nutrients will have leached into the plastic.
Can Nakd bars help with weight loss?
Nakd bars are a good option for a snack if you are trying to lose weight, as many of them count as one of your five daily servings of fruits and vegetables (with the exception of the Cashew Cookie, Peanut Delight, Pecan Pie, and Ginger Bread flavors).
Weight loss clubs such as Slimming World advocate Nakd bars as snacks due to their content of natural ingredients.
In other words, if you're on a diet, you can include these foods as long as you don't eat too much of them.
Final Thoughts
The benefits of Nakd bars include being healthy and low in calories.
It is clear that Nakd is one of the few brands that actually keeps their products as raw and natural as possible. The absence of added sugars or sweeteners is a huge bonus.
Nakd bars are definitely good for you!
Though these snacks are healthy, they should not replace a meal. consume them as a healthy and filling snack when you're feeling hungry.
