In my quest to find the best protein bar on the market, today I’m breaking down the No Nuts! Chocolate Chip bar.
But first things first…
According to their website:
We are raising the bar for modern snacking, no nuts necessary. Our bars are packed with premium ingredients and are perfectly balanced to provide nutrition, energy, and crave worthy flavor that can be enjoyed by all.
Everyone deserves to love what they eat. We said, “No!” to nuts so that everyone, regardless of allergies or dietary restrictions, can say, “Yes!” to something special. Our bars are made in a nut-free facility,‘slab formed’ for optimal chewy, crunchy goodness, and have less calories than a bowl of raisin bran.
So, no nuts and premium ingredients. Got it.
But is it any good?
Well… only one way to find out.
No Nuts! say this about their protein bar:
100% NUT FREE Snack Bars. Made with the highest quality of ingredients. The vegan recipe has no nuts, no dairy, no egg, gluten free, zero cholesterol, and certified kosher. Four delicious flavors to choose from.
That… sounds pretty good.
But they don’t really tell us anything about the nutrition or quality of ingredients.
Because the only way to know if they’re “good” for you is by looking at their ingredient list.
Let’s put these ingredients into an easy to read list.
As might already know, the FDA requires food manufacturers to list their ingredients in order by weight.
So, the No Nuts! protein bar is full of soy protein and sugar… and palm oil… and polydextrose… and glycerin? Are there any good ingredients in this bar?
If the ingredients weren’t bad enough. Even the macros are terrible.
Protein: 12 grams
Net Carbs: 21 grams
Added sugar: 8 grams
And that’s not even mentioning the sugar alcohol (glycerin) in the bar.
If only there were a better way to create protein bars that aren’t just candy bars in disguise. (Foreshadowing)
Soy Protein Isolate: I’ve already discussed why soy protein is a bad option many times. Soy is high in phytic acid which inhibits nutrient absorption. It contains high levels of phytoestrogens.
Lots of contamination with pesticide residues. The majority is grown on large farms using glyphosate. 94% of soy is GMO which is heavily sprayed with round-up ready glyphosate
Palm Oil: Palm oil is the cheapest oil you can buy — which is why almost all long shelf life packaged food has palm oil as the source of fat. Plus they’re not sustainably sourced (cutting down rainforests to plant palm trees) and can have a lot of pesticides and other chemicals.
Polydextrose: Polydextrose is a polysaccharide made of randomly bonded glucose polymers. So, it’s basically a carbohydrate. Manufacturers use it as a bulking agent, stabilizer, thickener, and humectant. But most importantly, it can be used to replace sugar, starch, or fat while reducing calories in the food (because you can’t digest it).
Glycerin: Glycerin helps preserve moisture, prevents sugar crystallization, and adds bulk, smoothness, softness, sweetness, and texture to foods. But it’s a sugar alcohol which means too much of it can give you gut problems.
Most of the ingredients in this bar are low quality ingredients that are terrible for your health. So, they don’t fulfill their promise of “premium quality.” Also, they don’t provide any nutrition: no micronutrients and too much sugar.
But if you’re looking for a real protein bar without sugar alcohols and sourced from 100% real food ingredients, see below. 👇
Unearth the cleanest protein bars you can buy right now. (Some might even have superfoods)
Read MoreAt Protein Bar, we’re committed to helping you look and feel your best, which starts by raising the bar (pun intended) in the nutrition industry. We're currently in stealth mode, but you can join our waiting list to receive exclusive access to new products and become a beta tester!
