Eighty per cent of popular protein bars sold in supermarkets with Health Star Ratings are scored four or higher, an analysis of products available in Woolies, Aldi and Coles has found.<\/p>\n
But experts have raised alarm that Australia\u2019s controversial nutrition labelling system \u2013 which has a highest possible rating of five stars \u2013 is being \u201cgamed\u201d by protein bar companies to make the convenient snack appear healthier than it really is.<\/p>\n
Jason Kovacic, Director and CEO of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, said that most protein bars were highly processed and not healthy.<\/p>\n
He said ultra-processed foods were linked to obesity, type-2 diabetes and maybe even some types of cancer.<\/p>\n
He feared the high ratings caused confusion about the healthiness of ultra-processed products.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople think because something\u2019s got a five-star rating, it\u2019s really great and we can eat lots of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it\u2019s still an ultra-processed food and is not healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n
In this week of Shopping Swaps we compared the nutrition and ingredients in 82 protein bars.<\/p>\n
Protein bars have skyrocketed in popularity over the last 10 years and are marketed heavily as a way to fuel a lean, musclebound body before or after a gym session.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s working \u2013 market intelligence company Euromonitor has forecast that the protein bar industry, currently worth $315m in Australia, will reach $374m by 2030.<\/p>\n
But Mark Lawrence, Expert in Food Policy and Regulation and Professor of Ecological Nutrition at Deakin University, said the Health Star Ratings system was misleading people into believing that protein bars were a nutritious choice.<\/p>\n
Out of 82 popular protein bars sold in supermarkets, 37 had the voluntary Health Star ratings.<\/p>\n
Twenty-nine of those 37 bars that chose to participate in the Health Star system were given high scores of four stars or above.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Health Star system can be \u2018gamed\u2019 by manufacturers because they use chemical ingredients to replace sugars and fats in their products to avoid having their score reduced,\u201d <\/p>\n
Professor Lawrence said, adding this was especially relevant for protein bars.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ratings don\u2019t consider if the food is ultra-processed or a healthy food \u2026 It just uses a crude algorithm to calculate based on a handful of nutrients that may or may not be in that food.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cManufacturers can also add protein ingredients and fibre powders to boost their ratings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Belinda Barton, Professor of Marketing at Bond University said the Health Star ratings were only useful when comparing foods within the same category (protein bar against other packaged food), not when comparing foods against all foods (protein bar against milk).<\/p>\n
She said most people didn\u2019t understand this and slammed it as confusing.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsumers trust that a five-star rating on one product means the same thing on another but it doesn\u2019t,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
A Department of Health spokesman said the taxpayer-funded Health Star rating system did not actually class foods as \u201chealthy\u201d or \u201cunhealthy\u201d.<\/p>\n
He also defended the current system, noting it was only intended for comparing similar products.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does not take into account other real, claimed, or perceived health effects of ingredients, additives, processing methods or levels of processing,\u201d he conceded, when asked about the Health Star rating limitations.<\/p>\n
He said there was a maximum threshold for protein adding points which was reached when a product exceeded 50g of protein per 100g.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce that cap is reached, adding more protein makes no difference to the rating,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But if a bar has less than five positive attributes (which come from fibre, fruits, nuts, veg or legumes) it cannot gain any points for protein. <\/p>\n
Although experts say we should just eat real protein, it\u2019s OK to have it sometimes when we\u2019re busy and starving.<\/p>\n
So if you are going to buy them, these are the ones dietitians say are the best and worst picks.<\/p>\n
PROTEIN:<\/p>\n
Protein isn\u2019t just protein \u2013 you need to pay attention to the kind each bar has.<\/p>\n
Co-founder of Brain of a Dietitian Zoe Brain said companies often used collagen as part of a blend to inflate the protein content.<\/p>\n
While it makes the content look impressive it does not help muscle growth as much as whey, soy or pea proteins.<\/p>\n
\u201cBars that heavily rely on collagen to inflate the protein number are using more of a marketing tactic,\u201d Ms Brain said.<\/p>\n
Collagen or whey should be listed on the ingredients list \u2013 whatever comes first, there is more of.<\/p>\n
As a guideline, you should be looking for at least 15-20g of protein in every bar.<\/p>\n
Every bar analysed had 20g or more protein but some Musashi bars had collagen as the first protein in blends.<\/p>\n
Musashi was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n
Best: <\/b>With a solid level of non-collagen protein per bar, Quest was a winner.<\/p>\n
SUGAR:<\/p>\n
There is almost a five-teaspoon difference in sugar content depending on the bar you pick.<\/p>\n
Fewer than 5g of sugar per 100g was optimal but we needed to look at where the sugar came from, Ms Brain said.<\/p>\n
Products with low sugar contents often used artificial sweeteners which were unnecessary and might cause some gut issues, she said.<\/p>\n
For those with sensitivity, this can cause symptoms like bloating, cramps or diarrhoea.<\/p>\n
It is better to check the sugar came from ingredients you can recognise, like dates, nuts or cocoa.<\/p>\n
While the plant-based Greenback Hazelnut bar has the highest sugar content (20.9g per 100g) it is still a recommended pick.<\/p>\n
This was because the sugar came from natural sources and the fibre content was high.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Greenback said 65 per cent of sugar was naturally occurring and sourced from dark chocolate, dates and chicory root fibre.<\/p>\n
\u201cBars with lower sugar contents to Greenback, often do so at the expense of adding maltitol and artificial sweeteners \u2013 ingredients that can cause digestive issues like diarrhoea and bloating with many consumers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe high fibre content in each Greenback bar plays an important role in moderating the metabolic impact of sugar.\u201d <\/p>\n
Best:<\/b> Quest Bar Choc Chip Cookie Dough.<\/p>\n
While there were sweeteners added, they were only present in small amounts.<\/p>\n
SATURATED FATS: <\/p>\n
The worst bar has 18.3g of saturated fats per 100g \u2013 that\u2019s the equivalent to more than two tablespoons of butter.<\/p>\n
Dietitian Erika Hung said saturated fats increased our cholesterol levels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important that we don\u2019t have large amounts of them in our diet to keep our heart safe,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s best to find bars with fewer than 2g in the 100g column, Ms Brain said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you can find a bar that has even less, it\u2019s a win,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The Musashi Wafer Protein chocolate bar had the most saturated fat at 18.3g per 100g, making it the worst one you could buy.<\/p>\n
It is best to keep saturated fats as low as possible.<\/p>\n
Musashi was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n
Best: <\/b>The only protein bar meeting the under 2g saturated fats level was the Quest Protein Bar Choc Brownie.<\/p>\n
It had 2g per 100g or about 1g per bar. <\/p>\n
INGREDIENTS:<\/p>\n
A product with more than five ingredients is classed as ultra-processed \u2013 and one protein bar had 56.<\/p>\n
An extensive ingredients list was unnecessary, Ms Brain said.<\/p>\n
The \u2018natural\u2019 or plant-based options won for her.<\/p>\n
Muscle Nation Protein Custard birthday cake bar was the worst with a whopping 56 ingredients.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Muscle Nation said the large number of ingredients was due to the bar having six different layers.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach layer requires specific ingredients to achieve its purpose, whether for flavour, texture, or ensuring the bar maintains its high-protein, low-carb, and low-fat profile,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to note that these are not fillers. Instead, they are functional components that allow us to replace calorie-dense ingredients like sugar and fat, much like how sugar-free drinks use sweeteners to help people stay within their calorie goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Best:<\/b> Greenback Plant Based Peanut Butter Protein Bar.<\/p>\n
This is because it only has 14 ingredients in total. <\/p>\n
Peanuts make up 26 per cent of the bar, while dark chocolate makes up another 18 per cent.<\/p>\n
Ms Brain also liked the brand\u2019s other bars.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve got dates, nuts, soy crisps and cocoa so it\u2019s more wholefood style ingredients rather than refined additives,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
FIBRE:<\/p>\n
Ideally there should be 5g of fibre in a bar but 22 out of 82 had none at all.<\/p>\n
Ms Brain said fibre was great for reducing blood sugar spikes and improving gut movements.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would be going to bars with more instead of less,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The recommended daily fibre intake is around 25g for females and 35g for males.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely good to look out for and if it has some, it\u2019s an added benefit,\u201d Ms Brain said.<\/p>\n
Best:<\/b> Quest Protein Bar Choc Brownie.<\/p>\n
In every 100g, there was 28g of fibre and the protein compounds were mostly made from whey portions.<\/p>\n
BEST OVERALL:<\/p>\n
The Quest brand has one of the most balanced nutritional profiles across the bars analysed, experts say.<\/p>\n
Ms Brain said protein, sugar and saturated fats were generally ideal in the seven options.<\/p>\n
However, it still contained a number of filler ingredients.<\/p>\n
Best:<\/b> Chocolate brownie was the best for fibre and had a smaller number of ingredients \u2013 only 14. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eighty per cent of popular protein bars sold in supermarkets with Health Star Ratings are scored four or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":444418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[277],"tags":[18,135,19,17,508],"class_list":{"0":"post-444417","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-nutrition"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116436204627580217","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=444417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/444417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/444418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=444417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=444417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=444417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}