Are Granola bars healthy for your body?
While you search for whether granola bars are healthy or not, I assume you have come a long way in order to make some amendments in your routine and are on the path of developing a healthy lifestyle. Kudos to yourself first for that. Instead of a bag of chips, your afternoon snack consists of a healthier choice that is a Granola bar. But what if those granola bars are as healthy as you originally thought? Let us uncover once and for all if Granola Bars are healthy for us or not.
Majority of the people will agree that Granola is healthier than most of the junk food that we have become conditioned to gobble upon since many years. After all, look at the fundamental ingredients that go into the making of a granola bar: oats, nuts, seeds, fruits, dried fruits, coconut, honey. I think we all agree to the fact that these all sound healthy to us. So where is the problem?
The linkages of doubts swirl in your mind because of the fact that not all granola bars are made equal. The nutritional value of Granola bars can vary wildly depending on the brand as well as the ingredients put in to make it. An easier way to determine which granola bar is better is to choose the one with less calorie value. Many people believe that choosing the granola bar with lesser calorie value is the best way to navigate through confusion but fail to acknowledge that it would also offer a lesser amount of protein and fibre.
An average Granola bar contains calories anyway between 100-300 and can usually contain somewhere between 1-12g of protein and 1-6 gram of fibre. In addition, Granola bars are also a source of micronutrients such as vitamin B, C and A, calcium, magnesium and iron. Granola bars are obviously made from granola and so it does share all the benefits that granola has.
Apart from it being a rich source of nutrition, it bears other benefits. It is fairly convenient to purchase Granola bars since they are not very expensive. Also, they become very handy and are made proportioned which means every one piece of granola bar can be one serving. Researches suggest that pre-portioned food is actually very beneficial for weight management since it diminishes the risk of accidental overeating. You don’t have to carry measuring cups everywhere, just take one bar out of the box and you are good to go.
Granola contains B-glucan fibre which decreases your body’s bad cholesterol level and so makes your heart healthier.
Let us acknowledge some of its downsides too:
Granola bars often come across overloaded with sugar. For some granola bars might even contain as much as fifteen grams of added sugar. Some healthy guidelines suggest that the calories you intake should not be more than 10% of your total daily calories. Overconsumption of sugar can cause diabetes, heart disease and obesity. Many Granola bars replace the added sugar with artificial sweeteners instead but they too come along with their own detriments. Some granola bars can often contain vegetable oil, preservatives as well as artificial flavours which again reduces the quality of granola bars of being healthy.
So, should you still make Granola bars a part of your diet?
Well, Granola bars can be a healthy snack choice if you choose to exercise a little more caution while choosing the brand at the store. For starters, you always pay more attention at the ingredients label and prioritize real food over additives. Try looking for granola bars that contain less than 10g of sugar per serving as well as at least 5 grams of protein and 3 grams of fibre.
If you are feeling wary about the store bar granolas you can always make one for yourself at home. These are easy to make and you can also get to play around with the ingredients as per your choice. Also, homemade food also tastes better because of the effort that went into making it, right?
Whether you are trying to lose weight or simply making healthier choices, finding the right food to snack on can be really tough. While granola bars offer a lot of convenience and healthy nutrients, you should always make an effort to read the label before buying and should know what exactly is going inside your body.
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