- Exclusive: Analysis of over 50 products on the market showed worrying find
- Original Glazed Doughnut contains 5g of saturated fat and 10g of sugar
- Nutramino Protein Bar Coconut has double the saturated fat of a doughnut
- PowerBar Protein Plus 30% Lemon Cheesecake Flavour has twice the sugar
- The most unhealthy bar overall is the Yorkie Protein Chocolate Crisp Bar
- The Fitness Food Index interactive graphic provides a full breakdown
Protein bars are touted as an easy, go-to-snack that keep hunger at bay.
Popular with fitness addicts, they’re available from most supermarkets and health shops.
An analysis of more than 50 products on the market has been revealed that many of these seemingly ‘healthy’ snacks contain more fat and sugar than a Krispy Kreme doughnut.
An Original Glazed Doughnut contains 5g of saturated fat and a whopping 10g of sugar.
The worst offender when it comes to saturated fats is Nutramino Protein Bar Coconut with 9.9g per bar – containing twice as much as a doughnut.
Then it’s Phd Smart Bar Chocolate Brownie (7.1g) and Phd Smart Bar Chocolate Peanut Butter (7g), followed by Yorkie Protein Chocolate Crisp Bar (6.9g), Tesco Nutri First Protein Vanilla Crunch Bar (5.7g) and Nutramino Protein Bar Peanut & Caramel (5.5g).
Many of seemingly ‘healthy’ protein bars on the market contain more fat and sugar than a Krispy Kreme doughnut which contains 5g of saturated fat and 10g of sugar
The worst offender for fat content was Nutramino Protein Bar Coconut with 9.9g per bar
The most sugary is PowerBar Protein Plus 30% Lemon Cheesecake Flavour with 19.5g per bar
Overall most unhealthy bar analysed was the Yorkie Protein Chocolate Crisp Bar
Bars containing more than 5g of saturated fat have more than a Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnut
The most sugary bar was PowerBar Protein Plus 30% Lemon Cheesecake Flavour with 19.5g per bar – almost double as much as a doughnut.
Then is was PowerBar Protein+ Vanilla-Coconut Flavour (18.9g), Sis Protein Bar Chocolate And Peanut (18g) and Nutramino Protein Bar Caramel (18g).
Next on the list was PowerBar 30% Protein Plus Orange Jaffa Cake Flavour (16.1g) Yorkie Protein Chocolate Crisp Bar (16g) Nutramino Protein Bar Coconut (15g), and Tesco Nutri First Protein Vanilla Crunch Bar (14.5g).
Overall, the most unhealthy protein bar analysed was the Yorkie Protein Chocolate Crisp Bar which contained 6.9g of saturated fat and 16g of sugar but didn’t pack that much of a muscle-boosting punch – with just 24.1 per cent protein (providing 10g).
The infographic shows the worst offenders when it comes to how much sugar they contain
Consuming too much sugar and saturated fat has been linked with heart disease and cancer.
The findings come from an interactive graphic named The Fitness Food Index which was compiled by specialist insurance provider Protectivity and can be found here.