9bar is described as having been designed to get the maximum nutritional goodness from seeds in a convenient and delicious way’.

The bars are great for active people as the unique mix of seeds and other natural ingredients provide a valuable source of nutritionally dense energy for both physical endurance and immediate impact. The company has many endorsements from a variety of competitive sports people who claim that it is easily digestible and that they have no problem eating them during an event or training such as ultra running and triathlons.

As a sports person looking to refuel without empty calories a 9bar is great. Each 50g bar is free from egg, dairy, gluten, lactose, wheat, yeast, preservatives and artificial colours. It is also approved by the vegetarian society.

9bars come in five different varieties: pumpkin, organic, nutty, flax and original. As an example of the nutritional content here is the nutritional information for the flax bar:

• 262 calories,
• 8.7g protein,
• 16.75g carbohydrate
• 17.75g fat of which
  • 5g saturated
  • 4.8 mono unsaturated
  • 7g polyunsaturated
  • <0.1g trans fatty acids
  • 0.6g omega 3 fatty acids
  • 6.5g omega 6 fatty acids
  • > 3g fibre
  • <0.1g sodium.

With an average egg or 150g pot of low fat yoghurt each containing only 6g of protein a 9bar is a good hit of natural people protein to help rebuild muscle after competitive exercise or training.

The Taste Test

I have to admit that looking at the packaging it doesn’t look that appetising.  I know this as before being asked to review them I received a bar in a post race goody bag and I chose to give it away. The description of a nutritious carob topped mixed seed bar with flax and hemp combined with the images or piles of dried seeds conjured up thoughts of seed bars we leave out for birds and did not seem appealing after a race compared with the post race food I had bought with me.

Fortunately for the benefit of our readers I agreed to give them a taste test and I am glad I did. Firstly 80% of the time cereal bars are hard, crunchy and dry which always puts me off or hurts my teeth. These 9bars are soft and chewy.

The second important discovery was carob. I had never eaten carob before and didn’t realise that it tasted like chocolate.  In fact even when I was really concentrating on trying to describe the taste it could only come up with chocolate. As such a healthy alternative to chocolate I’m surprised that there aren’t more products using it.

Most cereal bars are made up of rolled oats and bran. But the mixed seeds in this 9bar comprised of sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, poppy, flax and hemp making a tasty combination. I was unable to distinguish great differences between the various flavours when I ate a different bar every day. Pumpkin may have been slightly sweeter although it did not have the carob topping and the Nutty may be slightly nuttier but fortunately the texture and chew-ability remains the same.

After this taste testing I certainly won’t be complaining if I receive any flavour 9bar in my next post race goody bag.

Overall

For active people who are looking for nutritious energy source 9bars are a great source of calories and protein, before or after exercise. They are easily digestible making them ideal for taking on long walks, cycles, runs, or paddles.

For those dieting I feel that a whole bar is quite high in calories, although half may be suitable when you are craving something sweet, without stocking up on empty calories and the fibre will help fill you up.

9bars are widely available across the UK and are stocked by health food stores, Holland and Barrett, Tesco and other major supermarkets.

For more information you can visit www.9-bar.co.uk

]]> http://strenuasworld.com/2010/07/21/review-9bar-energy-bars/feed/ 3 http://strenuasworld.com/2009/08/03/fats-proteins-or-carbohydrates-whats-the-best-combination-for-a-weight-loss-diet/ http://strenuasworld.com/2009/08/03/fats-proteins-or-carbohydrates-whats-the-best-combination-for-a-weight-loss-diet/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:40:58 +0000 Strenua http://strenuasworld.com/?p=1303 When choosing a diet to lose weight it seems that rather than eating a balanced healthy diet people choose to follow the latest celebrity endorsed diet programs with low scientific rationale but high novelty factor and media hype. These diets often emphasize eating high levels of protein, fat or carbohydrates.

There are scientific trials that have shown low carb-high protein diets provides more weight loss than high carb-low fat diets, but equally there are a number of studies that don’t show that effect. One study has shown that a low fat diet is better than a moderate fat diet, whilst others have shown that a moderate fat, Mediterranean style diet is superior to a low fat diet.

Whatever the diet, there is short term research out there to both support and disprove it. Now research published in the New England Journal of Medicine has examined the advantages of high fat, protein or carbohydrate diets over 2 years. Unlike other diet studies this one had a large number of participants (811), involved a high number of men (40%), and had good adherence to the diet by the participants (80% completed the 2 years study compared to normal diet studies where 40% drop out).

The participants were aged 30-70 years old with a BMI of 25-40. They were randomly assigned to one of four diets, with the percentage of energy from each food source being:

• Diet 1: 20% Fat; 15% Protein; 65% Carbohydrate
• Diet 2: 20% Fat; 25% Protein; 55% Carbohydrate
• Diet 3: 40% Fat; 15% Protein; 45% Carbohydrate
• Diet 4: 40% Fat; 25% Protein; 35% Carbohydrate

Each person was given a diet with a deficit of 750 calories a day as calculated from their resting energy expenditure and activity levels. Also 90 minutes of moderate exercise a week was prescribed.

Other goals of the diets were they should have

• 8% or less saturated fat,
• at least 20% fibre,
• 150mg or less of cholesterol per 1000kcal,
• carbohydrate foods with low glycemic index.

Typically weight loss is greatest 6-12months after starting a diet followed by a subsequent steady regain of weight. In this study at 6 months participants in each diet had lost an average of 6kg (7% body weight). The participants in each diet reported a reduction in calories of around 400kcal, although a mean weight loss of 6.5kg at 6 months corresponds to a reduced daily intake of approx 225kcal.