Study explains shocking reality of what's inside protein bars as major issue highlighted with the snack

Protein is the new marmite: you either love it or you hate it.

I can see why so many people are attracted to the concept of protein pancakes or protein shakes or protein powder, but let's be honest with ourselves for a second, it tastes awful.

There are plenty of fitness influencers on Instagram that are seemingly obsessed with the concept of protein. In some cases, it's all they'll eat, even if it means chomping down on some bulls' testicles to make sure your protein is of the highest possible percentage.

Which is obviously a completely sane thing to do.

One of the easiest and quickest sources of protein these days seemingly comes from little bars, which are seen as a great snack if you're out running, and it certainly makes more sense than bringing an entire chicken breast with you.

It's difficult to argue with that concept, especially if you're doing exercise, as the protein can be a great way to help your muscles recover.

Protein bars have long been thought to be good for athletes (Getty Stock)

However, experts recently delivered a warning to anyone who eats them regularly, as a study found that lots of them can be ultra-processed and perhaps don't contain as much protein as we are led to believe.

The study reveals the most commonly used protein source inside the bars, saying: "The most frequently used protein source was soy protein (isolate) with the relevance of 22 per cent, followed by peanuts (13 per cent) and WPI (whey protein isolate, 11 per cent). The remaining 12 per cent of all primary protein sources were distributed into two larger categories; (i) present in above one per cent of all protein bars, such as oats, milk-based proteins (whey protein hydrolysates and calcium caseinate) and cashews present in under one per cent of all protein bars, some oily seeds (e.g., pumpkin, sunflower, hemp), beef-based proteins (beef and collagen) and special protein sources."

It is also suggested that the other ingredients, which are added to the bars, namely things like chocolate, nuts and wafer, obviously make the protein bar a bit tastier, but they are also having a detrimental effect on the digestibility of the protein.

Maybe it's all just a placebo (Getty Stock)

Researchers stated: "These additional components all affect the digestibility of proteins and accessibility of amino acids therefore could considerably change their protein nutritional quality."

The researchers studied 1,641 bars in total and classified 18 bars (one per cent) as 'not protein source', 295 bars (18 per cent) as a 'protein source' 1,328 bars (81 per cent) as 'high in protein'. according to EU labelling criteria on protein related claims.

Study authors add: "The results show that lower protein digestibility values (between 47 and 81 per cent) were measured when the proteins were included as a component of the protein bar matrix than when the digestibility of the same proteins was evaluated in a pure format.

"Although most protein bars are labelled ‘high in protein’, their protein nutritional quality could be very low based on Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score (DIAAS). The low numbers are most probably due to application of lower-nutritional-quality proteins (such as collagen) and of other ingredients such as carbohydrates, fats and fibres, that might deteriorate the bio-accessibility of essential amino acids."

So, to sum that up for you, protein bars that claim to be high in protein may actually not have much protein in them at all, and if they do, it could be ultra processed food items, which the NHS will tell you aren't particularly good for you.