Nov. 17, 2004 -- Tempted to snack while trying to lose weight? If you're cra
Nov. 17, 2004 -- Tempted to snack while trying to lose weight? If you're craving a snack bar, you may be better off choosing a high-protein bar instead of one loaded with fat and refined carbohydrates.
That's the conclusion of Australian researchers including Manny Noakes, PhD, senior research dietitian with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).
Noakes and colleagues recently pitted high-protein snack bars against bars high in fat and refined carbohydrates. They reported their findings in Las Vegas at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity's annual scientific meeting.
Participants were 23 obese women who were about 42 years old, on average, with a body mass index (BMI) of 30. BMI indicates total body fat; a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.
After eating a standard high-carbohydrate breakfast, the women were given a snack bar to eat in the middle of the morning and halfway through the afternoon.
The snack bars were either high in protein or packed with fat and refined carbohydrates. Both bars contained similar amounts of calories.
The researchers wanted to see if the snack bars affect the amount of food intake at the women's next meals and how the bars affected participants' blood levels of glucose and insulin. They took blood samples from the women throughout the day, tracked how much food the participants ate at a buffet lunch, and analyzed records of foods eaten after 5 p.m.
The women who ate high-protein snack bars trimmed their next meal by 5% compared with those who snacked on bars high in fat and refined carbs.
The high-protein snack bar group also fared better on blood sugar and insulin levels over the day.
Their blood sugar levels were 14% lower and their insulin levels were 12% lower than the high-fat snack bar eaters.
Of course, dieters wanting to take the edge off their hunger between meals have lots of healthy options, such as fruit and nuts. But if you're choosing between snack bars, a quick comparison of the nutritional labels may help you make your best choice.
