Getting enough protein in your diet is key for optimal health--but it can be tricky to figure out if protein bars are the right option for you. Some people use protein bars as a convenient snack or meal replacement. While this can be a great option when you're on the go, it's important to understand the nutritional content of your protein bar to ensure that it meets your unique nutritional needs.

Here, we'll take a look at how to read the nutrition label of your protein bar, how to gauge the quality of the ingredients in your bar, and some special considerations to think about if you're trying to lose weight.

Let's dig in.

Decoding nutritional labels

Reading nutrition labels can help you understand whether a particular protein bar is a good choice for your body. You'll want to consider several factors as you read over the nutrition label of protein bars.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Take a look at the total sugar content in your protein bar. Sugar is sugar--and whether it's coming from a healthy-sounding source like brown rice syrup or a more nefarious-sounding option, your body sees it the same. Many protein bars have a high sugar content--equal or more than that of candy bars. While a high-sugar bar can be a treat that also provides nutritional benefits, it's usually not the best choice to fuel a workout. You'll also want to keep an eye out for artificial sweeteners. While they can keep sugar grams low, many have adverse effects on the body and can cause headaches, bloating, and gastrointestinal distress.
• You'll also want to take a look at the total calories in your protein bar. There's no upper limit for how many calories you should have in a bar, but you'll want to make sure that your bar fits into your total caloric needs for the day. If you're considering using a high-calorie bar to replace a meal, pay attention to whether you feel satisfied afterward to guide your choices in the future. If you feel full and satisfied with what you ate, fantastic! If you're left feeling like you didn't have a meal, it might be a better idea to choose a bar that more easily fits into your nutrition plan next time.
• Finally, be sure to take a look at the protein content of your bar. If you're trying to hit a certain number of protein grams per day, be sure that your bar is keeping you moving in the right direction--not just adding to your sugar total for the day.

When convenience meets nutrition

Protein bars are a great standby to have in a pinch, like if you're caught working late and need something to keep you from hitting the break room vending machine. While it's a good idea to get the majority of your protein from natural food sources, the occasional protein bar isn't going to throw you off track.

Quality of ingredients

When you look at the ingredients of your protein bar, it can seem like you're trying to read a foreign language. Here, we'll take a look at a few factors to consider when determining whether the ingredients in your protein bar are giving your overall health a boost.

You'll want to see high-quality protein as the first ingredient in your protein bar. It can take some time to learn what type of protein feels best for your body. Some people, for example, find that whey (dairy) protein causes digestive issues, and fare better with a plant-based option, like pea protein or brown rice protein.

No matter what type of protein your bar contains, you'll want to shoot for the least processed version possible. That means you'll want to look for ingredients like whey protein instead of whey protein isolate, which is a more processed version of the protein.

Considerations for weight management

If you're working to get to a healthy weight, it makes sense that you're looking to increase your protein intake. Protein is essential for helping your body feel satisfied, and can support a healthy exercise plan. Getting enough protein can also help to ensure that your body's hunger hormones are functioning properly.

While a plate of grilled chicken or an egg white omelet can be delicious, sometimes, it's more convenient to grab a protein bar when you need to get out the door--fast. Protein bars can be a part of your weight loss plan, but it's important that you consider a few factors when you're choosing the right bar for you.

Protein bars can also be used to gain weight, if that's a goal you're working toward to optimize your health. Many protein bars pack 400 calories, making them a fast and convenient way to get the protein you need to gain weight in a healthy way.

Potential pitfalls

Like any processed food, there are some pitfalls when it comes to adding protein bars to your diet. You may find that getting such a high amount of protein from a processed source makes you feel sluggish or nauseous. You may also find that the artificial sweeteners and/or sugar alcohols found in many protein bars cause unpleasant side effects, like headaches.

Conclusion

Protein bars can be a part of a healthy nutrition plan, but it's important to read labels carefully to ensure that you know what's going into your body. If you're trying a new protein bar, pay attention to how you feel over the next few hours, keeping an eye out for any adverse effects (like digestive issues).

If you're struggling to find a great protein bar that makes sense for your needs, making your own can be a great option that allows you to customize your bars to your goals and caloric needs.

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If you're ready to learn more about how to fuel your body and get personalized tips and information that will help you meet your goals, we're glad you're here. At Evidation, we're working to make your health data work for you. Download the app today and get started with moving toward a healthier you.

This holiday season, Americans will consume around 87 million turkeys. 

And after they gobble down their turkey dinners, they might experience post-meal sleepiness. Often, people blame turkey as the cause.

• But does turkey actually make you tired? 
• Why?
• What's in it?
• And what other factors are at play?

In today’s article, we’ll break down the health myth of whether eating turkey really makes you tired. 

Why does turkey make you sleepy?

‍Theories say the sleepiness that comes after eating turkey is caused by an essential amino acid called L-tryptophan—or just tryptophan. 

Turkey has tryptophan—but many other foods do too, including: 

• Milk
• Chicken
• Egg whites 

So do these meals cause drowsiness? It’s possible—but unlikely.

When tryptophan is consumed, the amino acid travels from the digestive system to the brain. There, the brain turns tryptophan into a chemical known as serotonin. 

‍Serotonin plays many roles in the healthy function of our body. One of those roles is regulating sleep. 

‍So does tryptophan in turkey cause drowsiness?

It can—but scientists learned that tryptophan can only make us tired if it’s ingested on its own. And just like the protein found in milk, chicken, and egg whites—the protein in turkey contains several amino acids. 

For tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and produce serotonin (the hormone that regulates sleep), it first has to compete with the other amino acids in turkey. The BBB helps keep our brains safe by tightly regulating what can cross into the brain—acting like the security checkpoint at an airport. Even molecules that aren’t harmful, like tryptophan, have to compete with each other to gain access. This slows the process down and means not everything gets through.

‍So what does this all mean?

‍Turkey itself may not cause sleepiness. ‍

Other factors that may cause fatigue

If tryptophan isn’t what’s making you sleepy after a turkey dinner, what is?

‍Researchers believe this drowsiness may be a result of increased blood flow to the stomach to help digest a big meal. When more blood is sent to your stomach, there’s less blood left for the brain and the rest of the body—which may lead to tiredness. 

When we overeat, the digestive process takes up even more of our energy.

‍Research also suggests, high-fat and high-carb meals—like a turkey dinner—may produce sleepiness after eating. 

High-glycemic-index (HGI) meals may also make us fall asleep faster. HGI foods, like potatoes, baked goods, and sugar-containing beverages, create a quick spike in blood sugar (blood glucose) and insulin. 

When eating high-glycemic foods, it’s normal to feel a surge of energy as glucose pours into the blood. The body will then produce insulin to metabolize—or break down—the glucose. This insulin rush can deplete blood glucose within a few hours, and if it drops too suddenly, it can create feelings of exhaustion. 

Another thing that can make you sleepy after consuming it? Alcohol, which is often served on festive holidays. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, which slows down brain activity, and can make you fall asleep faster than usual.

In short, a turkey dinner serves up plenty of ways to make you sleepy—turkey shouldn’t get all the blame.

How to avoid drowsiness after your turkey dinner

Despite all these forces working to make you sleepy this holiday, there are steps you can take to avoid feeling drowsy:

• Control your portion sizes. If you fill your plate to the brim, it’s easy to overeat. Overeating can cause your digestion system to require extra energy as it increases blood flow to the stomach—leading to feelings of drowsiness. 
• Get enough sleep. If you’re already tired, it’s going to be even harder to stay awake after a big meal. Research also suggests that poor sleep increases unhealthy food choices and overeating.
• Limit your alcohol intake. By limiting or completely avoiding alcohol you can keep your brain activity in a normal state, which will help you stay awake longer after your holiday meal.
• Exercise regularly. By exercising regularly you can boost your overall energy. Exercise can help your cardiovascular system work more efficiently—improving the health of your lungs and heart. 
• Create a better sleep environment.  Your sleep environment plays a huge role in how rested you feel. Try reducing the light and sound in your bedroom, and keep your room temperature at a comfortable range—usually around 65 degrees Fahrenheit. 
• Take your time and stop eating once you’re full. This helps the digestive process keep up—and avoid going into overdrive. This means you’ll avoid using all your energy to break down your food.  

Does eating turkey really make you tired?

It’s not entirely clear if turkey itself is the main reason we experience drowsiness after a meal—or if it mistakenly gets the blame.

The amino acid tryptophan plays a role in activating brain chemicals that regulate sleep. But it may have to compete with the other amino acids in turkey that are also trying to break through the blood-brain barrier. And because it’s hard to isolate this amino acid from the other amino acids in turkey, it’s not clear how much of a role tryptophan plays on its own in post-holiday meal sleepiness.

Other factors like overeating, alcohol, and high-fat and high-carb meals may be the reason for feelings of drowsiness after a turkey meal. 

In any case, there are steps you can take to avoid feeling tired. 

By focusing on lifestyle and eating habits, you can avoid the unnecessary drowsiness that comes from a big turkey dinner. 

If you learned anything new, be sure to stay tuned for more mythbusting articles—we still have many more to cover!

We’ve all heard the notion before about how carbs can make us gain weight. Because of this, they’re often painted as the culprit of all our weight gain woes.

Bread, pasta, and some of our other favorite foods suddenly become outcasted and avoided at all costs. 

And with an obesity percentage of 42.4% in 2017-2018 in the United States, people are genuinely curious about what causes weight gain.

We asked our users some of the most common health myths they believe in, and the idea that carbs make you gain weight came up time and time again. 

So, do carbs really make you gain weight?

If they do, how and why? 

In today’s article, we’ll be breaking down carbs and whether they really do cause weight gain. Keep reading to find out more!

What are carbs and what do they do?

Carbohydrates play a vital role in the healthy function of our body. They make up ⅓ of what’s considered “macronutrients.” 

Macronutrients include fat, protein, and carbs. 

All three are important nutritious components our body needs to maintain our systems and structure and give us energy.

‍Carbs in particular are in specific foods and drinks such as:

• Sugar
• Fiber
• Starches 

When we consume carbohydrates, our digestive systems break them down into blood sugar or glucose. Glucose is then absorbed by our bloodstream and used as energy.

Depending on how many carbs we ingest, our blood sugar is sometimes affected.

Eating a lot of carbs can increase your blood sugar levels and when we eat too little it can cause low blood sugar levels. 

So, it’s best to find a healthy balance and consume carbs in moderation.

Different types of carbs

So, what different types of carbohydrates are there?

We can separate carbohydrates into two categories: complex carbs and simple carbs.

But, what makes them different from one another? After all, they both turn into glucose in your body and are then used for energy.

‍Complex carbs actually take longer to digest. 

This means they increase glucose levels for a longer span of time, producing a more lasting feeling of energy and helping you stay full for longer. They also provide fiber, minerals, and vitamins. 

On the other hand, simple carbs are quicker to digest, this can cause your blood sugar to spike. This leads to a quick burst of energy that’s often followed by a crash, and because they’re so quick to digest, they often don’t leave you feeling full for long.

They both help with increasing energy levels. But complex carbs will help you feel energetic and full for longer, which could be beneficial when dealing with weight gain.

‍It’s recommended that the majority of the carbs we consume come from complex carbs rather than simple carbs.

‍You can find complex carbs in foods like: 

• Whole grains (such as oatmeal and brown rice)
• Starchy vegetables (like corn and sweet potatoes)
• Beans and legumes (like chickpeas and lentils)

Processed and refined sugars like soft drinks, syrups, and candy all contain simple carbs. But simple carbohydrates are also found naturally in some foods. 

Fruits, milk, and milk products all possess simple carbs to some degree.

At the end of the day, the majority of your carbohydrates should come from complex carbs. They can leave you full for longer and the energy experienced will be long-lasting. 

It’s okay to consume some simple carbs, but it’s best to get most of your carbs from complex sources.

Do carbs make you gain weight?

So, do carbs actually put weight on you? 

It’s a narrative we’ve heard so often, so it’s no wonder a lot of people might think that they do. But the thing is, carbohydrates alone don’t make you gain weight. 

In general, your weight depends on:

• The number of calories you consume
• How many calories you store 
• How many calories you burn

Environmental factors, physical activity, eating habits, genetics, and some health conditions can affect all three of these aspects.

With that said, typically if you consume more calories than you burn, you’ll gain weight, and if you burn the calories that you ingest every day, your weight will stay the same.

This is why factors like exercise, health conditions, and genetics play a role in our ability to lose, gain, and maintain weight. 

They can affect our ability to burn calories. 

So, while carbs might contribute to the number of calories you eat a day, they don’t directly cause weight gain. But, eating different types of carbs could affect your eating habits and hunger.

Eating complex carbs will help you stay full for longer, in return causing you to consume fewer calories throughout your day. This is one indirect way that carbohydrate consumption could affect our weight.

But in general, there are way too many moving parts when it comes to weight gain to say that carbs alone cause it. 

Conclusion - Do carbs really make you gain weight?

Carbs play an important role in providing us with energy to go about our day. 

From simple carbs to complex, they both turn into glucose in your body and provide us with energy.

Behind the scenes, they work to help us through exercise, days of work, and even time spent with our family and friends.

‍But the idea that carbs can increase your weight on their own is a false narrative. 

There are so many other factors that affect our weight, that carbs alone can’t be responsible.

Our genetics, physical activity, the total amount of calories we consume, and environmental factors all play a role.

And while some people might lose a lot of weight by cutting carbs, or doing a low carb diet like Keto, it’s not because carbs themselves cause weight gain. 

They’re either lowering the number of calories they consume a day or training their body to burn stored fat for energy, rather than using glucose. And as a result, in both scenarios, losing weight is easier.

But taking part in diets like these has its own set of risks. The Keto diet could cause:

• Constipation
• Nutrient deficiency
• Liver and kidney problems

Cutting carbs and getting most of your nutrition from fats and protein isn’t really sustainable and there aren't enough studies out there to show the long-term effects it could have on the body. 

With another health myth busted, stay tuned for more upcoming blog posts where we’ll be debunking the many health myths that are out there.

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