Recently updated on September 20th, 2024 at 09:00 am

Have you ever wandered down the snack aisle searching for a healthy cereal bar, only to be overwhelmed by the options? Eat Natural bars often catch the eye with their wholesome branding and promises of natural ingredients. But are they actually a healthy choice?

Sure, they’re high in fibre and packed with nuts and dried fruits. They don’t contain artificial flavours, preservatives, or colours either. But what about the rest of the ingredients?

In this review, I explore all of their ingredients in detail and look at their nutritional information to discover just how healthy Eat Natural bars are.

Key Takeaways:

1. High in Sugar and Calories: Eat Natural bars contain high amounts of sugar—both natural and added—and are calorie-dense. This makes them less suitable for those watching their sugar intake or trying to manage their weight.
2. Nutritional Content Varies: While some bars offer decent amounts of fibre and protein, especially the Protein Packed varieties, others fall short.
3. May Not Suit All Diets: Due to their ingredients, these bars might not be suitable for low FODMAP, diabetic, or ketogenic diets.

What’s Inside This Article:

• Unpacking Eat Natural Bars Ingredients
• Nutritional Breakdown
  • Calories: How Do They Measure Up?
  • Sugar Content: Sweet or Too Sweet?
  • Fibre and Protein: Are Eat Natural Bars Filling Enough?
• Common Questions Answered
  • Do Eat Natural Bars Cause Weight Gain?
  • Are They Suitable for a Low FODMAP Diet?
  • Can Diabetics Enjoy Them?
  • Are They Keto-Friendly?
• Final Thoughts: Are Eat Natural Bars a Healthy Choice?

Unpacking Eat Natural Bars Ingredients

Eat Natural bars offer a variety of flavours and types, from classic fruit and nut combinations like Almond & Apricot to protein-packed options like Chocolate & Orange. While they boast natural ingredients like nuts and dried fruits, it’s important to look closer at what else goes into these bars.

Common Ingredients Include:

• Nuts: Almonds, cashews, peanuts, and macadamia nuts.
• Dried Fruits: Apricots, blueberries, cranberries, and sultanas.
• Sweeteners: Glucose syrup, honey, and sometimes added sugars in yogurt coatings or chocolate.
• Others: Crisped rice, shredded coconut, seeds, oats, and soya protein crispies.

While nuts and fruits are nutritious, some concerning ingredients are also present:

• Added Sugars: Increase calorie content without nutritional benefits.
• Sweetened Components: Ingredients like sweetened cranberries, chocolate, and yogurt coatings add more sugar.
• Palm Oil: High in saturated fat, which can raise cholesterol levels.

To help you compare the ingredients of various Eat Natural bars, here’s a table that lists some of their popular products side by side. This will give you a clearer picture of what’s inside each bar.

Eat Natural cereal bar	Ingredients
Almond & Apricot with a Yoghurt Coating	Yoghurt flavour coating 30% (palm kernel oil, MILK whey, sugar, dried yoghurt (MILK), emulsifier: sunflower lecithin), dried apricots 17%, shredded coconut 14%, glucose syrup, crisped rice (rice, sugar), ALMONDS 10%, honey 5%.
Dark Chocolate with Cranberries and Macadamia	Shredded coconut 21%, dark chocolate 20% (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: SOYA lecithin), sultanas 16%, glucose syrup, crisped rice (rice, sugar), dried cranberries 8% (cranberries, sugar, sunflower oil), honey, MACADAMIA NUTS 6%.
Cashew & Blueberry with a Yoghurt Coating	Yoghurt flavour coating 31% (vegetable fats (palm kernel, palm), MILK whey, sugar, dried yoghurt (MILK), emulsifier: sunflower lecithin), shredded coconut 12%, glucose syrup, crisped rice (rice, sugar), sultanas 8%, CASHEWS 6%, honey, ALMONDS 4%, dried cranberries 4% (cranberries, sugar, sunflower oil), dried blueberries 1% (blueberries, sugar, sunflower oil), dried apricots 0.9%.
Protein Packed with Chocolate and Orange	PEANUTS 54%, glucose syrup, SOYA protein crispies 11% (SOYA protein isolate, tapioca starch, salt), dark chocolate 8% (cocoa mass, sugar, dextrose, emulsifier: SOYA lecithin), dried apricots 7%, honey, orange oil.
Protein Packed with Salted Caramel and Peanuts	PEANUTS 51%, glucose syrup, SOYA protein crispies 10% (SOYA protein isolate, tapioca starch, salt), dates 9%, honey, ALMONDS 6%, salted caramel 3% (muscovado sugar, BUTTERMILK powder, natural flavourings, cream powder (MILK), rice flour, carob flour, salt).

While Eat Natural bars contain lots of good-for-you ingredients, including nuts, seeds and oats, they also contain different types of sugars which increase their calorie count.

But how bad is the sugar content in these bars actually? Let’s look at their nutritional profile and see.

Nutritional Breakdown

To determine if Eat Natural bars are truly healthy, let’s examine their nutritional content, focusing on calories, sugar, fibre, and protein.

Here’s how some of the most popular bars stack up per 100g:

Eat Natural cereal bar	Calories	Fat	Saturated Fat	Carbohydrates	Sugar	Fibre	Protein
Almond & Apricot with a Yoghurt Coating	476	26.7g	18.8g	49.7g	31.2g	5.0g	6.6g
Dark Chocolate with Cranberries and Macadamia	477	26.1g	17.7g	52.4g	35.4g	7.6g	4.3g
Cashew & Blueberry with a Yoghurt Coating	485	26.3g	18.6g	53.6g	35.8g	4.0g	6.4g
Protein Packed with Chocolate and Orange	498	28.5g	6.3g	31.1g	18.4g	6.0g	26.1g
Protein Packed with Salted Caramel and Peanuts	496	28.4g	5.0g	31.3g	19.7g	5.4g	26.0g

Calories: How Do They Measure Up?

Eat Natural bars tend to be calorie-dense due to their ingredients. Most bars contain over 400 calories per 100g.

Protein Packed bars contain the most calories, for example:

• Protein Packed Chocolate & Orange (45g): 224 calories.
• Protein Packed Salted Caramel & Peanuts (45g): 223 calories.

This is relatively high for a small bar, especially when compared to standard protein bars that might be larger but similar in calories.

Bars with fewer calories include:

• Dark Chocolate with Almonds & Apricots: 172 kcal per 40g bar or 194 kcal per 45g bar.
• High Fibre Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt: 175 kcal per 40 g bar or 197 kcal per 45 g bar.

Milk Chocolate with Peanuts & Cranberries (178 kcal per 40g bar) also comes with reasonable calories per bar.

Sugar Content: Sweet or Too Sweet?

Sugar levels in Eat Natural bars are a significant consideration. Some bars contain over 35g of sugar per 100g, meaning more than over one-third of the bar is sugar. For example:

• Cashew & Blueberry with Yogurt Coating (45g bar): 16.1g of sugar (~4 teaspoons).
• Dark Chocolate with Cranberries & Macadamia (45g bar): 15.9g of sugar (almost 4 teaspoons, 4 tsp = 16g)

While some sugar comes from dried fruits, added sugars like glucose syrup and honey contribute to the total. According to NHS guidelines, more than 22.5g of total sugars per 100g is high. Many Eat Natural bars exceed this, so it’s essential to be mindful if you’re watching your sugar intake.

Protein Packed with Chocolate and Orange bar has the least sugar per 100 g (18.4g). Eating one bar (45g) will give you 8.3g of sugar or slightly more than 2 teaspoons.

Fibre and Protein: Are Eat Natural Bars Filling Enough?

Fibre Content

Eat Natural bars contain between approximately 4g and 7.8g of fibre per 100g, depending on the type of bar. The bar with the highest fibre content is the Vegan Peanuts, Coconut & Dark Chocolate, which boasts 7.8g of fibre per 100g. This translates to:

• 3.5g of fibre in a 45g bar
• 3.1g of fibre in a 40g bar

Considering that the recommended daily intake of fibre is at least 30g, consuming one of these bars provides a significant portion of your daily needs.

Another bar that’s relatively high in fibre is the Dark Chocolate with Cranberries & Macadamias, containing 7.6g of fibre per 100g. This means a standard bar contributes a noteworthy amount to your daily fibre intake.

Protein Content

While nuts and seeds are integral to Eat Natural bars and do provide some protein, the standard bars aren’t particularly high in protein:

• Standard Bars: Typically offer between 2g and 6g of protein per bar.
• Daily Protein Recommendation: Adults are generally advised to consume 45-55g of protein per day.

This means that a standard Eat Natural bar contributes only a small fraction of the daily protein requirement.

For those seeking a higher protein intake, Eat Natural offers Protein Packed bars (providing over 11g of protein per 45g bar). These bars have added soya protein crispies, significantly boosting their protein content.

In Summary:

Eat Natural bars can be a source of both fibre and protein, but the amounts vary across different bars. If you’re looking to increase your fibre intake, choose bars with higher fibre content. If protein is your priority, opt for the Protein Packed varieties.

Remember that while these bars can help boost your fibre and protein intake, they should complement a balanced diet rich in a variety of nutrient-dense foods.

Common Questions Answered

Do Eat Natural Bars Cause Weight Gain?

Eat Natural bars are calorie-dense and high in sugars, which can contribute to weight gain if consumed frequently without adequate physical activity. Moderation is key if you’re watching your weight.

Are They Suitable for a Low FODMAP Diet?

Some ingredients, like certain fruits and nuts, can be high in FODMAPs and may trigger IBS symptoms. It’s best to consult a dietitian to determine which bars, if any, fit into a low FODMAP diet.

Can Diabetics Enjoy Them?

Due to high sugar content, Eat Natural bars may not be ideal for diabetics as they can cause spikes in blood sugar levels.

However, Eat Natural bars also contain fibre and protein, which can help slow down the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. But individuals with diabetes should still exercise caution and monitor their blood sugar levels after consuming these bars.

The best is to consult with a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian to determine if Eat Natural bars can be included as part of your overall diet plan and to establish appropriate portion sizes to help manage blood sugar levels.

Are They Keto-Friendly?

Most Eat Natural bars are high in carbs and sugars, making them unsuitable for a ketogenic diet. Those following strict keto should avoid them.

Final Thoughts: Are Eat Natural Bars a Healthy Choice?

Eat Natural bars present themselves as wholesome snacks, but a closer look reveals they’re higher in sugars and calories than one might expect. While they do contain beneficial ingredients like nuts and dried fruits, the added sugars and fats can offset these positives.

If you’re physically active and need a quick energy boost, these bars will not be a bad choice for you as they are a great source of energy and they also contain some protein.

But if you are just trying to find some healthy snacks to eat during the day and you don’t exercise much, Eat Natural bars are not a good choice.

However, some are healthier than others and you may want to try “Dark Chocolate with Almonds & Apricots” since these have the least calories. Eating these once in a while won’t make you gain weight.

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