Think! Diet Bars are a relatively new item in the meal replacement market. These bars are high in protein and fat and low in carbs by design.
It seems as if these bars were made for those on a keto diet. However, there have been numerous reports of individuals who use bars as a meal supplement reporting that they have a hard time staying in ketosis.
Are these bars a good addition to your pantry? It’s a confusing question to answer, being as how a lot of food products have hidden carbs and sugars in order to market to a wider consumer audience. It is especially important to do the research on each product in your diet.
Let’s look at the ingredients provided and decide for ourselves, being how everyone’s is different and so is their dieting regimen.
The Ingredients Tell All
Here is an ingredient list of the products used in Think! Bars. A little research on the ingredients listed for the Think! bars should tell us whether this product is a good supplement for the dieting program.
Soy and Whey Proteins, which are useful supplements in the keto Diet, replacing the limited intake of carbohydrates to sustain a high degree of energy throughout the day. These sources of protein have a very high protein to carb ratio and low GI impact. Protein isolates weighing in at 90-95% protein by weight with a very small amount of carbohydrates remaining in the final product. Soy protein is also 90-95% protein with almost no carbohydrates left after the refinement process.
Maltitol Syrup is a common sugar replacement found in many products marketed as low carbohydrate products. However, it has been found that Maltitol has a large impact on the body’s glycemic index, making it a product that keto practitioners should avoid in the food that they eat. Maltitol may just be enough to throw the body out of ketosis.
Vegetable Glycerin, or glycerol, is another sweetener product used to replace sugar as a natural sweetener. Like Maltitol, vegetable glycerin is a sugar alcohol that the body easily processes into sugar. So again, this is another ingredient that those trying to maintain a state of ketosis should avoid in their diet.
Almond Butter, most nut butters are a great supplement to those on the keto diet. They are high in protein and low in fat and many different types of nuts are able to be easily consumed in the keto diet. However, some nuts like almonds have a slightly higher carbohydrate ratio than others. Most people find that Almost Butter is great for them in the practice of keto, but it is a product that should be consumed in relation to other products with overall carbohydrate intake in mind.
Cacao Butter is also listed as an ingredient. Cacao butter is a keto diet all-star, it is rich in saturated fats and antioxidants, an also helps to reduce inflammation. It is a perfect ketogenic fat source.
Sunflower Oil has been touted as a healthy choice in dieting, and indeed Sunflower oil has been reported by the medical community to increase heart health and lower cholesterol. However, due to the nature of how Sunflower oil is processed, it has been linked to diseases related to trans fats.
Lecithin is a fatty extract taken from sources such as eggs, canola, and soy to be used as an emulsification product. This generally gives the end product a creamy mouthfeel and taste. It is a product that has been used as medicine over the years.
Sodium Caseinate is also known as Casein, the protein found and extracted from milk. This protein source is very high in protein and low in carbohydrates as well as a good source of calcium. Although not the most ideal source for keto practitioners it is a good source, nonetheless.
Tapioca Starch is a source of starch, which means that this ingredient is all carbohydrates. Certainly not fit for the keto regimen.
Milk Fat is a rich source of saturated and monosaturated fats and has been reported to easily fit into the keto diet.
To Think! or not to Think!
While the ingredients listed do have some good keto dieting supplements there were more than enough sugars and starches found to cause reasonable doubt that this is an effective keto dieting supplement.
- The inclusion of Maltitol Syrup, Vegetable Glycerin, and Tapioca Starch raises a concern with being able to keep the body in a state of ketosis. These ingredients are high in sugars and carbohydrates that can easily affect the body’s GI level.
- The proteins used have been proven to be effective in the keto diet even though there is a small amount of carbohydrates included.
- Since many have reported that the heavy use of supplement bars made it hard for some to maintain ketosis and now having an in-depth look at their ingredients, it can be easy to see why.
Perhaps when looking for bars as a supplement it would be best to keep these ingredients in mind in the future, and many listed here have proven to affect the body’s glycemic index and would make maintain a ketosis state difficult.