Fiber Bars Buyers Guide
Shopping for a High Fiber Bar? I Tried These 7 So You Don’t Have To.
Bars, bars everywhere!
Finding a high fiber bar that’s actually healthy and tastes good can be downright overwhelming.
Whether you’re in a grocery store or shopping on Amazon, you’re likely to be overwhelmed by the sheer quantity and variety of protein bars.
It becomes even tricker once you find out that just because it’s high in fiber doesn’t make it healthy: Cheap, low quality bars are a minefield of artificial sweeteners, preservatives, low quality protein and other unhealthy ingredients.
With that said, whether you want a tasty treat to squash your cravings in the afternoon, or a mini-meal for breakfast, grabbing a snack baris an easy and convenient solution. If you’re looking for a snack specifically to keep you feeling full, high-fiber bars will do the job.
Although often overlooked, fiber is a key macronutrient that must be included in every healthy diet plan. The FDA recommends that adults consume 28 g of dietary fiber per day.
Sadly, only 5% of Americans meet their recommended daily fiber needs. Adding fiber bars to your diet is one way to ensure that you meet your daily needs.
Fiber fills you up faster than other foods and will keep you satisfied for longer. It also aids your digestion, keeps your gut healthy, and promotes regular bowel movements to avoid constipation. So if you’re feeling blocked up, fiber bars will help you poop–just be sure to drink plenty of water.
Combined with healthy fats and protein, fiber can also help stabilize your blood sugar.
Fiber bars also come in handy for giving you the nutrition you need if on a restrictive diet such as vegan, keto, lectin-free, or intermittent fasting. In this way, they support your weight management and fitness goals.
Again though, don’t just grab the first high fiber bar you come across.
Finding the perfect bar can be a matter of trial and error. With that in mind, we’ve bought and tried seven popular options so you don’t have to.
We’ll discuss each bar’s nutritional values, pros and cons, and rate it to help you buy the best one to suit your unique needs and preferences.
How to Choose the Best High-Fiber Snack Bars
Your local grocery or favorite online health store is likely to have a wide range of fiber-rich bars. You’ll find bars marketing high protein, whole grains, a vegan recipe, or low sugar.
Unfortunately, some bars may not be as healthy as their marketing claims. For example, a lot of high-fiber protein bars are using synthetic, fake fiber and “sugar free” fiber bars will certainly be loaded with unhealthy artificial sweeteners. More on that later.
The big question is: how do you know that you’re buying a healthy high-fiber bar? Here are some crucial steps to follow for buying a nutritious bar:
Step 1: Mind the Dietary Fiber Content
When shopping for a high-fiber treat, the first step is to check the amount of fiber listed on the nutrition label.
Some bars have more than 18 grams of dietary fiber per serving, while others may have as low as 2–5 grams.
If you’re looking for a little help with constipation, it can be tempting to get the highest possible fiber content, but be careful: too much can actually hurt your cause.
Our recommendation is to stick to bars with around 12–14 grams of fiber per serving. This amount is high enough to keep you satiated for hours while not causing stomach upsets.
Look for products that have natural fiber from fruits, nuts, and vegetables. avoid artificial fibers, such as isomalto-oligosaccharides and soluble corn fiber. Tapioca fiber, AKA tapioca prebiotic fiber, is not nearly as natural as it sounds. These fake fibers are less heathy and more likely to lead to digestion issues such as bloating and flatulence.
Expert tip: Be careful about eating your high-fiber treat before or during a workout as it might increase your risk of gastrointestinal distress.
Step 2: Go For Minimal Sugar and Fat Content
Read the ingredients label keenly to make sure that your bar of choice isn’t loaded with sugar and unhealthy fats.
Consumed in large amounts, sugar and trans fats can increase inflammation in the body. In turn, inflammation increases the risk of heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes.
A healthy fiber bar should have a minimal amount of added sugar. If you’re eating the bar to replace a meal, it should have no more than 4 grams of added sugars. If you’re eating the bar as a treat between meals, look for 2 grams of sugar or less.
If a bar does contain sugar, make sure that it comes from healthy natural sources such as dried fruit, cane juice, caramel, honey, or molasses.
Fiber bars may also contain alcohol sugars such as sorbitol, xylitol, isomalt, and mannitol, which can cause bloating, cramping, and diarrhea in some people. Safer sweetener alternatives include chicory root, allulose, monk fruit and stevia.
Step 3: Check for Rich Fiber Sources
The best fiber bars contain soluble and insoluble from whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. These help to stabilize blood sugar levels, decrease cholesterol, and improve digestion.
Go for bars whose fiber content comes from whole grains such as steel-cut oats, buckwheat, and brown rice. High-quality unrefined grains curb hunger and provide you with quick energy by slowing the release of sugar into your bloodstream.
Other healthy plant-based sources of fiber include broccoli, beans, berries, apples, and dried fruits.
Step 4: Go For High-Quality Protein
Are you looking for a post-workout bar to help with recovery?
Go for something high in protein. Protein helps restore your muscles after a punishing workout, while also keeping you satiated till your next meal.
The best bars source their protein from whole foods such as almonds, chia seeds, cashew butter, peanut butter, pumpkin seeds, and egg whites. You can also get healthy protein from isolates and concentrates of whey, soy, and pea protein.
If you’re eating the bar as a meal replacement, 8 grams of protein is enough. If it’s just a snack to stave off cravings, 5 grams or less of protein should be adequate.
Let’s (Briefly) Talk about Fiber, Constipation and Water
Yup, it’s an uncomfortable subject! But you know what’s even more uncomfortable than talking about fiber and constipation? Being constipated.
A lot of people turn to fiber bars to help them poop, and that’s great! But what they don’t know is that unless you increase your water intake, fiber can actually make you more constipated.
For every 10g of fiber you add to your diet, drink at least 1.5 additional cups of water. If regularity is amongst your goals, do not eat your bar dry!
We Tried These 7 Popular Fiber Bars for You
Now that you have the criteria for finding the right bar for you, the next step is to hit the shops.
To make this process easier, we bought and tried the following popular bars—all of which contain more than 3 grams of fiber per standard serving.
In the table below, we give you a quick comparison of the seven bars. Take a look at the information below before scrolling down for a deep dive into the individual bars and their pros and cons.
Bon appetit!
Psst! Got a moment?
If you're reading this, you came here for one of my many protein bar reviews, which means you're a fellow bar eater!
If you found my article helpful, I hope you'll take a look at Human Food Bar, which I created after testing over 100 bars.
The bar's unique formulation can help you cut cravings, lose weight, sleep better, have more energy, regulate digestion, and more. It does this by balancing your gut biome.
Human Food Bar comes recommended by New York Times best-selling author Dr. Steven Gundry, MD.
Scroll through the gallery to learn more!
| Product | Strengths | Diet Suitability |
|
NuGo Fiber d’Lish Bar
|
|
|
|
WonderSlim Protein & Fiber Bar
|
|
|
|
Fiber One Bar
|
|
|
|
Metamucil MultiGrain Wafers
|
|
|
|
Extend Bar
|
|
|
|
IQBAR Keto Protein Bar
|
|
|
|
Raw Rev Glo Peanut Butter & Sea Salt Bar
|
|
|
NuGo Fiber d’Lish Bar
Read our in-depth Nugo Bars review to learn more.
WonderSlim Protein & Fiber Bar
Read our in-depth WonderSlim Bars review to learn more.
Fiber One Bar
Read our in-depth Fiber One Bars review to learn more.
Metamucil MultiGrain Wafers
Read our in-depth Metamucil Wafers review to learn more.
Extend Bar
Read our in-depth Extend Bars review to learn more.
IQBAR Keto Protein Bar
Read our in-depth IQBars review to learn more.
Raw Rev Glo Peanut Butter & Sea Salt Bar
Read our in-depth Glo Bars review to learn more.
How Does Human Food Bar Measure Up?
How did we become some experts on fiber bars? Because we studied dozens during the development of our own bar, Human Food Bar.
More than just a higher fiber bar, Human Food Bar contains the most diverse array of prebiotic fiber and resistant starch on the market. Unlike most bars, Human Food Bar is also free of lectins, synthetic fibers and sugar alcohols.
Inspired by the fiber-rich hunter-gatherer diet, the Human Food Bar was designed to be a microbiome booster. Hunter-Gathers have incredibly robust microbiomes, and do not suffer from chronic disease.
The bar is made from nutritious ingredients including tiger nuts, chicory root, flax, baobab, cacao, and green banana flour. It’s 100% plant-based and low in carbs.
The bar has just 4 grams of net carbohydrates and 12 grams of dietary fiber. It doesn’t contain harmful trans fats, artificial ingredients, or added sugars. In addition, it’s high in calcium, iron, and potassium.
The Amazing Health Benefits of the Human Food Bar
Loaded with various types of prebiotic fiber and resistant starch, the Human Food Bar promotes microbial diversity in your body. As such, the bar is beneficial to your health in the following ways:
- Improving gut and digestive health
- Promoting weight loss
- Keeping you satiated and reducing unhealthy food cravings
- Boosting your mood and overall feelings of wellbeing
- Reducing inflammation
- Supporting the immune system
- Increasing calcium absorption for improved bone health
The Human Food Bar is nature’s prebiotic goodness in a bar. Its prebiotic fiber content will keep you full while boosting your overall health and wellbeing.
High Fiber Bars FAQs
Which of the above fiber bars are lectin-free?
None of the fiber bars we tried were lectin-free. However, the Human Food Bar is 100% lectin-free.
Which of the fiber bars are ideal for vegan and keto diets?
NuGo Fiber d'Lish Bar
Raw Rev Glo Peanut Butter & Sea Salt Bar
IQBAR Keto Protein Bar
Do fiber bars help to relieve constipation?
Fiber bars contain soluble and insoluble fiber, which work together to help relieve constipation. Soluble fiber helps to soften your stool, while insoluble fiber adds bulk to the stool, thus improving bowel movements and helping you poop.
Do fiber bars help with weight loss?
A high fiber diet has been shown to help with weight weight loss, by slowing down digestion and keeping you fuller for longer. In combination with exercuise, this can have a positive effect on weight management.
