We took a look at some popular health bars and see how healthy they really were based on the data on their labels versus the quirky buzzword on the packaging
And to make it more interesting, we compared them to three of South Africa's most popular chocolates.
The Macmillan Dictionary defines the term Health Halo as the perception that a particular food is good for you even when there is little or no evidence to confirm this is true.
Think gluten-free , low fat , natural', raw .
We reach for healthier alternatives like organic, free trade, locally produced dark chocolate because we think it is healthier than the milk chocolate.
And of course, sweet potato and beetroot vegetable crisps are much better for us than the chips that Simba has been peddling us. Right?
Not necessarily.
Setting the bar: What should I be looking for?The main things to consider on the back of the label is calorie count, sugar content, fibre, sodium as well as the amount and type of fat.
Calorie countAccording to Chloe McLeod, accredited practising dietitian and sports dietitian a perfect snack should range from 100 to 150 calories.
IngredientsHealth24 states that ingredients are listed in order of weight. So a red flag should raise if refined grains, sugar or syrups are listed first.
SugarYou want as little sugar as possible, according to McLeod you should aim for five to ten grams. This equals about one to two teaspoons of sugar.
FibreFibre keeps us fuller for longer. Aim for 3g or more.
FatGood fat can keep you fuller for longer but be sure to look at where the fat is coming from. Nuts and seeds provide a good source of saturated fat. Aim for less than two grams per 100g.
Preference should be given to products which contain more unsaturated vs. saturated fats, within the context of the total fat the product provides.
Health24 SodiumMcLeod suggests that you should look for less than 120 mg per 100g.
Crunch time: Weighing in on the different barsTREK Cocoa Oat, Protein FlapJack (50g)
High in calories and sugar, this bar contains rice syrup as the second ingredient on the list.
Rice syrup is refined sugar and no healthier than sugar.
One tablespoon of rice syrup has 55 to 75 calories, depending on the brand; sugar has 48 calories per tablespoon. Brown-rice syrup also has a high glycemic index (98), meaning it causes your blood sugar to spike quickly. (White sugar, or sucrose, has a glycemic index of 65.)
If you were watching your calorie intake for weight loss and not the ingredients for health, this bar has more calories than a Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate.
Cadbury does have a glass and a half of milk in it
Approximate calories in Trek is 227 versus 216 calories in Cadbury.
Kellog's Crunchy Nut Cereal Breakfast Bars (33g)
The majority of the bars we have looked at a weight between 45 55g so we need to take into account the nutritional value of this breakfast bar which is smaller.
Marketed as a breakfast bar, we can assure you the sugar high you may get will have you craving your elevenses sooner than needed.
Pound for pound this bar would rival a Bar One in terms of calorie load and sugar content.
The 3 main ingredients are peanuts, Rice Krispies and Chocolate coating. Not your ideal breakfast ingredients.
66g of Kellog's Crunchy Nut Cereal Breakfast Bar calorie count is 322 versus a 55g of Bar One at 231 calories.
Natures Valley Crunchy (42g)
Wholegrain oats and real honey! All from a valley that belongs to Nature herself!
Unfortunately, the real honey only comes up after the oats, sugar, sunflower oil and almonds. The red flag here is that sugar is the second ingredient which makes sense considering that the bar contains 11g of the stuff!
The sweetness comes from the sugar, not the honey.
The majority of the fat comes from the sunflower oil and not the almonds which would be a preferable fat source.
So it's not as healthy as the brand would like us to think it is. High sugar, high sodium and sitting at 192 calories whilst a 45g Cadbury Dairy Milk bar has 216.
So if you are looking at weight loss from pure calories in versus calories out, this isn't doing you any favours.
Future Life, Whole Grain Granola Bar:
FUTURELIFE Whole Grain Granola Bars are SA's 1st* certified Gluten Free Whole Grain Bars with added sterols and sterolins. https://futurelife.co.za/flavour/honey-granola-bar/
Sold. Sterols and sterolins, whatever they may be, must be good for you. Unfortunately, since being last on the ingredient list, we doubt there are enough in there to make an impact on your health.
But it does have real berries!
Get ready for this .5% real berries there is more brown sugar in this bar than berries.
It packs quite a bit of carbohydrate due to the oats and oat flour and is an approx 200 calories per bar.
Nakd (35g)
Vegan-friendly and gluten, wheat and dairy free! Nakd bars also contain no added sugar bar what it found in the fruit. This does add up to a hefty 17.5g of carbs though.
The bar is made up of dates, coconuts, raisins, cashews, cocoa and a hint of natural flavourings.
Well, at least the flavourings are natural right? Well not really
According to Gary Reineccius, a professor in the department of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota natural flavourings are no better in quality, nor are they safer, than artificial flavourings.
This bar packs quite the calorie load given its size but the fibre content and natural sugars mean it keeps you fuller for longer and less likely to have a sugar crash.
Jungle Oats Peanut Butter Energy Bar (47g)
Containing oats, sugar and peanut paste this healthy alternative has almost as many calories as a Lunch Bar.
The fat content of this bar is very high at 16g per serving and we are confident it isn't the good kind of fat that the Banting folk harp on about.
Th
Most recent headlines
03/01/2026
A still from OBEX by Albert Birney, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance...
02/01/2026
Freezing Florida: NHL's EVP, Entertainment Bob Chesterman on Taking the Wint...
02/01/2026
NHL Winter Classic 2026: TNT Sports Prepares for First NHL Outdoor Game in Sunsh...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Any Given Day: Cork University Hospital premieres Wednesday 7 January on RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
RT will debut a powerful new six-part documentary se...
02/01/2026
Friday 2 January 2026
All episodes of Heated Rivalry will be landing on Sky and...
02/01/2026
Sequins, chat shows, live sporting action, ground-breaking docuseries and brand-new Irish drama to kick off 2026
New Year, New Content Coming Soon across RT
...
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
Your live countdown to 2026 with Inhaler, David Gray, Lyra, Garron Noone, Sharon...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
RT has unveiled an exclusive first look at the new Dancing with the Stars promo...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
We took a look at some popular health bars and see how healthy they really were based on the data on their labels versus the quirky buzzword on the packaging
