I was recently contacted by Next Nutritional Company to do some producttesting and write a review for their new line of nutritional bars. Theysent me about 20 bars to try out and just asked that I give an honestreview. So here we go?.
First off, there are three different types of bars to theirline. Next Nutrition has come up with an interesting concept ofsport-specific nutrition. They sent me Detour Strength Bars, DetourBiker Bars, and Detour Runner Bars. I assume this concept is partiallyfor marketing and sales purposes but there does seem to be somejustification for it based on the requirements of the different sportsand the listed ingredients in each different bar type. For instance,the Core Strength bar has a higher protein content and ribose to helprestore ATP stores; the Biker bar has Rhodia to help improve musclestamina and recovery; and the Runner bar??has microlactin to help arunner’s joints recover from all the pounding.
When I consider a bar to buy I look at a couple things:macronutrient ratios and types, bonus ingredients (vitamin andminerals, creatine, gluatmine, etc.), price and taste. I typicallydon’t eat bars post-workout (preferring a fruit-protein smoothie forafter a workout). I typically eat them as more of a meal-replacementthan for post-workout recovery. As a result my ideal bar has lots ofhigh quality protein, is high in fiber, has reduced carbohydratecontent, and minimal to no simple sugars. These particular bars appearto be intended for post workout or as a normal (as opposed to my SouthBeach-eque) diet meal replacement. They all have a slightly highersaturated fat content than competitors, the protein content is averagein its class (about 12g for Biker and Runner; 15g for Core Strength)and the overall carb content is? a much better makeup than most bars(there’s more fiber and less sugar than many of their competitors). Themicronutrient content wasn’t really anything to speak of. They allprovided a good array of essential minerals but vitamin content wasnon-existant. I can’t speak too much of their ‘sports-specific’ingredients as I’m not sure they’re intended to have an immediateeffect. What I can say though, is that they taste great, especiallysome of the Runner and Biker bars. My favorites were the Biker ToffeeAlmond, Runner Chocolate Chip Cookie, and Runner Lemon Yogurt.Honorable mention for flavor goes to Raspberry Dark Chocolate whichwould have been the best of the bunch if not for an overly artificialraspberry aftertaste. None of the bars tasted bad but the Core Strengthbars were probably my least favorite on taste. They were a little toodry but that’s a common problem with bars that have a slightly higherprotein content.
Overall, I’d say give these things a shot. I saw them in the supermarket and they’re very reasonably priced. The bars I mentioned aboveare among the best tasting nutritional bars I’ve ever had so if you’resomeone who normally wouldn’t even consider trying a bar because of thetaste, these may be the ones for you. Their macronutrient makeup ispretty good and they offer the potential for sports-specific benefits.If you’ve had them before I’d be interested to hear your thoughts onthe taste, the ‘sport-specific’ nutritional theme, and the overallnutritional content.