Note: Data above is based on manufacturers' information.

The first energy bar came from marathon runner Brian Maxwell's kitchen in the mid 1980s. He called his invention a PowerBar, and it spawned a nutrition revolution. Energy bars work because they contain a mix of simple and complex carbohydrate, as well as relatively small amounts of fat and protein. Some brands boost fat and/or protein content based on different opinions about what works best during exercise. This combination of the three main food constituents makes energy bars a real food. Many brands also add vitamins and minerals. Some include herbs, antioxidants, or stimulants such as caffeine or guarana.

With so many bars on the market, how do I choose the right one?

Let your taste buds decide. Any energy bar will do a good job of supplying carbo calories, but it's not worth anything if you don't get it through your mouth into your stomach. Bars with a taste and consistency that you enjoy make it much more likely that you'll eat enough to derive the benefits.

Another factor is whether you want to use a traditional high-carbohydrate bar or one that puts more emphasis on fat and/or protein. For example, a PowerBar's 230 calories are derived from 45 grams of carbo, 9 grams of protein, and 2.5 grams of fat, fairly typical of many bars. PR*Ironman Bar, on the other hand, gets an identical number of calories from 24 grams of carbo, 16 grams of protein, and 8 grams of fat. You will hear this ratio called 40-30-30, which indicates the approximate percentage of calories from each source (96 from carbo, 64 from protein, 72 from fat). Balance Bar has a similar ratio. There's a long story behind 40-30-30, with its bible - a book called The Zone, by Barry Sears. Whether you subscribe to his theory or not, some endurance athletes say that higher percentages of fat and/or protein seem to provide a longer, steadier release of energy.

Majority of bars on the market are carbohydrate based, with some other ingredients added for performance and/or marketing enhancement. The carbos maintain optimal blood sugar levels and prevent glycogen depletion. The low fat, protein and fiber in some bars helps rapid digestion/absorption so carbos can be rapidly and efficiently transported to the muscles.

Depending on the brand, the carbos may contain maltodextrin or simple carbohydrate (as brown rice sugar). Maltodextrin, a glucose polymer, is a chain of glucose molecules of short to medium length. It more expensive to produce, and created by taking starch (long chains of glucose molecules) and chemically breaking it by hydrolysis into shorter chains of glucose. Glucose polymers are sized in-between a small glucose molecule (a simple carbohydrate) and a large starch molecule (a complex carbohydrate). Maltodextrin has a lower osmolality than glucose. Molecules of maltodextrin are larger than glucose', so bars with maltodextrin will have a few large particles compared to a bars with glucose. The number of particles determines how much water it will hold. The more molecules of smaller sized glucose in the bar, the more water will be pulled into the intestine than the maltodextrin-based bar. Makers on maltodextrin-based bars claim that since their products don't pull as much water into the intestine, it is absorbed faster into the bloodstream. Brown rice syrup contains both complex and simple carbohydrates.

Another component often found in the bars are electrolytes. Usually sodium, potassium, and chloride can be added to help combat electrolyte imbalances in the body (due to the long exercise in the high temperatures and/or high sweating rate). Electrolytes are ions (electrically charged molecules) that are present in all of the body fluids. They maintain the body's chemistry and allow the body to perform all its essential to life functions. As the body cools itself via sweat evaporation process, it secretes primarily water and electrolytes. As minor electrolyte imbalance occurs, there are symptoms of fatigue, exhaustion, and mild mental confusion.

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