IQ Bar · Protein bars
Are IQ Bars Healthy? IQ Bar Chocolate Sea Salt Review
Short answer
Mostly, yes, for a protein bar. One 45 g IQ Bar Chocolate Sea Salt has 180 calories, 12 g of protein, 8 g of fiber and about 1 g of sugar, and almonds are the first ingredient. It still counts as ultra-processed (NOVA 4) because of the pea protein crisps, natural flavors and stevia. Truvi scores it 61 out of 100, one of the better bars we have checked.
Truvi score
61/100
Good
- Processing30/100
NOVA 4; additives not listed
- Nutrition78/100
moderate nutritional quality (Nutri-Score C)
- Overeating29/100
fat + salt combo, calorie-dense 4.0kcal/g
Our method, from the label. 75 and up is Excellent, 50 Good, 25 Fair, below 25 Bad. How the score works
IQ Bar nutrition facts: is it healthy?
Here is one 45 g bar, from the manufacturer's label:
| Calories | 180 |
|---|---|
| Protein | 12 g |
| Fiber | 8 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Saturated fat | 3 g |
| Salt | 0.3 g |
The good part: 12 g of protein and 8 g of fiber for 180 calories, with about 1 g of sugar. Most of the bar is almonds, so the fat comes largely from nuts. There are no sugar alcohols on the label, which some people find hard on the stomach.
The weaker part: it is calorie-dense, about 4 calories per gram, and meets the fat and salt combination that makes snacks easy to keep eating. That is why the fillingness part of the score is low. The nutrition part lands at Nutri-Score C on our calculation, mostly because of the fat.
What's in an IQ Bar
The label lists 18 ingredients. They fall into four groups:
- Base. almonds, flaxseeds, cocoa, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter and coconut oil. This is the whole-food part of the bar and it comes first on the label.
- Protein. pea protein and plant-based protein crisps made from pea protein and tapioca starch. These are where most of the 12 g of protein comes from.
- Fiber and binding. tapioca fiber and gum acacia. They add fiber and hold the bar together.
- Taste and extras. natural flavors, sunflower lecithin, vanilla extract, sea salt, stevia (steviol glycosides), lion's mane mushroom and vitamin E.
Why it still counts as ultra-processed
NOVA, the food-processing scale used in nutrition research, puts a food in group 4 when it contains industrial ingredients you would not cook with at home. The pea protein crisps, natural flavors, gum acacia, sunflower lecithin and stevia extract do that here.
It is a mild case. The list is shorter and closer to whole food than most protein bars, there are no sugar alcohols or artificial sweeteners, and almonds lead the label. That is why it scores far higher than many bars in the same aisle.
The sweetener and the extras
Stevia (steviol glycosides)
A sweetener extracted from the leaf of the stevia plant. It adds sweetness without sugar or calories. High-purity steviol glycosides are generally recognized as safe by the FDA.
Lion's mane
A mushroom added as an ingredient. The label does not say how much is in the bar, so we do not attach any effect to it.
Sunflower lecithin
An emulsifier that keeps the fat and the other ingredients mixed. The European Food Safety Authority found no safety concern for lecithins at current use levels in its 2017 review.
How it compares
Among the protein bars in Truvi's US list, none scores clearly higher than this one, so we don't suggest a swap. For comparison, the Quest Hero Cookies & Cream bar scores 20 out of 100, mainly because of its saturated fat, its protein isolates and its three sweeteners.
Full ingredient list and nutrition
Almonds, tapioca fiber, plant-based protein crisps (pea protein, tapioca starch), natural flavors, pea protein, flaxseeds, cocoa, unsweetened chocolate, gum acacia, coconut oil, cocoa butter, water, sunflower lecithin, vanilla extract, sea salt, non-gmo steviol glycosides, lion's mane, vitamin e
| Energy | 400 kcal |
|---|---|
| Fat | 31.1 g |
| of which saturated | 6.7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 24.4 g |
| of which sugars | 2.2 g |
| Fiber | 17.8 g |
| Protein | 26.7 g |
| Salt | 0.78 g |
Questions people ask
Are IQ Bars healthy?
For a protein bar, they do well: almonds first, 12 g of protein, 8 g of fiber and about 1 g of sugar per 45 g bar, with no sugar alcohols. They still count as ultra-processed and are calorie-dense. Truvi scores the Chocolate Sea Salt bar 61 out of 100.
How much protein is in an IQ Bar?
12 g per 45 g Chocolate Sea Salt bar, mostly from pea protein.
How much sugar is in an IQ Bar?
About 1 g per bar. It is sweetened with stevia instead of sugar.
Do IQ Bars have sugar alcohols?
The Chocolate Sea Salt label lists none. The sweetness comes from stevia.
Are IQ Bars vegan?
The Chocolate Sea Salt label lists no animal ingredients: the protein comes from peas and the base is almonds, cocoa and coconut oil.
Sources
- Monteiro CA et al. Ultra-processed foods: what they are and how to identify them. Public Health Nutrition, 2019.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Aspartame and other sweeteners in food (steviol glycosides).
- EFSA. Re-evaluation of lecithins (E 322) as a food additive. EFSA Journal, 2017.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, branded foods: Chocolate Sea Salt Bar.
Label data: USDA FoodData Central, branded foods (manufacturer label data), barcode 0850004554029. Score: Truvi score (truviScore v10), balanced setting.
Automated estimate from the product label, an opinion, not a statement of fact about the manufacturer. Ingredient and nutrition data from Open Food Facts (ODbL) may be incomplete or inaccurate. Based on published food-science systems (NOVA · Fazzino · Nutri-Score). Not medical advice.
Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected] with the barcode and we will review it.
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