Are protein bars healthy meal replacements or diet saboteurs that have been over-hyped by food manufacturers?

The answer, nutritionists say, depends on the product. The bottom line: Not all protein bars are created equal.

There’s no doubt that, with today’s busy lifestyles, it’s often hard to carve out time for a sit-down meal and easy to turn to a quick replacement like a protein bar. With hundreds of these prewrapped treats lining the grocery store shelf, it’s hard to tell what constitutes a legitimate meal replacement and what’s more like a candy bar.

Mia Russo Stern, a certified holistic wellness counselor, tells Newsmax Health that there’s a time and place for protein bars, but it’s important to check the ingredients.

“I like to make my own with simple whole food ingredients,” says Stern, a raw food chef. “I like protein bars like RX bars that only have a few ingredients. I think they can come in handy as a meal replacement when you are on the run. I avoid ingredients like soy lecithin and any ingredients you can't understand.”

Liz Applegate, lecturer in nutrition at the University of California-Davis, agrees that protein bars can be a convenient alternative to unhealthy snacks.

“But there's nothing magical about these bars. Most of them are fine, but some are too high in fat,” she tells WebMD.

Some energy bars that are low in saturated fats and sugars and contain protein and fiber can be a great meal replacement, while others can contain as much saturated fat as a candy bar and almost as much sugar.

Nutritionists also point out that anything with calories, like a banana, can also supply you with energy. An apple or banana may be a better alternative for a quick snack than a protein bar. Snacks like low-fat yogurt or high-fiber cereal can also make for healthful alternatives.

If you’re choosing an energy bar as a meal replacement, look for a bar with at least 10 grams of protein, experts recommend. If your bar is just a snack, limit the calories to 200 and under.

When choosing a protein bar consider the following guidelines:

• Look for a bar that has less than five grams of fat.
• Choose a bar that has 3 to 5 grams of fiber.
• Watch the sugar. Bars that list ingredients like brown rice syrup or cane invert syrup first tend to be high in sugar and are better suited for athletes than dieters. On the other hand, some bars contain sugar alcohols maltitol or erythritol which contain fewer calories than sugar, but can cause stomach problems.
• If you’re choosing a protein bar for weight loss, make sure you check the calories. A MET-Rx 100-Gram Food Bar packs 340 calories.
• If you’re protein bar is in place of a meal, choose a bar that has 15 or more grams of protein as well as some fiber.
• Eat real food, like a piece of fruit or a vegetable, along with the bar.
• Make sure you’re not consuming too many vitamins and minerals. Some protein bars are fortified with 50 percent of the Recommended Daily Allowance of zinc. If you’re eating more than one bar a day and taking a multivitamin, you may be interfering with your body’s ability to absorb other minerals and could even weaken your immune system.

Seven energy bars that meet these recommendations:

Kind Snacks' Cranberry Almond + Antioxidants with Macadamia Nuts bar: 190 calories, 13g fat, 1.5g sat fat, 4g protein, 5g fiber, 8g sugar. Kind has also recently rolled out a series of new high-protein, low-cal bars with even lower sugar levels in other flavors (caramel almond and sea salt; dark chocolate nuts and sea salt; peanut butter dark chocolate; and dark cholate cherry cashew

SimplyProtein's Maple Pecan protein bar: 150 calories; 5g fat; 0.5g sat fat; 16g protein; 7g fiber; 1g sugar

PowerBar's Plant Protein snack bar: 230 calories, 2.5g sat fat, 10g protein, 8g fiber, 10g sugars

Luna Whole Nutrition Bars' Chocolate Peppermint Stick: 190 calories, 2.5g sat fat, 8g protein, 4g fiber, 8g sugar

Kashi's GoLean Plant-Powered Dark Chocolate Cashew Chia bar: 200 calories, 2g sat fat, 8g protein, 4g fiber, 8g sugars

Lärabar's Apple Pie: 190 calories, 1g sat fat, 4g protein, 5g fiber, 18g sugar

Pure Protein Plus' Apple Pie bar: 190 calories, 1.5g sat fat, 20g protein, 16g fiber, 3g sugar (2g sugar alcohols)