Fitness: When to use nutrition bars

What’s really in your energy bar? Africa Melane chats to Chelsea van Rooyen, Racefood Brand Manager about the rise of nutrition bars, when you actually need them, and why clean, natural ingredients make all the difference.

Early Breakfast with Africa Melane is 702’s and CapeTalk’s early morning talk show. Experienced broadcaster Africa Melane brings you the early morning news, sports, business, and interviews politicians and analysts to help make sense of the world. He also enjoys chatting to guests in the lifestyle sphere and the Arts. All the interviews are podcasted for you to catch-up and listen.

Thank you for listening to this podcast from Early Breakfast with Africa Melane

For more about the show click https://buff.ly/XHry7eQ and find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/XJ10LBU

Listen live on weekdays between 04:00 and 06:00 (SA Time) to the Early Breakfast with Africa Melane broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3N

Subscribe to the 702 and CapeTalk daily and weekly newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetc

Follow us on social media:

702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702

702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702

702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/

702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702

702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702

 

CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalk

CapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalk

CapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/

CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalk

CapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to your new day. This is any breakfast with
Africa Atlantic shifting gears dramatically. Now, nutrition bars have become
a go to snack for gym goers and busy people
who perhaps do not have time to sit and create
a massive buffet for themselves, particularly in the mornings. They
are everywhere, these nutrition bars, from supermarket childs to office

(00:23):
vending machines. But what exactly do they provide your body with?
That's a question we're asking Charlesea van Royan, who is
the brand manager for Race Food at Chelsea, A very
good morning and welcome to the show.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Good morning, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
What is included in a nutrition bar? What should we
be looking for?

Speaker 2 (00:44):
Well, first, I can definitely start by saying I'm no dietitian,
but I am someone who trains often and loves being active,
so I genuinely do use the bars on a daily basis,
and I am sort of a walking case study at
the moment, I think definitely. They're asked the key things
to look for in a nutrition bar, I would start

(01:06):
with saying clean and effective energy, and you need a
balance of fast releasing and slow releasing carbohydrates of your
simple and complex carbs and digestibility is definitely a big one.
You want something that's easy on the stomach. No one
wants to feel heavy or bloated while you're training. And
then real ingredients, something Rasedly definitely focuses on is your

(01:31):
natural ingredients as close to food as real food as possible.
You want an energy bar that maintains your stable and
your stable energy levels. The right car blend helps avoid
energy crashes, so that in a nutshell, would be my
top four key elements to look for in a good.

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Nutrition bar and out of interest Chelsea, are nutrition bars
only to be consumed ahead of a workout, for example,
and that workout could be at the gym, could be
at a cloud, could be a vigorous walk, or a rundo,
a cycle or can I you know, in the ordinary
course of business, well I have no physical exercising. Whatever

(02:13):
would I be allowed to have a nutrition bar? Do
you think? I think?

Speaker 2 (02:19):
When I'm talking about our specific far and fastball range,
they definitely are designed with performance in mind. Our nutrition
bars are very high in carbohydrates, so you would need
you would use it for a boost when you need
it before, during, and after exercise. Personally, I've made the
mistake of grabbing one as a regular snack without training planned,

(02:43):
and I definitely felt it. And so I'd recommend using
all nutrition bars with high carbohydrate content and with intention
and around movements. And that's to make stually shine and
when they're really good for.

Speaker 1 (02:56):
Your body, because the farbar is design mind for endurance
right where you grab a bite and then you go
and work it out effectively.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
Yes, exactly, And we are at Racis. We are currently
in the development phase of our new Racy protein bar range.
And then I think that's more well high end protein,
so it's a put more balanced for everyday use.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
Give us. I suppose the range then that you offer
in the far buy in terms of not only taste,
because I've got a salted apricot, for example, in front
of me, I see there's a cranberry and armond. Is
it is the range differentiated by taste or do you

(03:48):
also differentiate in terms of I suppose the amount of
carbohydrates and proteins and stuff that determines whether you know what,
I'm going running or cycling, So therefore I need energy
that will be released over a longer period of time
versus I'm going to go lift weight, so I need
a power sort of release of that energy.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Okay, well I think our name said all. So the
fast bars your quick release of energy. The bars twenty
two grands. It's our newgar based bar. This is the
bar that's using the fast acting carbs like glucose, syrup, sugar, honey,
egg white protein. And then it's got your added your

(04:28):
primary ingredients, which are the which are the ingredients that
you'll see on the wrapper, which is the cash nut,
coconut or coca, cash nut, coca or cranberries, just depending
on the flavor. We've got three types of flavors. And
that quick quick release energy bar which is so faster,
so you use that for pre workouts or during your
shorter runs or shorter distance exercises, just as a Pepney

(04:52):
app So anyway, fifteen minutes before you train or then
for five minutes into your training session in the father
being your slow release of energy. And this is your
burling star for your longer distances. That's a more denser bar.
So this includes long ingredients like butter, sugar, wheat, flower

(05:13):
and eggs, dried fruit. Those are I mean you've got
your sustained carbs there so with potassium magnesium, so that's
great for hydration and endurance with the dates. And then
the re salted apricut was designed specifically with the higher
salt content. And then you've got your ingredients butter and

(05:35):
wheat flour, which are your slower for slow digestion, giving
you that slow that's slow bone in the field. And yeah,
so helping with mass will repair energy, balance, mood regulation,
loads of use for your longer decsions like your trail
round your mountain bikes. I don't think there's a certain

(05:57):
category of sports that you use a specific bar, but
the one bars used for your longer distances and the
one bars used for your shorter distances.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
I imagine the easiest repository that I can send our
listeners to your website, which is racefood dot co dot today.
Racefood dot co dot today. Do you start on shopfronts
and shelves around the country as well?

Speaker 2 (06:25):
Yes, we do rein Sportsman's Warehouse and this game and
Clicks and Cape Union Marked and going into Madie right game.
We're in pick and pay. Yeah, so you can find
us in a lot of your everyday stores, grocery stores.

Speaker 1 (06:41):
Fantastic Chelsea, thank you for your time this morning, Thank
you for introducing us to the brand.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
Yes, thanks for having hero and have a lovely day
you too.

Speaker 1 (06:48):
Chelsea Fanron is the brand manager for race Food, talking
to us about the far Bar and the Fast Bar,
which i energy food bars, one for quick er the
other of course for endurance, coming in a variety of
flavors and tastes. You can go to raceefood dot co
dot za for more details of not only the product range,

(07:12):
but also where you'll be able to buy it.