Part 3: Nutrition-Liquid & Prepackaged Bars, Powders, and Meals

Commercially prepared nutritional bars, powders, and liquid meals offer an alternative approach in precompetition feeding or as supplemental feedings during periods of competition.

Liquid Meals

Liquid meals provide high carbohydrate content but contain enough lipid and protein to contribute to satiety. They also supply the person with fluid because they exist in liquid form. The liquid meal digests rapidly, leaving essentially no residue in the intestinal tract. Liquid meals prove particularly effective during daylong swimming and tract meets, or during tennis, soccer, and basketball tournaments. in these situations, the person usually has little time for food.


Nutritional Bars
Also called "energy bars", "diet bars" or "protein bars", they contain a relatively high protein content that ranges from 10 to 90 g per bar. The often contain vitamins and minerals.

The typical 60g bar contains 25g of carbohydrate (100 kCal), 15g of protein (60kCal) and 5g o f lipid (45 kCal).

The composition of nutritional bars generally varies with their purpose. Energy bars contain a greater proportion of carbohydrates while "diet" bars are lower in carbohydrate content and higher in protein. "Meal replacement" bars have the largest energy content (240 to 900 KCal). However, they lack the broad array of plant fibers and phytochemicals found in food and contain a relatively high level of saturated fatty acids.

Nutritional Powders and Drinks

A high protein content between 10 and 50 g per serving represents a unique aspect of nutritional powders and drinks. They also contain added vitamins and minerals. The powders come in canisters or packets that readily mix with water., while the drinks come premixed in cans. They are often marketed as meal replacement energy booster or concentrated protein sources.

The composition of nutritional powders and drinks varies considerably from nutritional bars. For one thing, nutritional bars contain at least 15g of carbohydrates to provide texture and taste, whereas powders and drinks do not. This accounts for the higher protein content with nutritional powders and drinks.