What Is the Mission1 Clean Protein Bar?
The Mission1 Clean Protein Bar is a healthy snack food perfect for athletes. It delivers a high concentration of milk-based protein without a lot of carbs or fat. It can be stored easily, eaten quickly and taken on the go. Since it delivers a high amount of protein, it can be effective as a healthy way to curb cravings or provide energy during prolonged workouts. It can work as a short-term meal replacement, but since it lacks a good variety of nutrients, it is not truly a meal replacement or nutrition bar.
Many protein bars are loaded with sugar or sodium, artificial flavors and other additives to make them taste good while still being cheap. The Mission1 Clean Protein Bar is labeled as clean, and this truly does make it stand out from the crowd. It contains a small assortment of natural or benign ingredients that deliver an excellent dose of protein and fiber without a load of sugar or artificial fillers.
Manufacturer
The Mission1 Clean Protein Bar is produced by MuscleTech. This company has a 20-year history of providing a variety of performance enhancing products and supplements, including protein bars, powders, drinks and other products. Their products have proven to be of consistently high quality and backed by more research and standards compared to many other companies. An entire section of their website is devoted to research information where they claim to work very closely with nutrition and sports labs and scientists. They also state that they allocate a portion of every dollar earned toward the advancement of the science behind their products. They are held up as one of the more highly-regarded manufacturers of sports and athletic supplements.
How Mission1 Clean Protein Bars Work?
The Mission1 Clean Protein Bar delivers a high concentration of lean whey protein with a very low amount of fat or carbs. Since protein provides the foundation for increasing muscle mass, a diet rich in protein can help contribute to muscle gain. By also being low in fat and carbs, a protein bar, similar to a protein shake, prevents the addition of excess calories that could lead to overall weight gain. An athlete who eats protein bars is getting the building blocks they need for new muscle without adding useless calories.
The Mission1 Clean Protein Bar by itself provides nothing except the nutritional base needed to enhance muscle growth. It contains no other performance enhancing ingredients. A person incorporating the protein bar would still need to stick to a rigorous workout routine in order to see improvements in muscle mass. The convenience of a bar, however, makes it the perfect accompaniment to a workout, since it can be eaten quickly before or after a workout when an infusion of protein is most effective for helping muscle growth and decreasing recovery time.
An athlete can make the Mission1 Clean Protein Bar a relatively consistent part of their diet, so they can achieve the higher than average amounts of protein they need without consuming too many calories from fat or carbs. A protein bar with high quality ingredients and excellent flavor can also be used in a variety of ways and even as an ingredient in recipes to make simple and protein-packed snacks and meals.
Ingredients of Mission1 Clean Protein Bar
Protein Blend (isolated milk protein and whey protein isolate)
In any protein bar, one would expect protein to be the star ingredient. While both of the ingredients in this blend can be considered milk-based, they are somewhat different. This also means that the Mission1 Clean Protein Bar cannot be labeled as vegan. Most vegan bars contain only soy protein isolates. Regardless, both of these isolates a very effective at delivering a complete protein without any sugar or fat.
Isolated milk protein is essentially a dry milk concentrate that has had almost all of the water, lactose and fat removed. This leaves behind the natural proteins found in regular whole milk. About 90 percent of this protein is casein. The remaining 10 percent or so is whey. Many studies have determined that isolated whey protein is more healthful compared to casein. The isolated milk protein, however, is much less expensive to produce.
Whey protein isolate is a byproduct of the cheese-making industry that separates the whey from the rest of the milk product. Although whey is technically more expensive to produce, it is usually available in very high quantities from cheese manufacturers that have no use for it other than for resale. This makes it readily available as a protein concentrate.
Isomalto-Oligosaccharides
This is a food starch that has been modified to be less digestible than normal starches. It can be considered a dietary fiber on food labels. As a result, it is typically added to foods in order to increase their overall amount of dietary fiber. There is conflicting research about the efficacy of using IMO as a dietary fiber. Some recent studies have shown that enzymes do exist in the small intestine able to metabolize IMO just like other starches. Those studies demonstrate that the majority of the starch in this ingredient is in-fact digestible and will result in some calories from carbs. However, the percentage digested does decrease under exercise conditions, so this may be less noticeable if the Mission1 Clean Protein Bar is eaten directly before or after a workout. The take away from this research is that foods such as this protein bar that contain high amounts of IMO may have slightly more carbohydrates and calories than appears on their labeling.
Ground Almonds
Almonds are among the healthiest of nuts. They provide a little extra protein and some other nutrients. Mainly, they are added to give some additional structure, flavor and texture to the bar. The almonds also provide a nice whole-food touch to a food item that has overall highly-processed ingredients.
Sweeteners and Flavors
This protein bar contains several different ingredients that can be considered sweeteners or flavorings. These include Natural Flavorings, Cocoa, Sugar, Stevia and Erythritol. Overall, the choice of Natural Flavorings makes the bar slightly better than those that choose artificial flavorings, although many health professionals consider the differences to be minor. The inclusion of Stevia and Erythritol instead of extra amounts of sugar helps to keep the bar’s glycemic index low and cuts out calories and carbs. Stevia is a natural, plant-based sweetener that has no calories. Erythritol is a sugar alcohol also used as a calorie-free sweetener. While there is some sugar included, it is negligible. Cocoa is a healthful ingredient with excellent antioxidant properties and flavor properties. Similar to Cocoa, unsweetened chocolate is added for flavor. Unlike milk chocolate found in candy bars, unsweetened chocolate has a higher concentration of antioxidants and less sugar.
Soluble Corn Fiber, Corn Fiber and Potato Fiber
Unlike IMO, these are true plant fibers that will act as non-digestible dietary fiber. Although these ingredients are used in smaller amounts in the Mission1 Clean Protein Bar, they do add a healthful amount of fiber to the food.
Salts and Oils
The Mission1 Clean Protein Bar does have some salt and oil added, but it is again clear that the manufacturer has put forth some extra effort to choose more healthful ingredients. The inclusion of sea salt is noticeable. Sea Salt is generally healthier than regular salt, with a more beneficial mix of minerals. There is regular Salt added farther down on the list, however, so some cost-cutting measures are apparent. The primary oil choice is High Oleic Sunflower Oil. This oil has more Oleic acid compared to normal oil, which generally means that it is more healthful. The product does also have palm oil. There has been some controversy surrounding the sustainability of palm oil, but the manufacturer specifically addresses this concern and ensures a sustainable source for this ingredient.
Additives and Extras
The remaining ingredients in the Mission1 Clean Protein Bar can be considered minor additives necessary for the bar’s consistency and stability. These include minor additional starches, leavening agents and such. Nothing in this minor list of ingredients stands out as being detrimental to the bar’s overall healthfulness. There are some slight differences in minor ingredients depending on the flavor chosen.
Note that there are some differences in ingredients both major and minor depending on the flavor of the bar chosen. For example, the chocolate brownie uses tocopherols as a preservative whereas the cookies and cream flavor does not, but these differences have almost no impact on the overall nutrition or healthfulness of the product. They are mainly done to preserve or enhance flavor and consistency. All the bars have the same key ingredients.
Advantages
The Mission1 Clean Protein Bar is an easy and convenient foods for athletes. It doesn’t require require refrigeration or any real preparation, making it a perfect snack to go. Overall, it is a much better choice than other such convenience foods such as chips or candy. It can also hold up well against most nutritional bars or granola bars. Those bars tend to have much higher amounts of sugar and carbs compared to other ingredients.
From an exercise and weightlifting standpoint, the Mission1 Clean Protein Bar is an excellent to-go food because of its very high concentration of protein compared to fat and carbs. It is important to get a quick infusion of protein after a workout, and mixing up a shake or drink is not always possible. This protein bar provides the same benefits as a whey shake without the hassle of making one.
While it is important to consider that this protein bar still ranks as a processed food, it doesn’t contain anything noticeably artificial or harmful and so can hold onto its label of clean. It certainly contains higher-quality ingredients and fewer artificial ingredients and fillers compared to most other bars in its category.
Those willing to look around the product’s official website may also be pleased to see a variety of recipes listed plainly on the site. This is a creative touch that is not offered by many other manufacturers. It gives customers other creative ways to make use of the product and enhance it, turning it into an even more healthful snack or elevating it to something approaching a complete meal.
The Mission1 Clean Protein Bar also hosts a decent number of attractive and popular flavors. The most popular flavor is by far their cookies and cream offering. They also offer chocolate chip cookie dough and chocolate brownie.
Certificates
The Mission1 Protein Bar holds status as a gluten free food. It is also clear based on information from the company website, that care has gone into the research and development of the product. Although the bar has no real certifications to speak of, all of its ingredients have plenty of research and information backing them from official sources. The manufacturer does publish a variety of information on its website so curious customers can learn more about the research backing that goes into the products.
Testimonials
This bar is perfect as a workout snack for me. I used to struggle with eating right before and after workouts because I didn’t like the chalky taste of most protein shakes and workout powders. This bar tastes great and it’s convenient to carry around and eat right after my workout like I’m supposed to.
– Ryan, Miami, FL, US
I’ve searched around for a good protein bar that wasn’t loaded with a lot of cheap fillers and junk. I like that the Mission1 bar uses a lot of high quality ingredients that I’ve read about. It also tastes good, so I don’t mind eating it regularly.
– Ted, Seattle, WA, US
I struggle a lot with getting all of the protein I need, especially when I’m trying to bulk up. I don’t like eating a lot of red meat, and nuts and beans get old fast. This bar is a great protein source for me. I even have it with breakfast sometimes. Heating it up in the microwave a little bit is perfection.
– Mark, Orlando, FL, US
I love these bars! What is important to me is to know what I’m eating and have that food backed with some amount of care and science. MuscleTech does that for me. They have products of very high quality across their entire line, and these protein bars are no different. I like that they have a pretty short ingredient list compared to most and that those ingredients are things I can actually pronounce and identify pretty easily.
– Oliver, Sacramento, CA, US
Awards & Media Coverage
The Mission1 Clean Protein Bar has no official awards. It is, however, rated as the number one selling protein bar in America. The 20-year history of the company and the many popular offerings from MuscleTech means that, while a single product may not receive as much direct attention as others, it still has backing from a very strong and well-known manufacturer.
Money-back Guarantee
The manufacturer does not offer an explicit money-back guarantee for this product. It is marketed for sale primarily by store retailers who may offer some money-back or return policies of their own. Up front money-back guarantee’s are typically not standard for products like protein bars, but the company may be willing to work with customers who take the time to contact them directly if they are unsatisfied with the product.
Shipping
The Mission1 Clean Protein Bar is typically offered for sale at stores in the USA and other retailers who may ship this product within the US and to other countries as well. MuscleTech ships this and other products it offers through distributors in the USA and through separate international distributors. It does not host an online shop on its website, but it does offer a list of retailers and distributors.
Customer Support
MuscleTech does not appear to host official customer support or contact information on its website. It is possible to connect with the company via social media outlets, however, this can be considered spotty at best when it comes to customer support. Most customers should be on the safe side and consider all purchases of MuscleTech products final since they may be unlikely to get in contact with the manufacturer.
Safe & Secure Checkout
The manufacturer does not host an online store, so online purchasing and checkout directly from them is nonexistent. However, their various distributors and online retailers who do offer their products for sale do have safe and secure checkout. This is verified by the encryption logos on the URL and statements on the websites themselves.
Pricing
Since the Mission1 Clean Protein Bar is not offered for sale directly by the manufacturer, its pricing may vary depending on the retailer used. Pricing also varies based on the box size bought, and it may save 50 cents or more per bar to buy in bulk. Since many customers may eat this bar regularly as part of their workout routine, then a bulk purchase may be very beneficial. Customers can expect to pay between $2 and $3 per bar in most cases. This makes these protein bars quite a bit more expensive than the average, but their higher quality may warrant this.
Leave a Reply