Protein and granola bars can be a part of a well balanced diet, just choose wisely and eat them in moderation! When reading your labels follow these general rules. 1. Avoid processed inflammatory oils like canola, soybean, and palm kernel oil. 2. Look for bars that don’t have any added sugars. 3. If you don’t know the ingredients in an item, put it back on the shelf! The less ingredients the better. There are a lot of gums, fillers, sweeteners and sugar alcohols in protein bars that can affect our taste buds and disturb our gut microbiome.