A naturopathic perspective on protein bars

Betty who…?

Betty is like that cool, exciting new girl who's just moved to town. You're a little intrigued, you haven't met her yet but she keeps popping up and you totally love her style.

One day you meet her, introduced by a friend and you’re instant besties… finishing each other's sentences, giggling at the same silly jokes.

Betty ticks all the right bestie boxes & that's why I love her.

Ok, I'll admit it - now I'm talking about Betty Bars, but they’re totally bestie material too. In fact, I won't be leaving the house without a stash in my handbag from now on. I can’t tell you how many times I have dashed into the supermarket or a service station on a drive absolutely ravenous and desperate for a high protein snack that actually aligns with my health principles.

I find myself arriving in the bar or snack aisle and totally deflated with every single thing I pick-up and read the label of. And yes, as a Naturopath - I am a chronic label reader. Both for my own information and for my clients.

Until now, there hasn't been a single readily available protein bar (that’s also delicious) that I felt comfortable recommending to my clients. With ingredient lists full of poor quality, ultra-processed and inflammatory proteins, artificial sweeteners, filling agents and a raft of other eye rolling ingredients.

Then Betty arrived in town! My new bestie, and yours too I have a feeling.

When I see new clients, especially women and girls and begin the process of addressing the root cause of illness or health concerns, one of the first places we do a deep dive is into your diet. So often It goes like this - carb dominant, refined sugar dominant - and even in the most health conscious clients, there's usually a serious lack of protein.

Protein still has somewhat of a bad rap, especially in women's eyes. We tend to envision big bulky gym bros and slightly freak out going - “ahhh.. that's not what I want for myself”. Trust me, I get it. But what I love to talk through and educate my clients on is the importance of protein for strong, lean bodies, sharp minds, good gut health, happy hormones, healthy skin and high functioning detox pathways. If it sounds like I’m mentioning, like everything… It's because it is seriously that Important.

Protein is responsible for nearly all of the work that is carried out in every cell. It is also needed for the structure, function, and regulation of all tissues and organs.

When we eat high quality protein sources, like the Chickpea, Pea and Almond protein found in Betty Bars, it is broken down in our stomach into smaller compounds called amino acids. These amino acids are absorbed into our bloodstream through the small intestine, where they are directed through the body as needed to repair our muscles, build hormones, deliver nutrients to our cells and tissues and more.

I find it helps to quite literally imagine this visually as you think about it. When we visualise this process it can help us to piece together the importance of eating enough dietary protein. Unlike other essential nutrients it’s not something the body stores. If you are undereating protein, your body has to make the tough decision of where to send these amino acids to ensure you survive - but, there is not enough to thrive. This is why we see symptoms like thinning hair or hair loss with inadequate protein consumption. Hair is not essential, so your body does not prioritise it. Regularly consuming protein at each meal or in each snack is key to supporting the functioning of our bodies at their peak.

Holding reverence for the incredible functioning of our bodies and the fact that these processes happen day in day out with very little input from us is humbling. Small decisions, something as simple as consistently choosing a delicious and nutrient forward snack option like a Betty Bars is the ultimate in self-respect. Your energy levels, mood, skin & gut health will thank you later!

So Betty - the new girl, is here to stay -

I couldn’t be happier

- Grace

Grace is a New Zealand born, London based Naturopath & Herbalist, specialising in Nutrition and Metabolic health. She is the founder of Liquid Lightning a functional nourishment space in Ponsonby, Auckland. Practicing between London & Auckland, she is currently taking bookings for her Auckland residency in February including Naturopathy + Lymphatic Drainage Massage, Body Sculpting & Detoxification. 

Discover more  @liquid.lightning_