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What is the PhD Nutrition Smart Bar?

PhD Smart Bar is a three-layer protein bar: a soft protein core, a caramel layer and crunchy soya crispies, the whole thing coated in chocolate. A 64 g bar provides 20 g of protein, 9 g of fibre and 245 kcal, for 12 g of carbohydrate and 12 g of fat.

PhD Nutrition is a British brand. The Smart Bar is its best-selling line, and its reputation rests not on its label but on its texture: it is one of the few bars in this aisle that you genuinely chew, instead of it sticking to your teeth or crumbling apart.

The flavours in the range: Chocolate Brownie, Cookies n Cream, Salted Fudge Brownie, Caramel Crunch, Birthday Cake, White Blondie, Milk Choc Hazelnut, Chocolat Peanut Butter and Chocolat Noir-Framboise. The rest of the brand can be browsed in our PhD Nutrition aisle, and the other lines in our protein bars selection.

What does a Smart Bar contain?

20 g of protein for 245 kcal: that is one of the best ratios in the aisle, and it is this bar's whole reason for being. A third of the calories comes from protein. Compare it with an ordinary chocolate bar of the same weight — around 300 kcal and 4 g of protein — and you understand how the product is positioned.

The 9 g of fibre explain the dense texture, and they have a practical consequence. This is a bar you chew and that fills you up, not a confectionery item you swallow in three bites. The downside is flagged by the manufacturer itself: excessive consumption may have laxative effects, because of the fibre and above all the maltitol. The limit is set at two bars a day, and it is a sensible limit.

One point deserves a frank discussion: the protein blend combines milk protein, collagen hydrolysate and soya isolate. Milk protein and soya isolate are complete proteins. Collagen is not: it contains no tryptophan and it is low in several essential amino acids. It is used here for texture as much as to push up the “protein” line on the label. This is not a deception — the declared quantity is accurate — but 20 g of protein part of which is collagen is not worth 20 g of whey, and it is honest to say so.

From a regulatory standpoint, two authorised claims genuinely apply: protein contributes to a growth in and the maintenance of muscle mass, and the “source of fibre” statement is justified by the 14 g per 100 g. On the other hand, no joint claim is authorised for collagen, and no promise of satiety or weight control is permitted on this type of product. The manufacturer does not disclose the “of which sugars” line in the data available to us: refer to the packaging if that point matters to you.

Ingredients list

Protein blend (MILK protein, collagen hydrolysate, SOYA protein isolate), caramel layer [sweetener: maltitol, condensed MILK, cocoa butter, water, humectant: sorbitol, emulsifier: mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, natural flavourings, salt], sweeteners (maltitol, sucralose), cocoa butter, cocoa SOYA crispies (7.8%) [soya protein, tapioca starch, cocoa powder], whole MILK powder, humectant (glycerol), coconut oil, natural flavourings, emulsifier (lecithins), bulking agent (microcrystalline cellulose), natural Bourbon vanilla flavouring. Coating: 31% dark or milk chocolate depending on the flavour.

Allergens: MILK and SOYA. May contain traces of GLUTEN, NUTS and EGGS. No palm oil, no preservative, no gelatine, natural colours only. Contains sweeteners: excessive consumption may have laxative effects.

How should the Smart Bar be eaten?

Portion: 1 bar, or half a bar if you are new to polyols. Drink: a glass of water, the fibre needs it. Timing: as a snack between meals, after training, or in place of a confectionery item. Frequency: two bars a day at most. Duration: no notion of a course, this is a food.

If you have never eaten a maltitol-based bar, start with half. That is not excessive caution: tolerance to polyols varies enormously from one person to another, and a whole bar can be enough to cause bloating and discomfort in someone sensitive. Half a bar already represents 10 g of protein.

Chew it, do not swallow it. It is a dense bar, designed to last: that is precisely what makes it useful as a mid-afternoon snack, when the aim is to hold out until the next meal rather than to fill a gap in thirty seconds.

Take it out of the fridge a quarter of an hour beforehand. Cold, the caramel layer turns hard and the chocolate snaps. At room temperature, the three-layer texture makes full sense. Conversely, in summer, do not leave it in a car: the coating melts and the bar loses its shape.

A bar tops up what you take in over the day, it does not replace a meal. If your aim is to cover a substantial protein intake, a serving of protein powder remains more effective and less expensive; the bar, for its part, wins on fitting into a bag.

Who is the Smart Bar for, and who is it not for?

It suits someone looking for a portable, indulgent snack with a real protein content and a controlled calorie profile. It is the typical gym-bag or desk-drawer product, and it is also an honest alternative to something from a vending machine.

It is not suitable for people allergic to milk or soya, both present in quantity in the recipe. Traces of gluten, nuts and eggs are possible. Nor is it suitable for vegan diets, because of the milk protein and the collagen hydrolysate, the latter being of animal origin.

It is to be avoided if you digest polyols poorly. Maltitol and sorbitol both appear in the list. If sugar-free chewing gum or “light” products usually upset you, this bar will upset you too. People with diabetes should also keep an eye on their blood sugar despite the low sugar content: polyols are not neutral.

What you should not expect from it. It does not make you lose weight, it does not replace a meal and it does not build muscle on its own. And the collagen it contains has no authorised joint effect: it is an ingredient for texture and protein content, nothing more. What you are buying is a practical snack with 20 g of protein — which is already a good reason.

Protein bar or protein cookie?

The two go in the same place in a bag, but they do not play the same role and the choice comes down to calories.

The bar is the format with the most protein per calorie: 20 g for 245 kcal here. That is what makes it suited to a period when you are watching your intake, or to a post-training snack when the next meal is still a long way off. It slips in anywhere and keeps for weeks.

A protein cookie plays on enjoyment and on satiety, in a far bigger format. Expect often twice the calories for an equivalent, or even lower, protein content. Our protein cookies aisle answers that particular need: the need for a real bit of baking, not a supplement.

And if what you are after above all is energy for a long effort rather than protein, neither really fits: an oat-based bar will provide more carbohydrate. Our protein snack aisle brings all these formats together for comparison, and the collagen aisle offers the dedicated products for those who really are looking for that protein.

Frequently asked questions

How much protein per bar?

20 g for a 64 g bar, i.e. 31.3 g per 100 g, and 245 kcal. The blend combines milk protein, collagen hydrolysate and soya isolate. Since collagen is not a complete protein, those 20 g are not strictly equivalent to 20 g of whey.

Which flavours are available?

In the range: Chocolate Brownie, Cookies n Cream, Salted Fudge Brownie, Caramel Crunch, Birthday Cake, White Blondie, Milk Choc Hazelnut, Chocolat Peanut Butter and Chocolat Noir-Framboise. The base is identical, the coating being dark or milk chocolate depending on the flavour.

Why can this bar cause bloating?

Because of the maltitol and the sorbitol, two polyols present in the caramel layer, and the 9 g of fibre. The manufacturer itself flags a possible laxative effect in the event of excessive consumption. If you are sensitive, start with half a bar and do not go beyond two a day.

Is the bar suitable for vegetarians?

No, because of the collagen hydrolysate, which is of animal origin. It also contains milk protein and whole milk powder, which likewise rules it out of vegan diets. The manufacturer does state, however, that it contains no gelatine.

What is the sugar content?

The manufacturer does not disclose the “of which sugars” line in the data available to us. We are not going to invent it: refer to the nutrition table printed on the packaging. What we do know is that the sweetness comes mainly from the maltitol and the sucralose.

Can you eat two in one day?

That is the limit set by the manufacturer, and it is a sensible one. Two bars represent 490 kcal and 40 g of protein, but also an amount of polyols that many people do not tolerate. Beyond that, digestive discomfort is predictable.

Does it contain palm oil?

No. The fats in the recipe are cocoa butter and coconut oil. The manufacturer also states the absence of preservative and gelatine, and the exclusive use of natural colours.

Where can you buy the PhD Nutrition Smart Bar?

The bar can be ordered individually from this page, in the available flavours, and we ship throughout France and Europe. At the Vendargues shop, about ten minutes from Montpellier, this is the bar we recommend first to anyone who has never eaten one: the texture is as close as this aisle gets to real confectionery. We simply give a warning about the maltitol, the first time. The rest of our selection can be browsed in the sports nutrition aisle.