Are quest bars keto

Yes, sort of. Quest bars are protein bars, and protein bars are simply candy bars with more protein and a great marketing strategy. While Quest products replace sugar with oligosaccharides - sugar alcohols made from fermented fruit peels - there are still a lot of problematic and high-carb things going on here. You can fit them into your keto diet, but there are better alternatives and you need to be selective about how often and when you eat Quest bars on keto.

Keto rating: Okay

Quest bars are flavored with natural ingredients and oligosaccharides are reasonable in small quantities on keto, but the bars are filled out with a lot of fiber. Most of this is in the form of prebiotic corn starch fiber, which is both good and bad. Indigestible fiber is great for your gut microbiome, but corn and wheat products are sketchy at best on keto. Our bodies don't react well to them and our gut bacteria like fiber from non-starchy vegetables best.

Still, in a pinch, you can sneak a Quest bar in here and there and still maintain ketosis. Let's take an in-depth look at Quest bars on keto.

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Examining Quest bars for keto dieters

Quest bars come in a huge range of flavors now - just about 8 years ago when the company started, they only had a few and while they were fine, they were pretty basic. The bars themselves are very chewy, though that has improved as well in the last 8 years. With the improved texture came a variety of flavor options, including:

• Cinnamon Roll
• Vanilla Almond
• Blueberry Muffin
• Mocha
• Double Chocolate Chip
• Cookie Dough
• Birthday Cake
• Peanut Butter Fudge
• Fudge Brownie

There are plenty more than that and they release seasonal ones as well, like Pumpkin Pie. But with all these flavors, are they really keto-friendly? Most Quest bars boast around 25 total carbs, and more than half are usually from fiber. After that, there are the sugar alcohols, which make up around half of the remaining total carbs, leaving around 4-5 net carbs per bar.

Understanding "low carb" versus "keto"

While many keto adherents advocate a very strict policy of no additives, no wheat or corn, and often no sugar alcohols, this doesn't necessarily mean these things aren't "keto". Truth be told, ketosis is a state of your metabolism, caused by a low enough dietary carbohydrate intake. You could, through fasting and other carb restriction, probably enter ketosis even if you were eating a Snickers bar every day.

Low carb is different, seeking to keep your carb intake under 50-100g a day. This also has health benefits including weight loss, but is less restrictive, although the speed of weight loss is slower and the health benefits are lessened. The point is that Quest bars fit both keto and low carb lifestyles, if they fit into your macros, but you need to take care when using them with an intention of maintaining ketosis.

One good way to see if they fit into your diet is to allow yourself to eat them and see if your weight loss stalls. If so, they probably aren't for you.

Quest bars nutritional facts

There are currently 19 flavors of Quest bars, along with Hero bars (which are more like candy bars), and snack bars which are more nut-based. Let's look at a few and get a feel for their nutritional facts.

Quest White Chocolate Raspberry

Per 1 bar serving:

• Calories: 200
• Fat: 8g
• Protein: 20g
• Carbs: 22g
• Sugar: 1g
• Dietary Fiber: 15g
• Sugar Alcohols: 2g

Quest Maple Waffle Bars

Per 1 bar serving:

• Calories: 190
• Fat: 6g
• Protein: 20g
• Carbs: 24g
• Sugar: 1g
• Dietary Fiber: 16g
• Sugar Alcohols: 3g

Quest Double Chocolate Chunk

Per 1 bar serving:

• Calories: 180
• Fat: 7g
• Protein: 20g
• Carbs: 24g
• Sugar: 0g
• Dietary Fiber: 14g
• Sugar Alcohols: 6g

Keto alternatives to Quest Bars

There are tons of truly ketogenic snack bars out there now if you know where to look. In a market saturated with brands looking to imitate the success of Quest brand products, it's refreshing to find some companies looking to make keto-friendly bars that taste great, are gluten free and aren't filled with junk.

Keto Bars

With several flavor options, Keto Bars are, well, the original keto bar! Their bars are high fat (21+ grams) and low carb (~3g net carbs). They boast they are  vegan, gluten free, soy free, and contain no fiber syrups. Their flavor options include mint chocolate, chocolate strawberry, dark chocolate coconut almond, & chocolate peanut butter. 

Per 1 bar serving (1.65oz or 47g):

• Calories: 220
• Fat: 19g
• Protein: 6g
• Carbs: 15g
• Sugar: 0g
• Dietary Fiber: 7g
• Sugar Alcohols: 5g (Erythritol)
• Net Carbs: ~3g

Atlas Bars

Made without corn or wheat - opting instead for tapioca as a binder and fiber-fill - Atlas bars add extra fats from healthy sources, like almond butter. They're delicious, with a low-key sweetness, unlike the sometimes cloyingly sweet flavor of Quest bars. You can find them on Amazon or on their website.

Per 1 bar serving:

• Calories: 210
• Fat: 11g
• Protein: 14g
• Carbs: 22g
• Sugar: 0g
• Dietary Fiber: 11g
• Sugar Alcohols: 6g (from vegetable glycerin)

Love Good Fats bars

These bars are a keto dieter's dream. They're sweetened with chicory, made with healthy fats like palm and coconut oil, as well as almond butter, and they taste incredible. With a variety of novel flavors, it's hard to beat Good Fat bars for nutrition, taste, and quality of ingredients. You'll also note that the protein is much lower here, and that's because these bars are specifically formulated for keto macros.

Per 1 bar serving:

• Calories: 190
• Fat: 14g
• Protein: 7g
• Carbs: 14g
• Sugar: 2g
• Dietary Fiber: 9g
• Sugar Alcohols: 0g

Perfect Keto snacks

This brand really aims to hit the keto crowd with something specific to their macros and delicious. More than any of these other products, Perfect Keto hammers home the fat and keeps the carbs and protein low, perfect for on-the-go keto snacking.

Per 1 bar serving:

• Calories: 240
• Fat: 18g
• Protein: 13g
• Carbs: 10g
• Sugar: 1g
• Dietary Fiber: 2g
• Sugar Alcohols: 0g

Quest bars for keto are okay, in moderation

While Quest bars are readily available - you can find them at most Walgreens and even gas stations - they're not something you should eat daily. If they don't interfere with your weight loss, there are certainly worse things you could eat, but for keto, there are better bars. Whole foods are always going to be the best option, but in a pinch, Quest bars are delicious, and if they fit your macros, can be a useful tool to keep you on track with your keto weight loss goals.