They caught my eye as I was exiting the Bay Hill locker room during the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. I had heard rumours of them, and now I had seen them. The energy bars that players love, and eat during almost every round they play.
Selflessly, and purely for reporting purposes, I took a couple and tasted them. From the frontlines I can confirm the rumours: they are delicious.
The bars come in two different forms: “Performance Fuel” bars, which are designed to perk you up before or during your round; and “Recovery Fuel” bars, designed to help you recover afterwards.
The bars are a collaboration between PGA Tour’s performance dietitian consultant Ryan Harmon and PGA Tour chef Mohammad Azhar.
“Chef Azhar is the mastermind behind making these bars taste so good, and he spent hours crafting these recipes,” Harmon says. “I recommended the ingredients based on their performance/recovery benefits, and he took the ingredients and made them into these incredible bars.”
The recipes themselves are a closely guarded secret, but Harmon shared a rundown of each of the bar’s ingredients. You’ll also notice a particular emphasis on sprouted nuts, which Harmon says “have an improved nutrient bioavailability”.
Here’s Harmon’s rundown:
Performance Bars: Pistachio Fig Performance
Focus: visual enhancement, long-lasting energy, satiety and blood glucose management, electrolytes
Sprouted pistachios: High in the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin (carotenoids are antioxidants found in food. When consumed, they concentrate in the macula and protect the eye from oxidative stress). Research in athletes has shown that these carotenoids improve athletic performance by enhancing vision, specifically: chromatic contrast (i.e., the ability to read subtle slopes on a golf green). Decrease glare discomfort (higher concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin in the macula act as a filter to bright sunlight or reflections on the water when reading fairways), and speed recovery from photostress (reading a shot in bright sunlight and transferring focus back to the ball).
Figs/dates: High in soluble and insoluble fibre and carbohydrate for long-lasting energy without causing blood glucose spikes. Foods high in fibre break down slowly and release energy slowly supporting satiety, endurance and cognitive performance. Both are high in the mineral magnesium, essential for muscle energy production and the electrolytes potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Oats: Steel cut oats are high in soluble fibre and carbohydrate providing long-lasting energy without causing blood glucose spikes. Foods high in fibre break down slowly and release energy slowly supporting satiety, endurance, and cognitive performance. Oats are also high in protein supporting satiety.
Sprouted almond butter: High in protein supporting satiety, and the electrolytes calcium and potassium.
Recovery Bars: Cherry Almond Recovery
Focus: muscle recovery, anti-inflammatory, electrolyte replenishment, glycogen replenishment
Tart cherries: High in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory polyphenols. Research in athletes has shown that consuming tart cherry causes a reduction in muscle soreness, an acceleration of strength recovery after exercise and improved sleep in athletes (due to the melatonin content). Tart cherries are best used for athletes that are already in peak training and competing in multi-day tournaments (like a golf tournament).
Sprouted almonds and sprouted almond butter: High in protein to begin the muscle recovery process, high in monounsaturated fat to provide anti-inflammatory benefits and the electrolytes calcium and potassium to replace those lost during the round.
Dates: Provide carbohydrate to support glycogen replenishment and the electrolytes calcium, magnesium and potassium to replace those lost during the round.
Sprouted buckwheat: High in carbohydrate to support glycogen replenishment, protein to begin the muscle-recovery process, B vitamins that aid in repairing damaged muscle tissue and the antioxidant flavonoid quercetin that accelerates muscle recovery due to its anti-inflammatory benefits.
Cacao nibs: High in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory flavonoids that reduce exercise-induced oxidative stress and promote blood flow to damaged muscles and high in the electrolytes potassium and magnesium to replace those lost during the round.
