Are Go Ahead bars healthy?

Since Go Ahead snack bars came on the market, they sounded like they were actually good for you. They are full of dried fruits, low in fat and high in fibre. They contain no artificial colour or flavours and one slice has less than 100 calories. But what is the truth? How healthy are Go Ahead bars actually? Let’s take a look.

Go Ahead bar

Go Ahead Bars – Ingredients

As of today, there are actually quite a few variations of Go Ahead bars. These Include Yoghurt Breaks, Fruit Slices, Fruit & Fibre Slices and Fruit & Oak Bakes. The ingredients in each of these bars vary depending on the type of bar and flavour. We have included some of the most popular flavours and their ingredients below.

Go Ahead BarIngredients
Go Ahead Yoghurt Breaks – StrawberryWheat Flour, Dried Grapes (23%) (Sultanas and Currants in varying proportions), Yogurt Flavour Coating (19%) [Sugar, Vegetable Fats (Palm, Shea in varying proportions), Dried Whey (Milk), Dried Fermented Milk (1%), Dried Skimmed Milk, Dried Whole Milk, Lactose (Milk), Acid (Citric Acid), Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Natural Flavouring], Strawberry Flavour Filling (7%) [Bulking Agent (Maltitol Syrup), Humectant (Glycerine), Strawberry Puree (0.7%), Wheat Bran, Strawberry Puree Concentrate (0.1%), Gelling Agent (Pectins), Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid, Sodium Citrates), Natural Flavouring, Stabiliser (Calcium Lactate)], Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower), Oat Fibre, Maltodextrin, Calcium Carbonate, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E472e), Milk Solids, Rice Flour, Glucose Syrup, Natural Flavouring, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Disodium Diphosphate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Salt, Citrus Fibre
Go Ahead Yoghurt Breaks – Forest FruitsWheat Flour, Dried Grapes (23%) (Sultanas and Currants in varying proportions), Yogurt Flavour Coating (19%) [Sugar, Vegetable Fats (Palm, Shea in varying proportions), Dried Whey (Milk), Dried Fermented Milk (1%), Dried Skimmed Milk, Dried Whole Milk, Lactose (Milk), Acid (Citric Acid), Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Natural Flavouring], Forest Fruit Flavour Filling (7%) [Bulking Agent (Maltitol Syrup), Humectant (Glycerine), Wheat Bran, Blackberry Puree (0.3%), Redcurrant Puree (0.3%), Gelling Agent (Pectins), Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid, Sodium Citrates), Raspberry Puree Concentrate (0.1%), Strawberry Puree Concentrate (0.1%), Natural Flavouring, Stabiliser (Calcium Lactate)], Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower), Oat Fibre, Maltodextrin, Calcium Carbonate, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E472e), Milk Solids, Rice Flour, Glucose Syrup, Natural Flavouring, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Disodium Diphosphate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Salt, Citrus Fibre
Go Ahead Fruit Slices – AppleWheat Flour, Dried Grapes (27%) (Sultanas and Currants in varying proportions), Apple Flavour Filling (9%) [Bulking Agent (Maltitol Syrup), Humectant (Glycerine), Wheat Bran, Apple Juice Concentrate (0.3%), Gelling Agent (Pectins), Acidity Regulators (Sodium Citrates, Citric Acid), Ground Cinnamon, Natural Flavouring, Stabiliser (Calcium Lactate)], Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower), Maltodextrin, Dietary Fibre (Inulin), Milk Solids, Rice Flour, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Disodium Diphosphate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Glucose Syrup, Salt, Dried Skimmed Milk, Natural Flavourings (contains Milk), Ground Cinnamon
Go Ahead Fruit & Fibre Slices – BlueberryWheat Flour, Dried Grapes (21%) (Sultanas and Currants in varying proportions), Rolled Oats (10%), Sugar, Vegetable Fats (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Blueberry Flavour Filling [Bulking Agent (Maltitol Syrup), Humectant (Glycerine), Wheat Bran, Blueberry Puree Concentrate (0.2%), Gelling Agent (Pectins), Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Sodium Citrates), Blueberry Juice Concentrate (0.1%), Stabiliser (Calcium Lactate), Natural Flavouring], Oat Fibre, Wheat Gluten, Wheat Bran (1.5%), Maltodextrin, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E472e), Milk Solids, Dried Glucose Syrup, Wheat Germ, Rice Flour, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Disodium Diphosphate, Ammonium Bicarbonate), Oatmeal Flakes, Natural Flavourings, Dried Potato Flakes, Salt, Cream (Milk), Dextrose, Dietary Fibre (Inulin), Dried Skimmed Milk
Go Ahead Fruit & Oat Bakes – AppleApple Flavoured Filling (43%) [Dried Glucose, Humectant (Glycerine), Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Apple Juice Concentrate (1.8%), Wheat Dextrin, Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Calcium Citrates), Gelling Agents (Pectins, Sodium Alginate), Vegetable Fibre, Thickener (Modified Starch), Natural Apple Flavouring], Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Oatmeal (11%), Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Palm), Water, Maltodextrin, Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Invert Sugar Syrup, Salt, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Disodium Diphosphate), Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E472e), Natural Flavouring, Contains the equivalent of 13% Apple Juice
Go Ahead Fruit & Oat Bakes – StrawberryStrawberry Flavoured Filling (43%) [Dried Glucose, Glucose-Fructose Syrup, Humectant (Glycerine), Wheat Dextrin, Apple Juice Concentrate, Gelling Agents (Pectins, Sodium Alginate), Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Calcium Citrates), Vegetable Fibre, Thickener (Modified Starch), Natural Strawberry Flavouring with other Natural Flavourings, Strawberry Juice Concentrate, Concentrated Black Carrot Juice)], Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Iron, Niacin, Thiamin), Oatmeal (11%), Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Palm), Water, Maltodextrin, Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Invert Sugar Syrup, Salt, Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Disodium Diphosphate), Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E472e), Natural Flavouring, Contains the equivalent of 2% Strawberry Juice

Who could tell that these supposedly healthy cereal bars have such a long list of ingredients? It’s good to see dried fruits and fruit fillings at the beginning of the list but what about the rest of the ingredients? What are they?

Yoghurt Breaks Ingredients

The main ingredients in Yoghurt Breaks are wheat flour, dried fruits and yoghurt coating containing sugar, dried milk and natural flavouring. These bars (Strawberry flavour) also contain the following:

  • Fruit flavoured filling:
    • Bulking Agent: Maltitol Syrup – a sugar substitute that causes stomach discomforts in some people
    • Humectant (Glycerine) – keeps the filling moist
    • Strawberry Puree (0.7%)
    • Wheat Bran – rich in fibre, B vitamins and certain minerals
    • Strawberry Puree Concentrate (0.1%)
    • Gelling Agent (Pectins) – thickener
    • Acidity Regulators (Citric Acid, Sodium Citrates)
    • Natural Flavouring
    • Stabiliser (Calcium Lactate)
  • Sugar
  • Vegetable Oil (Sunflower)
  • Oat Fibre
  • Maltodextrin – highly processed sugar substitute
  • Calcium Carbonate – it boosts the calcium content of the food
  • Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E472e)
  • Milk Solidsrefers to the dried powder left after all the water is removed from liquid milk
  • Rice Flour
  • Glucose Syrup – a form of sugar that also acts as a thickener
  • Natural Flavouring
  • Raising Agents (Sodium Bicarbonate, Disodium Diphosphate, Ammonium Bicarbonate)
  • Salt
  • Citrus Fibre – fibre rich components of citrus fruits

There are some healthy ingredients in these bars such as wheat bran, oat fibre and citrus fibre but Yoghurt Breaks also contain sugar in different forms and questionable ingredients such as maltodextrin and maltitol.

Go Ahead Fruit & Fibre Slices Ingredients

Some of the ingredients in Go Ahead Fruit & Fibre Slices are the same as in Yoghurt Breaks, for example:

  • Wheat flour
  • Dried fruits
  • Fruit flavoured filling
  • Sugar
  • Vegetable fats
  • Oat fibre
  • Natural flavourings
  • Wheat Bran
  • Maltodextrin
  • Milk solids
  • Dried skimmed milk
  • Rice Flour

Fruit & Fibre slices also contain rolled oats, wheat germ, raising agents, oatmeal flakes, dried potato flakes, cream (Milk), dextrose, and dietary fibre (Inulin).

The most worrying ingredients in Fruit & Fibre slices are sugar and maltodextrin.

Go Ahead Fruit&Fibre Slices

Go Ahead Fruit & Oat Bakes Ingredients

Fruit & Oat Bakes are made with fruit flavoured filling containing glucose-fructose syrup, thickeners, acidity regulators, vegetable fibre and natural flavourings. These bars also contain wheat, oatmeal, sugar, palm oil, maltodextrin, partially inverted sugar syrup, salt, raising agents, emulsifiers and natural flavouring.

These ingredients are not all that innocent. While fibre-rich ingredients such as oatmeal and vegetable fibre are good, different forms of sugar (glucose-fructose syrup and inverted sugar syrup) are not so good for you.

Go Ahead Bars – Nutritional information

Looking at an ingredients’ list to see how healthy Go Ahead Bars is not enough. We also need to look at the whole nutritional profile of these bars to analyse the content of carbs, fats, fibre and protein.

The table below looks at the nutritional values of different types of Go Ahead bars. Which one do you think is the healthiest?

The nutritional values below are per 100 g.

NutritionYoghurt Breaks – StrawberryFruit Slices (Apple)Fruit & Fibre Slices (Blueberry)Fruit & Oat Bake (Apple)
Fat10.3g7.4g10.5g8.7g
– of which Saturated Fat4.4g0.8g1.3g3.8g
Carbohydrates72.1g73.7g64.6g70.4g
– of which Sugar35.3g30.1g26.6g23.3g
Fibre3.7g4.2g6.8g3.9g
Protein5.1g5.4g7.3g3.0g
Salt0.52g5.4g0.53g0.62g
Calcium0.52g
Calories399380386367

When we compare nutritional values of different Go Ahead snack bars we can quickly see that Go Ahead Fruit & Oat Bake is the healthiest since it contains the least sugar (23.3g) and the least calories per 100 g (367). One bake (35 g) contains 128 calories, 8.2 g of sugar and 3.0g of fat. Despite being the healthiest Go Ahead bar, it is still high in sugar – 8.2 g of sugar is equivalent to 2 teaspoons of sugar.

Go Ahead Fruit & Fibre Slices

Sugar content in Go Ahead bars

All Go Ahead bars are high in sugar with Yoghurt Breaks being the highest in sugar and Fruit & Oat Bake being the lowest.

The strawberry flavour of Yoghurt Breaks contains 35.3 g of sugar per 100 g or 6.3 g per slice. You would normally eat both slices in one go so you would consume 12.6 g of sugar altogether. This equals more than 3 teaspoons of sugar.

Considering that we should not have more than 30 g of free sugars every day Yoghurt Breaks are really high in sugar, representing 42% of the recommended daily sugar intake (2 slices). If you add sugar to your hot drinks and also eat sugary cereal every day, you will quickly exceed the recommended amount. Too much sugar in your diet can quickly result in weight gain and in the long term this could lead to diabetes and heart disease.

Fat content in Go Ahead Bars

High-fat foods are classified as foods containing more than 17.5g of fat per 100g while low-fat foods are those containing 3 g of fat or less per 100g. This makes Go Ahead Fruit Slices and Fruit & Fibre slices low in fat while the rest of Go Ahead bars contain only slightly more fat per 100 g (and still less than 5 g per 100 g).

Being low in fat is one of the few positives about Go Ahead bars but that doesn’t make them healthy.

Fibre content in Go Ahead bars

Although there is extra fibre added to Go Ahead bars, when you look at the fibre content per slice/bake, it’s only around 1 g. If you want to increase your daily fibre intake you would have to consume quite a lot of Go Ahead bars.

It’s recommended that we should all consume at least 30 g of fibre every day but many of us are not reaching this target. Rather than eating Go Ahead bars to try and reach this target, include plenty of whole grains in your diet, wholemeal bread, vegetables and fruits. Also try and eat more beans, lentils and chickpeas.

How many calories are in Go Ahead bars?

Go Ahead Yogurt Breaks contain 71kcal per slice but since you are more likely to eat two slices in one day you will consume 142 kcal altogether.

Go Ahead Apple Fruit Slices come at 55 kcal each and Fruit & Fibre Slices (Blueberry flavour) have a similar amount of calories (56 kcal per slice). Although this may not seem like a lot of calories, it quickly adds up as soon as you have more than 2 slices in one go.

Go Ahead Fruit & Oat Bake (Apple) has the lowest amount of calories per 100 g (367 kcal) and per bake, this comes at 128 kcal. Since there is only one bake in a wrapper you won’t be tempted to eat more, therefore this is one of the best Go Ahead snacks you can have. It still has 2 teaspoons of sugars so it’s definitely not the healthiest snack out there but it’s better than many.

Are Go Ahead bars fattening?

Although Go Ahead bars don’t contain a lot of fat, they are packed full of sugar and if you eat too many of them every day you will quickly gain weight. So, yes, Go Ahead Bars can be fattening.

Are Go Ahead bars good for weight loss?

Although Go Ahead bars are high in fibre and low in calories (per slice) they are not the best snack to choose if your goal is to lose weight since they are still high in sugar. Besides, you can easily overdo it by having more slices than intended initially and this quickly adds more calories.

CONCLUSION – Are Go Ahead bars healthy?

Go Ahead bars are low in fat and contain some fibre but they are also high in sugar. This makes them quite unhealthy despite being low in calories per slice.