Energy Sagging? Bite Into A Bagel

Out exercising and need a quick energy boost? Try a bagel.

Bagels provide the same amount of carbohydrates as the newest athletic food fad, energy bars, according to a recent study by researchers at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. And the researchers suggested that they are even easier to eat.

Bagels have long been a breakfast staple, but their popularity has soared in recent years. More than 607 million fresh and frozen bagels were sold last year in supermarkets alone, up from 577 million the year before, according to A.C. Nielsen, a marketing analysis firm.

In a report by the Wheat Foods Council, bagels were rated the sixth-fastest-growing food of the decade.

Bagels start with simple ingredients - high-protein flour, water, sugar, yeast and salt (which add up to less than 1 gram of fat and, except for egg bagels, no cholesterol).

Bagels are boiled and then baked, a method that helps keep the amount of fat low.

Given their healthy appeal, fans argue that bagels should be thought of as not only breakfast food but lunch and snack food too.

The Ball State researchers came to the same conclusion. In the study, nine endurance-trained male bicyclists were put on a rigorous schedule of rides, given the same meals and fed PowerBars, TigerBars or bagels as snacks after a ride. Six hours later, the participants rode their bicycles at their own pace for one hour. In all three groups, researchers found no difference in work performed or respiratory exchanges.

David Pearson, associate professor of physical education at Ball State and author of the study, said bagels “were giving the same benefit as … the more-expensive pre-packaged energy bars.”