Snickers bars, while high in sugar and fat, provide some vitamins and minerals. Although most of these nutrients are present in small amounts, one bar does provide close to 20 percent of the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for zinc. Dietary reference intake percentages are for adults younger than 80 years old.
Calories
One Snickers bar contains 280 calories. Very few of these calories come from protein. Most of them come from fat and carbohydrates. There are 35.1 g of carbohydrates in one bar.
Sugar
One Snickers bar contains 28.8 g of sugar. This is equivalent to 7 tsp of sugar. The USDA Food Guide Pyramid recommends no more than 6 tsp of sugar for those on a 1,600-calorie per-day diet and no more than 12 tsp for those on a 2,200-calorie per-day diet.
Fat
There are 13.6 g of fat in one Snickers Bar. Of these 13.6 g, 5.2 g are saturated fat, 4.5 g are monounsaturated fat and 1.7 g are polyunsaturated fat. One bar also contains 7 mg of cholesterol, which is only 2 percent of the maximum amount recommended per day.
Protein
One Snickers bar contains 4.3 g of protein. The DRI for protein for women is 46 g and the DRI for men is 56 g.
Minerals
Snickers bars do provide some necessary minerals. One bar supplies 18 percent of the DRI for zinc and 17 percent for copper. One bar also provides 10 percent or more of the DRI for magnesium and phosphorus. One bar also supplies smaller amounts (5 percent to 11 percent of the DRI) of calcium, potassium, manganese and selenium.
Vitamins
There are also some water-soluble vitamins in a Snickers bar, with niacin present in the largest amounts. One bar supplies 15 percent of the DRI for women and 13 percent for men. Seven percent of the DRI for riboflavin and pantothenic acid are also provided by one bar. Snickers bars are low in fat-soluble vitamins. One bar provides 6 percent of the DRI for vitamin E, but only trace amounts of vitamin K and vitamin A. One bar supplies no vitamin D.
Sodium and Caffeine
One Snickers bar contains 140 mg of sodium, which is 6 percent of the recommended maximum amount per day. One bar also contains 5 mg of caffeine.
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