Belly Up to the Fat Bars
June 17th 2007 11:32
I got off my accustomed course in the local grocery store a couple of days ago and found myself in the little kiosk where various diet foods are on display. The number of "bars" etc was dizzying. It looks like everyone is interested in exploiting this market. There was permutation after permutation of the basic "eat me and you will be eating healthy and getting good taste at the same time" angle. I did what I have always done when I encountered these bars-I read the nutrition labels. They tell the story.
Some of the featured bars are called "energy bars." What do you think they offer? Yes, a huge blast of sugary carbohydrates in a relatively small snack. A few bites and you have now ingested 30-40 or more carb grams. If you are headed out for a stage of the Tour de France, this bar is really going to help you keep from bonking on the last climb of the day. If you are going to the gym for a little treadmill work, you are not going to burn all of that and you are adding to the amount of food in your diet that will end up as fat. If you are going to eat one of these as your breakfast before a solid 8 hours of rolling your office chair from one side of your desk to the other, you are simply promoting fat formation.
Yet, there are cereal companies that advertise these "breakfast bars" that do exactly energy bars,but are tauted as a great way to start the day. Again they are only a great way to start the day if your day is so energy intensive that you are going into a major calorie deficit. Otherwise, they are giving you a jolt of insulin that will set the stage for hunger and fat formation later in the day. I say that a protein breakfast is a better alternative. Protein will not fiddle with your insulin levels.
Protein is the key phrase in the other broad class of bars that are featured at my store. These have the word protein prominently on the wrapper. When you read the small print(often hidden under the fold of the wrapper), you will soon see that there are more carb grams in this little bar than there are protein grams. You are getting some good protein,but the price for it is too high, when you take in all those sugars and simple carbs with it.
If you are dieting and serious about fitness these "bar" products are something to buy with extreme caution. They seem to be engineered with the knowledge that we westerners are more of less addicted to simple carbs and will never really give them up. We are guilty enough to buy an item which we think is good for us, but will only be satisfied if it feeds our addiction. If the manufacturer actually offers us truly healthy bars he will be a failure. You and I will fail if we rely on these products for anything more than an occasional "bad for us" treat. Your servant, as always.
Some of the featured bars are called "energy bars." What do you think they offer? Yes, a huge blast of sugary carbohydrates in a relatively small snack. A few bites and you have now ingested 30-40 or more carb grams. If you are headed out for a stage of the Tour de France, this bar is really going to help you keep from bonking on the last climb of the day. If you are going to the gym for a little treadmill work, you are not going to burn all of that and you are adding to the amount of food in your diet that will end up as fat. If you are going to eat one of these as your breakfast before a solid 8 hours of rolling your office chair from one side of your desk to the other, you are simply promoting fat formation.
Yet, there are cereal companies that advertise these "breakfast bars" that do exactly energy bars,but are tauted as a great way to start the day. Again they are only a great way to start the day if your day is so energy intensive that you are going into a major calorie deficit. Otherwise, they are giving you a jolt of insulin that will set the stage for hunger and fat formation later in the day. I say that a protein breakfast is a better alternative. Protein will not fiddle with your insulin levels.
Protein is the key phrase in the other broad class of bars that are featured at my store. These have the word protein prominently on the wrapper. When you read the small print(often hidden under the fold of the wrapper), you will soon see that there are more carb grams in this little bar than there are protein grams. You are getting some good protein,but the price for it is too high, when you take in all those sugars and simple carbs with it.
If you are dieting and serious about fitness these "bar" products are something to buy with extreme caution. They seem to be engineered with the knowledge that we westerners are more of less addicted to simple carbs and will never really give them up. We are guilty enough to buy an item which we think is good for us, but will only be satisfied if it feeds our addiction. If the manufacturer actually offers us truly healthy bars he will be a failure. You and I will fail if we rely on these products for anything more than an occasional "bad for us" treat. Your servant, as always.
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