Granola Bar? Candy Bar.

September 10, 2010 at 8:03 am 3 comments

Perhaps with the change in seasons you’ve taken up the task of packing lunchboxes once again. My guess is that most American lunchboxes don’t have candy bars in them. But I suspect many have other sorts of snack bars.

Back in the 1940s, candy bar makers experimented with fortifying their product with vitamins: not just good, but good for you! The idea was that that candy’s energy (calories) just needed a little supplement to transform a treat into a meal.

Sounds kooky, right? Well, muck-rakers up on the northern side of the border have been poking around in the nutrition labels of some of the biggest selling snack bars and guess what?

Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director of Ottowa’s Bariatric Medical Institute, analyzed the nutritional value of ten popular granola and cereal bars. His conclusion:

In general, I wouldn’t consider granola bars to be healthy snacks. I’d consider them to be less-tasty chocolate bars…. I’d relegate granola bars into the treat category.
Freedhoff found lots of sugar, lots of misleading health and nutrition claims, and a lot less of the fiber and protein that would give the bars some power to satiate real hunger. On the other hand, it’s hard to see where “treat” comes in. Taste testers at the Ottowa Citizen described the experience of many of the bars as “ghastly” and having a “texture reminiscent of sawdust and others like congealed mucilage with an odd fruity taste not unlike cheap candy.”
Unfortunately, the discreet Canadians are not naming names. But you can read their summary comments on the ten bars in the article “Healthy Snacks or Sugary Candy?” at http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Healthy+snacks+sugary+candy/3425720/story.html#ixzz0z7tSuUNd
Related posts:
  • A Complete, Well-Balanced Diet
  • Candy Fortification: Synthetic Vitamin A

    • Entry filed under: Health, Uncategorized.

    New Publication: “The Candy Prophylactic” Candy Box Insert Promotes Weight Loss, 1954

    3 Comments Add your own

    • 1. SugarPressure  |  September 10, 2010 at 10:48 am

      That’s why I like the Bear Naked brand of granola and granola bars, the Clif branded stuff is pretty good too.

      Reply

      • 2. Candy Professor  |  September 10, 2010 at 11:05 am

        Good to know! The study picked Kashi Chewy Granola Bar as a good choice also. Lots of protein, pretty tasty. My kid likes it. It’s my “emergency” stash.

        Reply

    • 3. Marc  |  September 29, 2010 at 10:23 pm

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa

      Love your writing!

      Reply

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