Candy Bar vs. Health Bar

Today, most health bars on the market are nothing more than glorified candy bars with some additional protein added, but a health bar should be exactly that: healthy. It shouldn’t have any trans fatty acids. It should be free of artificial sweeteners and chemicals. It should be hypoallergenic and free of common allergens, like peanuts, dairy, wheat, corn, soy, MSG, and other stimulants. It should not be loaded with sugars that will make your blood sugar skyrocket up. It should be something you can feel good about feeding to your family. And most of all, it should taste GOOD!  So, here is what to look for on your next trip to the grocery store.

Blood Sugar – A key to losing weight is controlling your blood sugar!   Some of the success attributed to the low-carb craze is a result of stabilizing your blood sugar. Unfortunately, many people are eliminating the good carbs along with bad carbs. NOT ALL CARBS ARE CREATED EQUAL!  We need to reduce and eliminate all the refined carbohydrates, such as sugars and sweeteners, which cause your blood sugar to skyrocket out of control.  Carbohydrates trigger your body to produce insulin and the more carbohydrates you eat the more insulin you produce.  Insulin is knows as a “storage hormone” because it triggers your body to store fat and inhibits the breakdown of fats.  Some sugars (refined and processed) cause a rapid rise in the glycemic index, which measures how fast your blood sugar rises after you eat. Therefore, you should stay away from sugars and sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, maltodextrin, dextrose, invert syrup, barley malt and modified starch, which have a high glycemic rating and are known to cause a rapid release of insulin.  Sugar alcohol or glycerin such as xylitol, maltitol, sorbitol, and lactitol can lower the carbohydrate count, but doesn’t reduce the calories.  Agave and grape juice are natural, low glycemic sweeteners!

Trans Fatty Acids – It’s taken more than a decade, but we are finally learning that trans fatty acids and margarines are detrimental to heart health, because they raise “LDL,” the bad cholesterol.  Created in a lab like artificial sweeteners, they have chemically altered the nature of the food and this is something I don’t want in my body, or would want to give kids.  Stay away from anything that says “partially hydrogenated or fractionated” oil, these are the “trans fats.”  Monounsaturated fats are the good fats and help with heart health, arthritis, headaches, PMS and menopause.  Almonds are loaded with monounsaturated fats!

Hypoallergenic – Common food allergens are dairy, wheat, corn, soy, peanuts, coffee and MSG.  Most people never suspect food allergies as a cause for their headaches, irritable bowel, heartburn, fatigue, diarrhea and weakened immune systems, because they think food allergies cause hives, watery eyes, difficulty breathing, runny nose, etc. Unfortunately, most food allergies or sensitivities are very subtle; they don’t cause obvious reactions and it may take 24 to 48 hours before symptoms begin.  Stay away from potential food allergens such as; dairy (including non fat, dry or skim milk, milk solids, whey and casein), wheat, corn, soy, caffeine, artificial sweeteners and MSG, if you are victim of some of the above named health conditions.  Ingredient like wheat, corn (corn syrup), soy, peanuts and caffeine are easily identifiable on an ingredient list, but that’s not the case with MSG, because labeling laws don’t require you to list MSG if you don’t put it directly in the product, but proteins (soy and whey) that are listed as isolates, caseinates, hydrolyzed, texturized, gelatins or natural flavors contain MSG as a result of the processing.  Rice protein is hypoallergenic!

Artificial Sweeteners – Stay clear of products that are sweetened with artificial sweeteners in order to keep pace with this ridicules low-carb craze.  These sweeteners have been chemically altered to reduce the calories or carbohydrates content, and have been know to cause headaches, indigestion, diarrhea, seizures and more.  Anything that has to be made in a laboratory can’t be good for you. The new low carb craze is causing people to “throw the baby out with the bath water,” as they search for the lowest level of carbs in their foods. Carbohydrates aren’t the whole problem. Yes, there are bad carbohydrates (foods made with refined white flour and refined white sugar) you need to stay away from, but you don’t want to be replacing one evil for another. Stay Away from artificial sweeteners such as: aspartame, sucrolose and acesulfame K commonly known as Equal, Splenda, and Sunette.  Agave and grape juice are natural sweeteners.

Now that you know what to look for in a bar you can also apply the same rules to many of the other foods you purchase.  But let’s not forget another important thing -- how does it taste?  Because, if you can find a health bar that doesn’t contain any of the terrible ingredients listed above, you’ve found yourself winner!


NatraLean Health bars are formulated to met all the specifications listed above.  Give it a try!  It is an ideal snack for KIDS of ALL AGES! 

Check out the comparison chart of NatraLean bars and other bars on the market.

Dr. Len Lopez