The Life Ledger

Fitness is a way of life.

photo credit: loveberry

It’s not often I get to report on health news happening in my own back yard. Our local newspaper, Asheville Citizen-Times, conducted a non-scientific taste test on 6 different diet bars with a four-person panel. Here’s a summary of the bars tested and the panel’s responses:

Special K protein bar, chocolate peanut butter bar
“It kind of tasted like air, chocolate air. It’s not very filling.”

South Beach Diet meal replacement bar, chocolate crisp
“It wasn’t really chocolatey. It’s brown, but not chocolate … this is why people don’t diet.”

Atkins Advantage, chocolate peanut butter meal replacement bar
“You definitely need water with this … It has the texture of dirt.”

Kashi GoLean, high protein and fiber bar, cookies n’ cream
“Play-Doh. Edible Play-Doh; that’s what it tastes like!”

Zone Perfect, all-natural nutrition bars, strawberry yogurt
“Comparatively, I like it better. You can definitely taste the fruit, but it’s not fresh.”

Met-Rx Big 100 meal replacement bar, chocolate chip cookie dough
“It tastes like a dog biscuit.”

Read the entire article for all the panel reviews and some recipe ideas.

What about you - was one of your favorite diet bars slandered here? Do you favor one not mentioned? Let us know in the comments!

Thank you for visiting The Life Ledger. If you enjoyed this article, check out the related posts below and subscribe to our feed.

photo credit: valessio_brito

I know it’s naive, but when I buy “organic” foods, I have the image I’m supporting family-owned businesses who farm using sustainable methods and give back to the local economy. Singing cows from California, sustainable farming raising my grass-fed beef - I buy into the image hoook, line and sinker. Seeing as how the USDA’s National Organic Program defines “organic” as “produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations”, I don’t think I’m being entirely unreasonable.

Imagine my surprise when I read an article at Diet Blog (which in turn cites FitSugar) about organic and natural food labels and the big companies that own them. Among the organic brands I recognize are Dagoba (owned by Hershey), Seeds of Change (owned by M&M Mars), my favorite Odwalla bars (owned by Coca-Cola), Cascadian Farms (owned by General Mills), Kashi (owned by Kellogg), and Silk (owned by Dean Foods). See the entire chart here.

Disease Proof and the New York Times followed up with further information, pointing to an article assembled by Dr. Phillip H. Howard which illustrates, among other things, numerous organic and natural brands that have been purchased or created by big companies. Among the brands I recognize that aren’t mentioned above is Green & Black’s (owned by Cadbury Schweppes), my only other brand of choice for organic chocolate besides Seeds of Change.

Why is all this a big deal? The New York Times says it best:

Obviously, there’s nothing inherently wrong with a big company buying an organic brand. But Dr. Howard notes that many consumers seek out organic foods, in part, because they don’t want to buy foods from multinational food companies.

“Often organic consumers are interested in supporting smaller scale farms and food processors,’’ Dr. Howard said. “In the marketing of a lot of these organic brands the firms try to evoke that image of a small pastoral farm.’’

I personally buy organic and natural foods for two reasons: health and supporting small businesses that practice environmental stewardship. The fact that Coke owns Odwalla doesn’t affect the bars’ nutrition, it does shatter the image I’m supporting small, “good” businesses. I don’t think I can give up my Odwalla bars, but I will definitely be looking for another brand of organic chocolate. Anyone have a suggestion?