PowerBars to be discontinued

Soy sucks wrote:

The Gold Flannel wrote:

I'd like to find a protein bar or powder that doesn't use whey.

Why would you not want whey? That is the best protein available. Has the best amino acid profile of anything and doesn't have gastro-intestinal effects. No to mention the possible role of phytoestrogens in soy.

Enviro, health, and ethical reasons.

Soy sucks wrote:

Whye protein isolate does not have lactose.

That is why it is isolate the carbohydrate is removed. If a lactose intolerant person claims whey protein isolate hurts their stomach, it is psychosomatic I can't find a bar that only has soy, many have both. Soy isolate also removes the gastro-intestinally offensive indigetable carb in soy, but may bars use concentrate.

Then why do I have gut problems with Endurox, yet no problems mixing soy with Gatorade? When I posed this question to my Nutrition classmates in grad school (without even thinking about the whey being the problem), they said it's likely the whey. Once I switched to soy isolate in drinks, haven't had problems. Supplements are unregulated by the FDA, so you can't fully trust that they're "lactose free".

Also, the Pria bars and Clif bars are soy based.

Harvest Energy Bars are a pretty great tasting option for PowerBar lovers. I recently tried out some Clif bars, though. Based on their size, I always felt like I was getting less bar when I bouth Clif. But then I saw that they have virtually the exact same caloric content, so really I'm just getting a more natural intake of all the energy if I go with Clif. My conversion is nearly complete. I'll miss PowerBars.

PowerBar wrote:

Also, if you are a PowerBar fan or even if you haven't tried one in awhile I recommend checking out the PowerBar Fruit Smoothie Bar - real fruit (Berry Blast, Creamy Citrus, Tangy Tropical), and Tropical is now my favorite bar.

Happy Running,

Nicole

(disclosure: I work with PowerBar)

I remembered this and tried the Berry Blast. It was like eating taffy, as another poster remarked. It tasted good. Very nice.

They have spider eggs in them .

Health reasons? Whey is better for your health than soy. Animal products aren't bad for our health - we evolved big brains from eating meat.

Ethical reasons? I could sort of see that - I don't dig factory anomal farming, but I am pretty unclear what individual acts of virtuousness do to solve the problem. I would be happy to sacrifice if everyone had to (so it would amount to something) but individual virtue doesn't seem much of a solution to problems.

Enviro reasons? You need to stop eating period if you care about the environment. Do you live near any soy fiels? Pesticides, anhydrous, roundup, water intensive, etc. I can't figure out how soy get this hippie environmental cachet - it is a massively subsidize raw material crop. The most environmentally friendly method of getting protein per gram is probably fish farms. Or eating insects if people would be willing to do it.

I doubt it, frankly. It's protein, not the source of it, that was the fuel for "big brains." Just because it benefits one area doesn't mean it doesn't hinder another. And there are many alternatives to the two you mention, get informed.

One less customer for dairy means less contribution to the industry's profit. Contributing to their profits isn't a solution at all, it's being part of the problem.

Your 'all or nothing' enviro outlook is simplistic, at best. There is indeed a spectrum of enviro costs, ranging from high to low, associated with different consumables. Don't be ignorant.

The Gold Flannel wrote:

I doubt it, frankly. It's protein, not the source of it, that was the fuel for "big brains." Just because it benefits one area doesn't mean it doesn't hinder another. And there are many alternatives to the two you mention, get informed.

One less customer for dairy means less contribution to the industry's profit. Contributing to their profits isn't a solution at all, it's being part of the problem.

Where do you think the hunter-gatherer folks came by their protein? Plant based foods are almost uniformly poorer in protein than animal based foods. Its a fairly established theory that better access to meat through the use of tools contributed significantly to human evolution.

I also don't get how you think that the dairy "industry" works. Its not like there is one company or a series of companies that control a national or international market. Dairy is almost uniformly operated as a series of regional co-ops that are regulated to the point where their prices are set by a government board. for large chunks of 2008 and 2009, dairy farmers were forced to take checks that didn't even cover the cost of production, much less make them any profits. Your lack of dairy purchase has no effect on the dairy industry whatsoever, it has no influence on demand, because the "demand" is regulated by government controlled pricing, not by actual customer demand. If you think that the "dairy industry" shares anything in common with other commodities, you're the one that needs to get educated.

I'm not a hunter-gatherer and nobody I know is, either. We've progressed as a species, we no longer use leeches in medicine and we don't ride around on horses as a primary means of long distance transportation.

Contribution to profits is contribution to profits, it is still a dollar vote no matter how you may wishfully frame it. Clearly there is something big at stake for you personally in this.

I am always amazed at the comments that are generated on here, thus being entertained by them. This one is near the top for being both entertaining and obtuse.

1. Food that is condensed in any fashion and sold as a "nutritional" item seems ludicrous to me. The most important thing I learned when taking nutritional courses in grad school was to eat food that is unprocessed and fresh. So all you guys who are so into eating well should be growing your own food. It isn't hard to do, even if you have limited space. There is nothing healthier or better controlled (ie. no chemicals) than home grown food. All these energy foods are mass produced by companies whose only interest is in making profits, not in providing a healthy food product.

2. Why does almost every post end up becoming a vehicle for some far out political platform? Geez, get a life will you....better yet, move to San Francisco and let those politicians run your life for you.