The Myth of the "Energy Bar" as Optimum Sports Nutrition

PEOPLE OFTEN ASK ME how I can eat ORGANIC FOOD BARS during training and competition -- given their modest fat and fiber content. I got that question this morning, in fact, from a group of elite cyclists with whom I was training. It compelled me to post my answer here:

This notion that popular "energy bars" made from synthetic ingredients optimally fuel the body during exercise is nothing more than market-generated drivel. And, to be candid: after 10 years as a professional athlete and journalist, I've grown a little tired of the misinformation. Simply because the major players in the energy bar category have the most money, and can afford the most media impressions, does not mean that their messages are truthful -- or correct. In fact, often they are far from it. And frankly, their behavior is unethical given that we're talking about nutrition here, and that impacts people's health, which is their most precious asset.

Here is the indisputable fact based on sound nutrition and verified repeatedly by science: the human body responds most favorably to real, wholesome food free from synthetic ingredients, preservatives or unhealthy fats. Yet these ingredients are often found in products touted as "healthy energy bars." Some of these products still contain hydrogenated oils! The National Institutes of Health recently set a "safe level of consumption" for trans fats. Do you know what that is? ZERO! That means, that "no amount" of trans fats are acceptable in the human diet!

I find it more than mildly ironic that people who exercise in order to boost their health, wellness and performance are largely duped into consuming energy bars that are not good for their health, will not promote wellness and do not boost performance.

As a professional triathlete, I train 20-30 hours a week. I eat ORGANIC FOOD BARS exclusively during all of my workouts and all of my competitions. It is the "cleanest burning" and most "nutrient dense" fuel I've yet tried. And, I have never -- repeat, never -- bonked when fueling with ORGANIC FOOD BAR. That is where the healthy fats come into play.

(Before I continue, it is proper and necessary that I disclose the following: Yes, I am the ORGANIC FOOD BAR Media Director. But, I approached them. And no, I do not receive free product. I go to Good Earth Fairfax, Calif., and I buy my ORGANIC FOOD BARS full price, because I believe they are a gift of nature and worth every penny.)

Back to the point: If I can digest an ORGANIC FOOD BAR at 160 heart rate in the heat -- when the blood is being shunted from my stomach to working muscles and to the surface for thermoregulation -- surely ORGANIC FOOD BAR will work for most anyone, at any level, looking to boost their performance in an intelligent, healthful way.

Does this mean ORGANIC FOOD BAR is guaranteed to work for everyone during every workout and event? Certainly not. Does it mean that you should give ORGANIC FOOD BAR a try and compare it to your current bar? You'd be crazy not to.

I am going to name names here: Most Powerbars, Clif Bars and Balance Bars are not good for you. Just as Gatorade is not the best thing to hydrate your body, most of these highly-visible, slickly-marketed products are high-glycemic, low-quality fuel. These companies, regrettably, put more money into marketing their products than into making their products. Their success has been built primarily on the success of their promotion rather than on the integrity of their products. A simple review of their ingredient lists will tell you that.

ORGANIC FOOD BARS top-quality ingredients and healthy fats that boost energy and promote better health. Anyone who knows nutrition, and who reviews the ingredient list of ORGANIC FOOD BAR, will tell you the same thing. Real food is best whoever you are, whatever your background and whatever your health or athletic goals.

So, here is my challenge to you: incorporate ORGANIC FOOD BAR into your exercise or training regime and experience the difference for yourself. The body doesn't lie. Whether you're a "weekend warrior" or a serious competitive athlete, you stand to benefit enormously from consuming pure and organic food during and after workouts -- and during competition.

If ORGANIC FOOD BARS don't provide the best solid fuel for your longer workouts of any bar you've ever tried, then I'll buy them for you. How's that? (Just email me at eric@organicfoodbar.com and I will cut you a personal check for the amount you paid for your ORGANIC FOOD BARS.

In nutrition -- just as in competition and in life -- it's what's inside that counts. That's not merely ORGANIC FOOD BARS tagline; it's the company's value statement.

Now, go ahead, take the challenge. And, let us know how it goes!

For more healthy living tips, visit The ORGANIC FOOD BAR website.

10 Reasons Why Organic Food Bar is Best

AS MEDIA DIRECTOR FOR ORGANIC FOOD BAR, some people -- including journalists! -- often ask me what makes this bar so special. In the veritable sea of "energy and food" bars, why did I choose to work with ORGANIC FOOD BAR?

I've come up with 10 reasons. Here they are:

10. What you see is what you get.
These days, energy and food bars are like a “box of chocolates…you never know what you’re gonna get!” Companies make a lot of claims, but often cannot back up those claims. Not Organic Food Bar. They say they're 100% USDA organic – and they are. They say they don’t include refined sugars or preservatives – and they don’t. They say they're free of trans fats – and they are. At Organic Food Bar, they believe promises made should be promises kept…especially when it comes to your health.

9. Just like mom's fresh apple pie.
If you’re like most people, you’ve had this experience at your local grocery store: faced with myriad choices, you decide to choose a “healthy bar.” After all, you’re trying to be healthier! Outside the store, you cautiously, but hopefully, take a bite – and it tastes like you’re biting into … the sole of your shoe! As we like to say, your taste buds don’t lie. Organic Food Bars taste freshly prepared, because they are freshly prepared. Each morning, they whip up a fresh, new batch of delicious Organic Food Bars right there on site. Thenthey package them immediately to lock in that one-of-a-kind, fresh-made taste. These are the freshest-tasting food bars in the world. Bar none!

8. Better for the planet.
Organic Food Bar believes that organic farming is better for the environment because organic farms do not release synthetic pesticides into the environment; organic farms are better than conventional farms at sustaining diverse ecosystems; and, organic farms use less energy and produce less waste), which is better for producers. Even when pesticides are used correctly, they still end up in the air, underground water and bodies of farm workers. And, perhaps most importantly: Organic Food Bar believes without reservation that organic food is better for you. No study has shown pesticides to be healthy and almost all find them to be harmful to human health. Organic Food Bars are 100% organic. They always have been and always will be.

7. Better for you.
Organic Food Bar knows it's the healthiest food bar in the world, because they use the healthiest ingredients. Don’t believe it? Try this experiment: Visit your local grocery store. Stroll the energy and food bar isle. Pick up an Organic Food Bar and hold it in one hand. Now, pick up any other energy or food bar you see and hold it in your other hand. Compare the features and ingredients. Our bet is that once you see how much better they are – with your own eyes – you’ll put the other bar back and dig into the Organic Food Bar! (Um, just be sure to pay for it, first!)

6. The finest ingredients.
At Organic Food Bar, they begin with what’s inside: they travel the world to find the finest, most wholesome ingredients to handcraft Organic Food Bars. All of their ingredients are certified organic, kosher and purchased as fresh as possible. They prepare our Organic Food Bars with lots of love in house. They don’t “contract out” the preparation of our bars, because they prefer to know exactly what goes on, at every moment, when Organic Food Bars are being made. That’s the only way to ensure the finest quality. Their ingredients are mixed, blended, packaged and stored at room temperature to preserve the natural qualities and enzyme activity of the ingredients. Making Organic Food Bars is like making a gourmet, wholesome home-cooked meal. It’s simply healthier because you have control over ingredients; it tastes better; and, it’s just got more heart and soul to it!

5. No GMO’s.
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using techniques in genetics generally known as recombinant DNA technology. Nobody can claim that they definitively know the long-term effects of GMOs on human health; there haven’t been any peer-reviewed long-term studies. So, Organic Food Bar prefers to play it safe when it comes to your health. Mother Nature knows best. In the past, we humans have gotten into trouble when we meddle too much with the natural order of things. At Organic Food Bar, they stick to all-natural, pure and unprocessed, organic whole food ingredients -- and by doing that they know they’re delivering the very best to you with no possible risks of harm to your health.

4. No refined sugars.
Fact: Americans are eating too much sugar. Way too much. Unbelievable as it may seem, according to the USDA, in 1999 the average American consumed the following: 134 pounds of refined sugar excluding honey, 365 servings of soda pop (638 cans per year for people aged 12-29), 200 sticks of gum, 22 pounds of candy, 63 dozen doughnuts, 60 pounds of cakes and cookies and 23 gallons of ice cream. While you are not likely “average” these numbers speak to the ubiquity of sugar in our diets. Organic Food Bars contain relatively small amounts of organic sugars, and those organic sugars are “slow-release” sugars from ingredients like organic premium agave nectar, which are a great deal better for your moods, your body and your overall health.

3. No hydrogenated oils.
Did you know that the National Institutes of Health recently set a “safe level of consumption” for hydrogenated oils. Can you guess what that is? “Zero.” In other words, no amount of trans fats are healthy. From the National Institutes of Health website: “Foods made with hydrogenated oils should be avoided because they contain high levels of trans fatty acids, which are linked to heart disease.” Read the ingredient list of many energy and food bars and you’ll see “hydrogenated oils” in most. Not in Organic Food Bar.

2. The Organic Food Bar family.
Working for this company is dreamy. It’s a team of talented, creative people dedicated to a common goal: producing the healthiest bar for you. The company is led by a man of manifest integrity, Dr. Jack J. Singh. He believes your health is your most precious asset. He believes everyone can improve their health and that the smallest changes can have profound impacts. And he believes many food companies, particularly in the food and energy bar categories put profits over people, and that some are indeed disingenuous about how they market those products to adults and children. It’s why he founded this company. Dr. Singh believed there was a better way. A much better way. That is why he brought the gift of Organic Food Bar to the world.

…and the #1 reason why Organic Food Bar is better than the rest (drum roll, please!):

1. It’s just “feel good food” -- and your body knows it!
Let’s face it: Most energy bars are little more than glorified candy bars. A simple review of the ingredient list will tell you that. The body tells the whole story. Listen to it. Eat a high-sugar bar, and within minutes you can feel that inevitable “energy crash.” Eat an Organic Food Bar, and you will feel balanced and sustained for hours. As we say: “Organic Food Bar: It's What's Inside That Counts.”

To learn more healthy living tips, visit: www.organicfoodbar.com.

Letter From the President

IN PREPARATION FOR the Emmy Platinum Lounge, we assembled "gift bags" for the tastemakers, influencers and celebrities who would be in attendance. Contained in these bags of organic bamboo (to tease SAHANA, our upcoming line of all-organic activewear), we included ORGANIC FOOD BARS and a letter from the founder and President of the company, Dr. Jack J. Singh -- a person of manifest integrity, class, elegance and unflinching vision.

I wanted to re-print that letter here, as I believe it beautifully embodies the ORGANIC FOOD BAR brand.

--

You hold in your hands a gift from nature. A food bar of pure, radiant health.

In 2001, I set out to create a food bar so sublimely delicious and so soundly healthful that it would “raise the bar” in an industry that too often puts promotion over people. Health is our most precious asset, yet nutritionally, most food bars are little more than glorified, high-glycemic candy bars.

I have great faith in the inexorable paradigm shift underway in our world. We’re rethinking how the actions we take impact our planet. And, we’re rethinking how the foods we eat impact our bodies.

ORGANIC FOOD BAR is the best-selling organic bar in the world, not because we run slick ad campaigns, but because we were the first – and because we are the best: 100% organic with no refined sugars, hydrogenated oils, preservatives, dairy, high fructose corn syrup, rice syrup, gluten or GMOs. We travel the world to find the freshest, most wholesome, kosher and certified organic ingredients, and each morning we handcraft a fresh batch of ORGANIC FOOD BARS, with lots of love and soul – because we believe your health is your most precious asset. And, we want to honor that.

ORGANIC FOOD BAR: It’s what’s inside that counts.

To your health,

Dr. Jack J. Singh
President
ORGANIC FOOD BAR, Inc.
www.organicfoodbar.com

Organic Food Bar a Hit at The Platinum Emmy Lounge

[Melora Hardin, from NBC's The Office]

I JUST RETURNED from an Emmy "pre-party" atop the Luxe Hotel in Beverly Hills called the "Platinum Emmy Lounge." ORGANIC FOOD BAR was the official bar of the Emmy Lounge, where luminaries, tastemakers, influencers and celebrities sampled an array of outstanding brands from wine to technology to food.

The celebrities were particularly enthralled with ORGANIC FOOD BAR. Most lamented their hectic "on the go" lives that preclude them from eating as well as they should. Many celebs said that they "loved" ORGANIC FOOD BAR, and that the bars are their "saving grace" when they're on the road -- or on the set! In fact, one of our favorite celebs we met, Melora Hardin (who plays Jan Levinson-Gould on NBC's "The Office"), said that she keeps ORGANIC FOOD BARS in her car to feed her kids while on the go. She said it's the only bar she really trusts as a parent, and the only bar that her kid's will eat!

We had prepared a fresh batch of the Coconut Chocolate Raw bars that very day, and the celebrities were befuddled that a bar could be that fresh. I playfully (innocently!) derided some of the other bars on the market...that some brands of bars "made in the 1980's are still floating around out there being eaten by an unsuspecting public!" They got a good laugh out of that one. But, by and large, it's true. ORGANIC FOOD BARS are unlike any other: they're made fresh every day in a company-owned, certified organic on-site facility. In a world where uncertainties in product manufacturing abound, isn't it comforting to know and trust a brand like ORGANIC FOOD BAR?

What astounded the celebrities the most, however, was the taste of ORGANIC FOOD BARS. After coolly sauntering up to our booth, the celebrities' first moves -- after posing for paparazzi photos! -- were to examine the ORGANIC FOOD BAR ingredient list. When they learned how healthful the bars were, they thought that the bars wouldn't taste good. After all, many "good for you foods" taste ... well ... "reaaally healthy." The celebrities could not believe how sumptuous , moist and fresh the ORGANIC FOOD BARS were. Almost every celebrity sat at our booth eating an entire bar and not uttering a word: just chewing and smiling for the cameras!

Needless to say, ORGANIC FOOD BARS were a huge hit among an impossibly discerning crowd. I mention this, not because we ought to admire celebrities any more than any other group of successful people, but rather that celebrities have access to anything. We are fascinated by what celebrities use, I believe, because they can use anything. When a famous person chooses a product, and when they're brand loyal to that product in their private lives, it means that the product beats the competition by meeting an exceptionally high standard. It's clear that ORGANIC FOOD BAR meets those standards.

The Platinum Emmy Lounge was great fun. We'll post some terrific photos of celebrities eating, hugging and actually kissing (yes kissing!) ORGANIC FOOD BARS. So, stay tuned for that!

And remember, in Hollywood, the media often focuses on what's outside, but the fact is: It's What's Inside That Counts. It may sound trite and and cliché, but it's absolutely true. That's why we've made it our tagline.

For more information and health tips, visit us online at: www.organicfoodbar.com.