Many folks on the run grab for a nutrition bar; sometimes called
a meal replacement bar or energy bar. Others eat such bars as a
snack. The calorie content for such bars typically ranges from
200-300 calories, and they can often be devoured in just a few
bites, creating the gastric illusion that "little" food was
consumed. Indeed, it is not difficult to eat 1000 calories worth
of nutrition bars in a sitting. The tragedy of this type of
eating is many fold, and becomes readily obvious if we examine
the fiber and potassium levels in a nutrition bar and several
other foods (See Table 1). In a single Zone Perfect Bar we get
210 calories, 3 grams of fiber, and just 90 mg of potassium.
People mistakenly believe this is a health food choice. Not
really. Consider that we should be eating over 50 grams of fiber
per day if we look at historical eating patterns, which is
significantly less than the 10-13 grams of fiber per 1000
calories that is recommended by the American Dietetic
Association (ADA).1 A look at Table 1 r