Powerbars... Green caramel?
09-25-07, 02:07 PM
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Powerbars... Green caramel?
So, I decided to skip my snickers today and try the more expensive... and highly touted Powerbar. Chocolate dipped, caramel crunched, sounds great!
Get about two thirds through and look down. My power bar had blobs of green caramel! Is this a common occurrence? Flavor wise it reminded me of a chicken tofu soup, mostly right on all counts but texture. 3/4's did work as a pretty decent pick me up.
Despite the greenery (always told I need more green in my diet
) It wasn't half bad.
Get about two thirds through and look down. My power bar had blobs of green caramel! Is this a common occurrence? Flavor wise it reminded me of a chicken tofu soup, mostly right on all counts but texture. 3/4's did work as a pretty decent pick me up.
Despite the greenery (always told I need more green in my diet
) It wasn't half bad.
09-25-07, 02:41 PM
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I like Powerbar, but not the gooey ones.
I stick with chocolate. Tastes a lot like a Tootsie Roll.
I stick with chocolate. Tastes a lot like a Tootsie Roll.
09-25-07, 04:39 PM
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Peanut Butter FTW
09-25-07, 04:42 PM
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Powerbars are so artificial that it takes too much energy to digest before you get any energy from it. Try something natural like a Clif Bar, or even dried figs.
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09-25-07, 05:02 PM
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Email the company, I think you got a bad bar.
09-25-07, 07:08 PM
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09-25-07, 07:13 PM
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09-25-07, 07:37 PM
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09-25-07, 08:37 PM
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um...i think artificial probably does have alot to do with digestion. I'm pretty sure your body breaks down stuff with simple structure faster than complex structures. Think eatting plastic verse eatting an apple...the apple wins!
09-25-07, 08:50 PM
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sure on that end, but what about corn versus refined sugar? the sugar is more artificial, and doesn't come out in chunks.
09-25-07, 09:11 PM
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peakbars! all organic and they sponsor jkizzle's club!
09-25-07, 09:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Powerbar ingredients
C2 MAX CARBOHYDRATE BLEND (ORGANIC EVAPORATED CANE JUICE SYRUP, MALTODEXTRIN, FRUCTOSE)*, OAT BRAN*, MILK PROTEIN ISOLATE*, ALKALIZED COCOA, BROWN RICE FLOUR*, VEGETABLE GLYCERIN*, SOY PROTEIN ISOLATE, CHOCOLATE (CONTAINS MILK)*, SALT*, NATURAL FLAVOR*, ALMOND BUTTER*, PEANUT FLOUR*.
Originally Posted by Clif Bar ingredients
Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Rolled Oats, ClifPro™ (Soy Rice Crisps [Soy Protein Isolate, Rice Flour, Malt Extract], Organic Roasted Soybeans, Organic Soy Flour), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Chips (Evaporated Cane Juice, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavors), Organic Fig Paste, Organic Soy Butter, Cocoa, ClifCrunch™ (Apple Fiber, Oat Fiber, Organic Milled Flaxseed, Inulin [Chicory Extract], Psyllium), Dutched Cocoa, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt.
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09-25-07, 10:09 PM
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have a Cliff Bar. Powerbars are made from synthetic chicken ass.
09-25-07, 10:45 PM
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Nope. Powerbars are formulated with High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is a high GI carb. Perfect for energy when you need it. Clif Bars, if I can recall - are mainly sweetened with Evaporated Cane Juice. Which isn't as high on the GI scale - thus lengthening the digestion period.
09-25-07, 11:17 PM
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Nope. Powerbars are formulated with High Fructose Corn Syrup, which is a high GI carb. Perfect for energy when you need it. Clif Bars, if I can recall - are mainly sweetened with Evaporated Cane Juice. Which isn't as high on the GI scale - thus lengthening the digestion period.
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09-26-07, 06:49 AM
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I use them when I can get them cheap like at GNC when they are about to go out of date. One bar can last me about 70 miles whereas I'd go through at least 3 gels for that distance. Now if the ride is at a very fast pace, I go with gels because the powerbars are a bugger to choke down.
09-26-07, 08:18 AM
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I guess you have to find the right sort of bar for your own routine and how you eat during the ride. I'm not really sure what people mean when they're talking about how 'artificialness' changes speed of digestion, there are plenty of 'natural' products that take a long time to digest, and plenty natural products you can't digest at all.
While the glycemic index is important, using it on individual ingredients in a bar can be a bit misleading as other factors, such as the fat content, can slow down digestion and lead to a lower GI increasing the amount of time for absorption. Gels are great for an instant 'boost' of energy and for recovery, but to sustain yourself during a ride, you probably want something that might take longer to digest. However, for this strategy to be effective, you need to be eating before you feel you think you need to: if you wait until you bonk, then eat something with a low GI, there will be a delay before you get the benefit.
Interpreting GI has its own problems due to the way it is defined. Low GI doesn't necessarily mean that you will get a slow sustained release of energy. Pure fructose has a low GI, but will produce a blood sugar spike in the same way as glucose, only it takes longer to get there is a more complex metabolism in the liver, as opposed to glucose which can be metabolised in virtually every cell-type. High fructose corn syrup is difficult to interpret as it depends on the ratio of the fructose to glucose.
Having a combination of foods before and during the ride probably helps. There are differences in regular foods that can impact energy release as well. The different types of starch (amylose and amylopectin) are broken down at different rates, the biochemistry behind nutrition is pretty complicated (and goes well beyond how far I studied it!) and it depends on your riding style and the type of ride as well (if you're not riding very hard, you can metabolise fat rather than just carbs), so you have to find an approach that works for you.
I think the trick, as with hydration, is to stay ahead of the curve and be taking things in before you run out of the stock you already have. With all that said, I'll see how it works when I tackle my first century!
While the glycemic index is important, using it on individual ingredients in a bar can be a bit misleading as other factors, such as the fat content, can slow down digestion and lead to a lower GI increasing the amount of time for absorption. Gels are great for an instant 'boost' of energy and for recovery, but to sustain yourself during a ride, you probably want something that might take longer to digest. However, for this strategy to be effective, you need to be eating before you feel you think you need to: if you wait until you bonk, then eat something with a low GI, there will be a delay before you get the benefit.
Interpreting GI has its own problems due to the way it is defined. Low GI doesn't necessarily mean that you will get a slow sustained release of energy. Pure fructose has a low GI, but will produce a blood sugar spike in the same way as glucose, only it takes longer to get there is a more complex metabolism in the liver, as opposed to glucose which can be metabolised in virtually every cell-type. High fructose corn syrup is difficult to interpret as it depends on the ratio of the fructose to glucose.
Having a combination of foods before and during the ride probably helps. There are differences in regular foods that can impact energy release as well. The different types of starch (amylose and amylopectin) are broken down at different rates, the biochemistry behind nutrition is pretty complicated (and goes well beyond how far I studied it!) and it depends on your riding style and the type of ride as well (if you're not riding very hard, you can metabolise fat rather than just carbs), so you have to find an approach that works for you.
I think the trick, as with hydration, is to stay ahead of the curve and be taking things in before you run out of the stock you already have. With all that said, I'll see how it works when I tackle my first century!
09-26-07, 08:22 AM
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09-26-07, 10:04 AM
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. I was told that a Powerbar was only good if you eat it about 30-45 minutes before you need the energy because that's how long it will take to get an effect. .
I did, however, find sources online stating that gels are easier to digest than any bar. I guess I'm going to switch to gels during the ride and only use a bar half an hour before the ride and during long rides to satisfy hunger.
I did, however, find sources online stating that gels are easier to digest than any bar. I guess I'm going to switch to gels during the ride and only use a bar half an hour before the ride and during long rides to satisfy hunger.
I'll eat a powerbar during a really long ride, just to break up the gels. After about the 18th gel, this sunday, I couldn't stomach the thought of another gel.
09-26-07, 10:56 AM
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18?!!! My stomach got sick just reading that. I don't think I've ever consumed more than 3 gels in a single ride.
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