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CNN Live At Daybreak

Which Energy Bar is Best?

Aired May 21, 2003 - 06:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk more health issues now. It seems you can't go into the grocery store without seeing a bunch of energy bars staring you in the face. But how do you know which are best?
Well, let's ask our favorite dietitian, Lisa Drayer of Dietwatch.com, live from New York this morning.

Good morning, Lisa.

LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: I have always wondered this because I eat a breakfast bar, an energy bar in the morning. So what's the best?

DRAYER: Exactly, well, they do have a lot of different energy bars on the markets and they actually taste a lot better these days. But you do need to be careful an read labels very carefully. So, for example, this low carb diet energy bar should really be called -- it's called Think Thin. It really should be called Think Fat. It has 240 calories and 10 grams of fat.

COSTELLO: Wow!

DRAYER: If you could believe that. So you do have to read those labels carefully. Also, the Met-Rx Protein Plus may be a good source of protein, seven grams of saturated fat. That's the fat that boosts cholesterol levels, increases risks for heart disease. So do watch those labels.

As far as the best picks, this is the one I absolutely love. It's Power Bar's Pria bar, only 110 calories and a great source of calcium. You can actually get the same amount of calcium in this Pria bar as you would in a glass of skim milk. That's 300 milligrams. And it tastes great. And, also, if you're looking to watch your weight and you want to take one as a meal replacement, as you're doing, Carol, for breakfast, think about 300 calories. This has about 280. This is Kashi's Go Lean, 14 grams of protein and seven grams of fiber. And fiber helps to make us feel full without contributing any calories.

COSTELLO: So I guess I should throw away my Balance Bars, because I know they have 200 calories.

DRAYER: Actually -- yes, and speaking of Balance Bar, there was actually a study done on energy bars and they gave 20 different men the Balance Bar, the Atkins bar and a high carb bar, the Power Bar. And what they found was that the Balance Bar didn't really have a significant drop in insulin, the hormone that causes us to store extra sugar as fat. And this is exactly what the bar stands for, that is, if you consume a bar, or foods, for that matter, with fewer amounts of carbohydrates, your insulin levels will drop and therefore you won't store excess body fat.

In fact, the insulin response after the Balance Bar was greater than what they found after eating a slice of white bread, which is really refined.

COSTELLO: They're so good, though.

Hey, provide us some guidelines so we know what we're doing when we go to the grocery store.

DRAYER: Sure. Sure. You want to look at calories and fat. Three hundred calories and 10 grams of fat is a good guideline for a meal replacement. But cut that in half for a snack. Also, in terms of carbohydrates, very important to fuel our muscles and our brain during exercise, up to 30 grams is a good guideline. That's about the equivalent in two slices of brad. Very important for those workouts.

Protein, five grams at least is what you want to look for, for a snack. Up to 20 grams if you're consuming these instead of a meal. That's actually the equivalent of about a three ounce can of tuna.

Also, look for vitamins and minerals that you wouldn't necessarily get from food. So, for example, if you hate dairy products, look for bars that have a good source of calcium. Also, keep the saturated fat to three grams or less. Again, this increases risks for heart disease. And finally, go for at least three grams of fiber, especially if you're watching your weight.

COSTELLO: All right, Lisa, thanks for providing us with that information. Very important, because I know a lot of people love energy bars.

DRAYER: We all do and we all rely on them.

COSTELLO: Definitely so, because they're quick and easy.

Thank you, Lisa Drayer.

DRAYER: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired May 21, 2003 - 06:22   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk more health issues now. It seems you can't go into the grocery store without seeing a bunch of energy bars staring you in the face. But how do you know which are best?
Well, let's ask our favorite dietitian, Lisa Drayer of Dietwatch.com, live from New York this morning.

Good morning, Lisa.

LISA DRAYER, NUTRITIONIST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: I have always wondered this because I eat a breakfast bar, an energy bar in the morning. So what's the best?

DRAYER: Exactly, well, they do have a lot of different energy bars on the markets and they actually taste a lot better these days. But you do need to be careful an read labels very carefully. So, for example, this low carb diet energy bar should really be called -- it's called Think Thin. It really should be called Think Fat. It has 240 calories and 10 grams of fat.

COSTELLO: Wow!

DRAYER: If you could believe that. So you do have to read those labels carefully. Also, the Met-Rx Protein Plus may be a good source of protein, seven grams of saturated fat. That's the fat that boosts cholesterol levels, increases risks for heart disease. So do watch those labels.

As far as the best picks, this is the one I absolutely love. It's Power Bar's Pria bar, only 110 calories and a great source of calcium. You can actually get the same amount of calcium in this Pria bar as you would in a glass of skim milk. That's 300 milligrams. And it tastes great. And, also, if you're looking to watch your weight and you want to take one as a meal replacement, as you're doing, Carol, for breakfast, think about 300 calories. This has about 280. This is Kashi's Go Lean, 14 grams of protein and seven grams of fiber. And fiber helps to make us feel full without contributing any calories.

COSTELLO: So I guess I should throw away my Balance Bars, because I know they have 200 calories.

DRAYER: Actually -- yes, and speaking of Balance Bar, there was actually a study done on energy bars and they gave 20 different men the Balance Bar, the Atkins bar and a high carb bar, the Power Bar. And what they found was that the Balance Bar didn't really have a significant drop in insulin, the hormone that causes us to store extra sugar as fat. And this is exactly what the bar stands for, that is, if you consume a bar, or foods, for that matter, with fewer amounts of carbohydrates, your insulin levels will drop and therefore you won't store excess body fat.

In fact, the insulin response after the Balance Bar was greater than what they found after eating a slice of white bread, which is really refined.

COSTELLO: They're so good, though.

Hey, provide us some guidelines so we know what we're doing when we go to the grocery store.

DRAYER: Sure. Sure. You want to look at calories and fat. Three hundred calories and 10 grams of fat is a good guideline for a meal replacement. But cut that in half for a snack. Also, in terms of carbohydrates, very important to fuel our muscles and our brain during exercise, up to 30 grams is a good guideline. That's about the equivalent in two slices of brad. Very important for those workouts.

Protein, five grams at least is what you want to look for, for a snack. Up to 20 grams if you're consuming these instead of a meal. That's actually the equivalent of about a three ounce can of tuna.

Also, look for vitamins and minerals that you wouldn't necessarily get from food. So, for example, if you hate dairy products, look for bars that have a good source of calcium. Also, keep the saturated fat to three grams or less. Again, this increases risks for heart disease. And finally, go for at least three grams of fiber, especially if you're watching your weight.

COSTELLO: All right, Lisa, thanks for providing us with that information. Very important, because I know a lot of people love energy bars.

DRAYER: We all do and we all rely on them.

COSTELLO: Definitely so, because they're quick and easy.

Thank you, Lisa Drayer.

DRAYER: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com