Free Sugar? Added Sugar? Naturally Occurring?
No one wants to pick up an energy bar and read the words "12 grams of added sugar." But that's exactly what you'll see when you reach for Perfect Bar's Coconut Peanut Butter bar. Or RXBAR's AM Blueberry Breakfast bar, which also has 12 grams of added sugar. Even Byte Bar, Kate's Whole Food Bar, and Bar You Eat have added sugar.
Not the best way to start the morning, according to a new study that defines added sugar as "free sugar." Free sugars are things like processed sweeteners (such as cane sugar) and natural sweeteners (such as syrup, honey, and fruit juice).
To test the theory that it is the quality of the carbohydrate (free sugar versus whole fruit sugar) not the quantity of carbohydrate that is linked to cardiovascular disease, a nine-year study was conducted with over 100,000 adults participating.
Their findings were not surprising.
"The more free sugars some participants consumed, the greater their risk of cardiovascular disease, heart disease and stroke was…The main takeaways are that all carbs are not created equal.”
The study emphasizes that consuming added or free sugars leads to inflammation, overeating, and excessive caloric intake.
What do we recommend? Just like the study, the best thing you can do is replace those free sugars with non-free sugars, like fruits and vegetables.
Patterbars have zero grams of added sugar. Just unsweetened whole fruits and nuts. So no spikes in blood sugar. Just good carbs. Just 100% whole food, and clean energy. What more can you want in a vegan bar?
Eat Well,
Patter