Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I'm watching a few videos from Paleo FX and trying to bring my 80/20 rule to more of a 90/10 rule [and beyond!]. I can't help but notice a huge sponsor in the backgrounds of these videos: Quest Bars.

I'm a huge fan/addict of the protein and fiber crammed bars... But are they paleo? I know this question has been addressed, but not thoroughly enough to my liking. I would like to know why I should quit this addiction. What ingriedients are NOT paleo?

Linky dinks!

They do a good job to solve my sweet craving, but if I ever have a binge on anything: it's these bad boys. That is reason #1 I've stopped buying them for now. I'd like some more reasoning, some specific targets in the ingredient list I've got to avoid. Please input what you know!

flag	asked May 15 2012 at 23:49 Julia 236●3●9

Kudos on the successful astroturfing. – Wisper Nov 4 at 17:20

raney · Answer 1 · 2012-05-16 01:01:07Z UTC

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I think it's more of an issue of hyper palatability - as with most processed foods.

You shouldn't, naturally, find umami (glutamate in the whey), sweet, salty, and fatty all in the same morsel.

answered May 16 2012 at 1:01

raney
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Not that I'm saying the ingredients are particularly good - but I've certainly eaten worse. My point is that you're training yourself towards the same trend as with any packaged/processed food. – raney May 16 2012 at 1:02

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Yeah, the less stuff you eat in a wrapper, the better is my view – Klaud May 16 2012 at 1:18

Klaud · Answer 2 · 2012-05-15 23:54:02Z UTC

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I don't mean to be mean but anything that comes in a bar is not paleo.

Stick with whole food sources.

Also the dairy is concerning. Sucralose is concerning. Amount of nuts is concerning. I would not recommend these.

Stick with 90% Dark chocolate for sweet tooth.

Did I answer thoroughly?

answered May 15 2012 at 23:54

Klaud
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Thoroughly yes! My newish goal is avoiding anything with a bar code. The dairy you're referring to: the whey protein in the bars? I've been avoiding the Sucralose by eating the erythritol sweetened ones. Also avoid the ones with peanuts in them, sticking with cashews and almonds. Thank you for your input. You can see I am determined to find these "paleo friendly"! – Julia May 16 2012 at 0:13

@Julia - haha, I mean any nuts as those increase Omega 6 levels unnecessarily. Also I've heard of artificial and even natural sweeteners messing with insulin. question -- what are your health goals? are you fairly lean already? – Klaud May 16 2012 at 0:20

The O-6 levels- I doubt they'd be raised substantially because the nuts aren't the first major ingredient. I believe the insulin response theory... I think that plays a major part in why I can't talk myself out of eating too many of the bars! Pretty lean, but I'd like to shave off a few more pounds and I'd be set. – Julia May 16 2012 at 0:23

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Yeah I would just bite the bullet and stay away from these. Try it for a few weeks and see how you feel. If you can't live without them then it comes down to a quality of life type of gig. Would you rather see better results or actually enjoy life every once in a while with these bars but maybe see slower/impeded progress? It is all a balancing act in the end. I eat healthy so I can pig out every once in a while on Dark Chocolate and Coconut icecream. It's probably slowing my progress and maybe even causing deleterious health effects, but it is a choice I am making. For the moment anyway – Klaud May 16 2012 at 1:17

Your method is smart. Overly constricting will lead to some malicious effects. Again, thank you for your help! – Julia May 16 2012 at 2:08

UncleLongHair · Answer 3 · 2012-11-04 16:02:47Z UTC

If you can't pull it out of the ground, off of a plant, or out of an animal then it isn't Paleo. Pretty much any highly processed food like this should be avoided. The comment about "hyper palatability" is right on -- if you have insatiable cravings for it, then it isn't Paleo.

I have weaknesses for some foods like chocolate and nuts, and when I get cravings for them, I try to figure out what is missing from my diet that is causing me to have cravings, which could simply be sufficient calories, or can also be vitamins or minerals. For example liver tends to kill my cravings, so I wonder if the cravings are triggered by a vitamin deficiency. If you regularly indulge in cheats like this, then you're depriving your body of better sources of nutrition.

Carla · Answer 4 · 2012-05-16 00:53:19Z UTC

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I had to stop buying them. I am fine without sweets, but one of these and my sweet tooth is wide awake..

answered May 16 2012 at 0:53

Carla
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	I am so glad I am not alone in that! It has forced me to question a wide array of sweeteners and whether or not I've got an over sensitive insulin response. – Julia May 16 2012 at 2:06
	My name is Paula M and I [was] a short-termed addict of Quest bars. They did something right with these, at least avoiding absolute crap found in virtually all other "bars", but they are not food. I ordered them from the company, a few boxes at a time, then one day I stopped and guess what? They never appeared on my front porch or in my hand ever again. The End – PaulaMend May 16 2012 at 4:10
	Same here. I would eat three bars for a meal, and crave more. I had hoped to use the bars for easy travel food. – Don May 16 2012 at 11:31

KA24 · Answer 5 · 2012-05-16 03:03:58Z UTC

I'm not going to say it isn't Paleo, but the existence of the bar itself does not meet the typical definition of a Paleo food.

Then again, is it a damn good option with MINIMAL INTRUSIONS to many of the detrimental stuff that comes with many other options? Yes.

I keep them around. Have a couple a week if I need something quick. However, I'm also not concerned with dropping weight, fixing digestion, auto-immune conditions or recovering/healing from something serious.

For instance, one of the guys I'm working with recently had lap band surgery and is really working on tweaking his diet post-surgery. Not only is it a struggle with the mental changes, there are some serious physical restrictions when it comes to food, especially early on, following this type of surgery. Even if Quest Bars were "Paleo", given the texture and contents of them, I wouldn't have him consume them.

Tikivana · Answer 6 · 2012-05-16 05:50:28Z UTC

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I went to their web site, and checkout one of them for an ingredient list. Isomalto-oligosaccharides was something I had never heard of so I googled it.

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/fcn/gras_notices/grn000172.pdf

Does it matter to you if the source is wheat or barley?

answered May 16 2012 at 5:50

Tikivana
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Either way... grains?! I had not researched that far into the components! – Julia May 16 2012 at 17:25

Cathy · Answer 7 · 2012-05-16 11:18:53Z UTC

True, this bar is not "real food". However, the list of ingredients is short, no sugar alcohols, high fiber etc so it is one of the best out there. A strategy I use is to cut one bar into thirds, then cut that section into little pieces. I then toss the little pieces (usually the chocolate brownie flavor) into a snack size baggie with a few almonds or macadamias for a sweet/salty snack. This will drastically cut down the number of bars you consume per week - one or two.

KS · Answer 8 · 2012-11-04 14:06:45Z UTC

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I am finding myself eating close to 5 bars per day. I stay pretty lean and easy to maintain my six pack with the bar but anyone think that they experienced a yo yo effect with relying on the bars?

answered Nov 4 at 14:06

KS
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Mike · Answer 9 · 2012-11-04 15:47:46Z UTC

I was eating them for a while. I found that they made me feel as if I had eaten a bunch of sugar. It felt as if my blood sugar was surging. So I looked online to see if anyone had a similar experience, and a bunch of people in the diabetic community were seeing high blood sugar spikes after consuming.

See threads like this: http://www.diabetesforum.com/diabetes-diet-nutrition/7216-quest-low-net-carb-bars-tested-2.html

Hi, my name is Julia and I am a Quest Bar addict. [Help me out?]

9 Answers