Zone almost Perfect Bars
Written: Apr 19 '03 (Updated Apr 22 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Delicious with lots of vitamins and soy protein.
Cons: More expensive than some bars, may have too much sugar for some.
The Bottom Line: The Zone Perfect Bar is a good choice as a snack or for energy. It is filling and delicious.
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| jo.com's Full Review: |
I am reviewing Zone Perfect Bar in the Chocolate Mint flavor, yet another bar I have tried. I am not reviewing the diet although I will mention it so you can understand the theory behind The Zone. I did review the book: Enter The Zone.
About the bar:
We are told that when used with the diet the bars can help you lose weight, increase energy and curb hunger for hours. They are based on the Zone Perfect recipe that suggests a balance of 40% of your daily nutritional intake be in the form of carbohydrates and 30% each of protein and fat. For this reason they are seen as the 40-30-30 plan.
I am going to shoot down some of these claims right away without shooting down the bar at this point. First, energy comes from calories. Anything you eat with calories can be called energy. I am learning that more and more as I review countless bars. Unless there is a stimulant in a bar (and there isn't one in The Zone Perfect Bars) the bars are really not giving you any more significant energy than if you ate an English Muffin. You lose weight when you expend more calories than you consume. Period. There is nothing magic about it and don't let anyone fool you into believing there is.
The bar has 220 calories which if you are following any type of way of eating that suggests you eat 5 times a day and are eating about 1500-1600 calories a day, this is close to a meal. You can add a banana and that will be your calorie allotment for one of your meals. That might be fine if this is a meal replacement bar. In order to have that it would have to have enough protein and carbohydrates in it, in my opinion, for me to call it one. We’ll see.
The bar is 1.76 ounces and costs about $1.59. They can be bought in quantity and you might pay less per bar. They come in other flavors including caramel apple, chocolate vanilla creme, double chocolate, and peach yogurt.
You will find an expiration date on the outside of the package which rips open easily.
There are 60 of the 220 calories are from fat with a total fat count of 7 grams, 4.5 of which are saturated. There is no cholesterol. You'll find 250 mg. of sodium, 30 mg. of potassium. There are 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 13 grams of sugar, 16 grams of protein and lots of vitamins:
Vitamin A 50%, Vitamin C 200%, Vitamin D 35%, Vitamin E 210%, Thiamin (B1) 50%, Riboflavin (B2) 50%, Niacin (B3) 100%, Vitamin B6 200%, Folate,Folic Acid,Folacin 40%,
Vitamin B12 45%, Biotin 30%, Pantothenic acid 35%, Calcium 2%, Iron 10%, Phosphorus 15%, Magnesium 10%, Zinc 50%, Selenium 80% Chromium 80% - Note the amount of Chromium, a supplement thought to help burn fat. Molybdenum 65%. Power Bar Pria has 23 vitamins. 23 vitamins most are in the 10-15% range for daily requirements.
If you are following the Zone diet each bar contains 2 Zone Blocks.
For maximum shelf life, keep the Zone Perfect Bar below 75°.
The ingredients (Other than the vitamins which are noted above):
Isolated Soy Protein (Soy Protein Nuggets), Rice Flour (Soy Protein Nuggets), Malt (Soy Protein Nuggets), Salt (Soy Protein Nuggets), Corn Syrup, Sugar (Chocolate Coating), Palm Kernel Oils (Chocolate Coating), Cocoa (Chocolate Coating (Cocoa)), Potassium Carbonate (Chocolate Coating (Cocoa)), Nonfat Milk (Chocolate Coating), Sorbitan Monostearate (Chocolate Coating), Lecithin (emulsifiers) (Chocolate Coating), Vanilla (Chocolate Coating), Milk Protein Isolate, Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Oil (Less Than 2%), Xanthan Gum (Less Than 2%), Natural Flavor (Less Than 2%), Soy Lecithin (Less Than 2%), Traces of Peanuts.
The taste, texture and what it does for me:
The Chocolate Mint smells delicious. I have noticed that the flavors have strong smells that smell really good. Although it is covered in chocolate it isn’t smooth. It has a crunchy look to it. If you look at the ingredients you will see that soy protein, which is the predominant protein in this bar, is in the form of nuggets.
The bar is crunchy rather than chewy and delicious. I was a bit apprehensive when I first bought them never thinking I would like the taste. I don’t know why. Maybe because I don’t like the diet. I find products with whey protein are the ones with the nastiest tastes, not the ones with soy and this is no exception – it is really good. It is not overly sweet; there is no aftertaste at all or bitterness. They are easy to break so you can break them in half if you want don’t want to eat them all at one time. They are small, but I do find them filling especially with a glass of water. I find them satisfying as well. They satisfy my sweet tooth without feeling as if I am eating a hunk of sugar although there is more sugar in here than you will find in some other bars I will list below.
Note for vegetarians, there is milk in this product.
They have 3 grams of Omega 3. (Information about Omega 3 will be below so as not to be a filler as is information I found interested on the Zone Bar not being Kosher.)
My final thoughts:
Twenty-two grams of carbohydrates and 16 of protein is a decent combination. The Zone may be on to something. I don’t like the diet because I found it hard to follow not because I think there is anything wrong with the 40-30-30 formula, although I do tend to eat more protein that The Zone might recommend.
As a comparison The Protein Plus Bars have 38 grams of carbohydrates and 26 grams of protein. That is a true replacement meal although it is also twice the size of The Zone Perfect bars, somewhat misleading us into thinking they have a lot more. Two of the Zone bars would give us 44/32 but then we’d have too many calories so stick with one bar!
I liked the Power Bar Pria as a snack. It is delicious, has vitamins and minerals and soy, is low in sugar and will give you a bit of a boost although don’t count on it to carry you through the entire day! A great deal for the price and a low-calorie snack that is satisfying. The ZonePerfect Bar has a lot more vitamins and although it is a bit more expensive if you are one who does not take vitamins, the percentages in The Zone Perfect Bar are much higher than in the Power Bar Pria.
I am recommending these bars for those of you who want a fairly healthy snack (I recently read an article that said the amount of sugar “allowed” us is now thought to be low and that we can handle more.) That will be up to you to decide but I am one to criticize bars when they have a lot of sugar. If that doesn’t bother you, this is a great choice. It is pricier than other bars which you can generally find for $.99 but the ingredients are good (soy protein), they are delicious, quite filling and have a good combination of protein and carbohydrates which do give me energy after a workout or during the day as a snack if I feel as if I am dragging.
If you have any questions about this bar, please feel free to leave me a comment or e-mail me.
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Other information:
I find it interesting that on the frequently asked page at the website www.zoneperfect.com the one question that was addressed in any meaningful way after being told that anyone who is pregnant, nursing, has a health problem, or is seeking to lose more than 20% of their starting weight should consult a physician before starting this or any other nutritional program is the issue of whether this product is Kosher. I am not sure why this is addressed. Usually people who are Kosher (That is a way many Jewish people eat. It involves the food being overseen by a Rabbi and blessed by him or her. It involves a lot more than just that – dishes, etc. but that is beyond the scope of this review.) I just found it interesting that they say,
"There is only one ingredient in the ZonePerfect bars that prevent them from becoming kosher. That is the gelatin encapsulated fish oil. All other ingredients are kosher. The major kosher organizations like O.U. or O.K. will not kosher this product because of the gelatin. However, because of the chemical process used to produce the gelatin, it appears possible for the ZonePerfect bars to become kosher and bear only a "K" symbol. ZonePerfect is exploring this possibility."
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Omega-3 (you may sometimes see it written as n-3 or w-3) is the name given to a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids. The parent omega-3 - alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) - is described as 'essential' as, like vitamins, it must be obtained from diet. It is polyunsaturated and has 18 carbon atoms and 3 double bonds (18:3).
However, from the point of view of human nutrition, the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5)and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6) - EPA and DHA - are considered much more valuable as these are the forms the body requires. In theory, humans are able to synthesise EPA and DHA from dietary ALA, but in practice this process is inefficient. Scientists have therefore concluded that EPA and DHA should be obtained from diet. Oil-rich fish and supplements such as fish oil and cod liver oil, are the richest and most readily available sources. Other sources such as krill and fortified everyday foods like bread and fruit juices are in production in a minor way in various parts of the world.
http://www.omega-3info.com/fattyacids.htm
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Recommended:
Yes
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