PureFit Nutrition Bars Product Review

A few months ago, I received some complimentary nutrition bars from PureFit to sample and review on my blog. I feel like a real heel that I am just now posting this review in April. Truth be told, I forgot about it because my boys ate them too fast so I didn’t have a bar sitting around to trigger my memory. It didn’t help that this was during the mayhem of the holiday season either. Maybe if I had been eating more balanced nutrition bars instead of sugar cookies, the sugar induced  “brain fog” would not have been present! 😀

First, a little info on PureFit Nutrition Bars:

Kosher-certified and vegan-approved PureFit bars do not contain dairy, wheat, or gluten, and will not melt in their packaging. PureFit works diligently to provide high-quality, award-winning nutrition bars without artificial ingredients, sugar alcohols or common allergens, including milk, wheat or gluten.

Our bars are an integral part of The PureFit Fat-Burning System. It provides many of the nutrients and calories you need to round out your PureFit diet. And it does not contain harmful ingredients found in virtually every nutrition bar on the market. 100% All-Natural Ingredients, 18 Grams of Soy Protein, Non-GMO Soy, Unprecedented Great Taste. This low glycemic, nondairy bar is based on over 20 years of research and was not practical to manufacture until now. It offers:

• NO Hydrogenated Oils
• NO Animal Products – Vegan
• NO Cholesterol or Trans Fatty Acids
• NO Wheat or Gluten
• NO Artificial Sweeteners
• NO Hidden Carbohydrates
• NO Sugar Alcohol

Did you see that little blurb about PureFit bars not melting in their packaging? I plan on sending these with Sam to his Sports Summer Day Camp in a few months as an easy “pick-me-up’ snack, they would also be great to take to the pool, beach, etc.!

There is also some great information on PureFit’s “Choose The Right Bar” page:

A lot of so-called nutrition bars contain as many hollow calories as the average fast food sandwich. Keep in mind that one-pound equals 3,500 calories, and that in order to maintain your current weight, your body requires 10 calories per pound per day. In other words, if you weigh 190 pounds, your body requires 1,900 calories per day to maintain that weight.

If you consume a candy bar-like nutrition bar, one that accounts for nearly 20% of your daily caloric needs, you’re bound get into trouble. Of course, you need to take into account that exercise burns calories, but still, err on the safe side by looking for nutrition bars with approximately 150 to 300 calories per serving.

Here is a piece from the “Ingredients Matter” section. Click here for more information on Sugar Alcohols.

Not all nutrition bars are created equal, and to see this for yourself, just look at the list of ingredients of your average nutrition bar. Many are loaded with sugar, partially hydrogenated oil, artificial sweeteners, and other ingredients that just aren’t very good for you. As one example, some popular nutrition bar companies use maltitol syrup in their bars.

Maltitol syrup is a sweetener that can produce gas, bloating and a laxative so overpowering that many countries now require a warning label on foods contain the item.

Other commonly used sugar alcohols you may want to avoid include: malitol syrup (notice the different spelling), glycol, isomalt, lactitol, glycerol, glycerine, erythritol, arabitol, xylitol, ribitol, mannitol, and sorbitol.

I found this informative (about the 40-30-30 philosophy), it is from the “Watch Your Balance” section:

Choosing a nutrition bar with the right balance of carbohydrates, fat and protein is critical to optimal performance, and here’s why: A diet composed of approximately 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat is ideal for body fat loss and consistent energy. This nutritional philosophy is commonly referred to as “The Zone,” and is, in our opinion, the greatest dietary discovery of the last 50 years. In short, it is especially difficult, if not impossible, to lose weight when eating a diet primarily comprised of carbohydrates, especially if you work out consistently, because you force your body to burn carbohydrates (sugars). When you eat a diet composed of about one-third protein, you allow your body to burn stored body fat—the reason most of us work out. In other words, the ratio of the carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in your diet determines if you will predominately burn carbohydrates or stored body fat.

The PureFit website even offers a free downloadable fat burning guide which has some great tips for eating better, including sample meal plans. While you are on that page, check out the link titled “Low Carb Myth,” it talks a little bit about sugar alcohols and package labeling. You can even see a clip of the PureFit Bars being featured on “The Real Housewives of Orange County!”

As for the taste, all I can tell you is how the bars were received by my sons, and they loved them! They both fought over the Chocolate Brownie Bar (Luke won, but gave a tiny piece to his brother in the spirit of “sharing”). Sam ended up enjoying the Peanut Butter Crunch Bar even more. I personally did not get to try them because Mike gave them to the boys without realizing they were for a review… when I wasn’t at home to guard them!

I had Mike run out to Smith’s (part of the Kroger Company) last night to get more bars so I could personally sample them and take photos for this post, but unfortunately, they are not carrying them anymore and here is why. I personally plan on contacting the Kroger Company as well, because PureFit has done a lot to help spread awareness of celiac disease. Check out all the PureFit Blog posts that Robb Dorf, Founder and CEO of PureFit, Inc. has made on Celiac Disease, Autism, and Type 1 Diabetes (I highly recommend watching the video on this post about IronKIDz. I watched it with Sam and it was a great teaching moment to show him how other kids have “differences” too, that he is not alone in dealing with a major medical issue at such a young age. It validated his feelings and showed him at the same time that celiac disease is just one part of him and not the entire definition of who he is).

I believe it is important to support companies that take the next step by raising awareness for and supporting medical research of the health issues that affect their customers. Thank you Robb, I really appreciate your efforts!