"Hey. Hey you--wanna eat some compacted potting soil? What if it's coated in some enticing chocolatey or peanut buttery goodness and called "Super Duper Protein Wower Power Bar????"
This must have been the conversation my subconscious mind fed to my rational brain in order to justify me buying "low sugar" protein bars the other day. I've figured out that it's most efficient for me to go to the gym immediately after dropping the kids off at school. This, however, means that with the morning out-the-door rush, I don't have time for a proper breakfast, and my work-out actually suffers from it. I literally find that I don't have enough energy to get through a good group exercise class. So, I decided to try protein bars as a portable breakfast.
"After all" I figured "they're meant for people who exercise."
So, silly me stood in front of the protein bar section of my local grocery store and decided on trying the "Think Thin" bars. I bought up a few different flavors with the grand scheme of testing out a different flavor every day.
Well, today, after going through about 4 different "Think Thin" flavors (one each day), I'm abandoning the idea of a "low sugar" bar.
"Low sugar", of course, just means high "sugar alcohols" like xylitol, maltilol, godknowswhatsinitol. The things were awful tasting--they did have the texture of compacted potting soil covered by a coating of some sort. Worst of all, these things gave me a headache. I should have known.
[Begin Science-Based Know-it-all-Rant]:
You see, the brain, like all other parts of the body during exercise, needs proper glucose to function. And the sugar alcohols work to cheat some parts of your body by telling it that the sugar is there, when, in fact, it's not readily available for either brain or body to use in periods of high intensity (like during complex group exercise routines!). The result for me was a bad headache at the end of the class, and the feeling that I hadn't really performed well.
[End Rant--You may resume breathing normally].
So, no more bars sweetened exclusively with sugar alcohols. My body actually needs the sugar.
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