I just read a blog review of "Go Max Go" vegan candy bars and it was most inspiring. I had a rather testy e-mail interaction with one of the company officers weeks ago about the issue of them being "pushers" of an addictive, essentially nutritionally useless product (was called a 'food nazi') and it's just damn wonderful that they have finally gotten around to posting the nutritional breakdown of their products on their website.
Now, before looking into what's actually IN these wonderful vegan candy bars raved about by the vegan blogger, let's keep in mind two stats: (1) 14 to 20 grams of fat PER DAY is roughly what Drs. Ornish, Esselstyn, Barnard, etc., recommend to stave off heart disease, diabetes, etc., and (2) the Feds (with Corporate encouragement), recommend no more than 60 grams of fat per day, total.
Here's some numbers on their four listed products:
Twilight: 9 grams of fat per 1 serving (1/2 a day's worth of FAT to over 1/6th)
Buccanneer: 7 grams of fat per 1 serving (around 1/2 a day's worth of fat to 1/9th)
Mahalo: 19 grams of fat per serving (a full day's worth of fat or around 1/3 day's worth of fat)
All four products contain palm oil, one of the oils most extremely high in saturated fat content which has been clearly proven to be bad for your cardiovascular system (only worse one is coconut oil).
"The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute warned that the "high content of saturated fat... found in... palm kernel oil, palm oil, coconut oil, and cocoa butter" puts people at risk for heart attack or stroke." Source.
Well, that's just fraking fantastic! Obviously, if you need a "wholesome" and "organic" fat and sugary vegan nutritionally useless food product alternative to a non-vegan fat and sugar ladden nutritionally useless food product, AND want to continue feeding your addiction to sugar and fat, as well as increase your chances for developing heart disease or stroke from added fat and type of fat, it's clear that "Go Max Go" products are for you. Highly recommended.
But then, I've not tasted them, and apparently that puts me at odds with many vegan blog product reviewers. The fact that the nutritional profile of these products is so awful, suffices to tell me that I don't need to. My tongue doesn't rule my diet (other parts of my life, well....). I refuse to be a slave to taste and texture over nutritional quality. Form doesn't rule essence.
So, get real. Taste and/or texture doesn't matter. It's what's IN the food you consume that does. Stop feeding your addictions under the guise "oh, it's vegan... therefore it's gotta be good." Do a little bit of research on what's IN the crap you're promoting (bloggers) and recognize the consequences of what you consume. There's a difference between being a healthy vegan and a non-healthy vegan. Fat, sugar, and salt, are key variables in that equation. To ignore the impact of excessive amounts of any of these ingredients in your diet is to risk your long-term health... be you vegan or not.
And that's the truth.
Addendum: 06/03/09 - 1254 est - that "Mahalo Bar" contains 80% of the total recommended saturated fat per day by the Feds (which is way too high as a recommendation, anyway, due to Corporate influence.).
...and, from the "Go Max Go" website; "What we didn't want in our candy bars was dairy, eggs, hydrogenated oils, trans fats, artificial ingredients, or cholesterol."
How incredibly noble... forget about the overall fat content and that all your products contain high levels of saturated heart-disease causing fat. After all, it's vegan... and although most of the ingredients, technically, are NOT real food, hide behind this fact by issuing this mindless statement and the addicts will believe your hype, buy your products.
But then, after all, in the final analysis, you really are fat/sugar pushers...
Addendum: 06/03/09 - 1830 est - regarding the ol' "once and awhile won't hurt" red herring. Here's a post with link to a recent study that shows otherwise. You can have low cholesterol, exercise, be of proper weight, and STILL it's the added fat that can cause that stroke.
On each of them the top five or six ingredients listed includes at least three types of sugar (corn syrup, evaporated can juice, rice syrup, agave, beet sugar)! Combine that with ingredients like environmentally destructive palm oil and you've got quite the combination. And yet, for some reason the idea of a Snickers equivalent is still enticing...
[Yeah, and it's that enticement that I worry about... I perceive it as an addiction, every bit as much as wanting meat, dairy, and eggs was... ironic that the negative e-mail feedback I get from VEGANS resembles that from carnivores when I went Veg, essentially the same silly argument: "a little doesn't hurt once in awhile."
Thanks so much for pointing out the sugar thang... it is stunning how much they put into these "healthy" bars.
I think we are hard-wired to WANT fat and sugar from an evolutionary standpoint and we must consciously control that urge. Corporations are taking advantage of this, whether the product they produce is vegan or not.
Again, much appreciation for your comment. I feel less a "food nazi" as a result.
Best, Mark]
Posted by: Heather | 2009.06.04 at 17:02
I believe in moderation. Eating a nutritionally useless candy bar once in a blue moon is not a big deal in my book as long as the rest of the time you are eating healthy foods.
[As McDougall has put it: "Moderation kills." Even ONE high fat meal affects the elasticity of your blood vessels (this has been measured, and is not an aggregate statistic) and provides the fuel for development of plaque that causes 90% of the strokes that kill us.
I liken it to an alcoholic thinking he/she can have a beer once in awhile. IMHO, the sooner we get over these taste addictions, the better.
We'll have to agree to disagree on it all. I appreciate your feedback, though. Thanks for your comment. Best regards, Mark]
Posted by: SweetKaroline | 2009.06.03 at 16:18