I Write Letters
I was perusing the LÄRABAR website today, as part of a review I’m writing for the Functional Food section. They’re high quality, high fiber, whole food energy bars that taste pretty good, so I’m giving them a nice write up, for the most part. But – like so many health/fitness-oriented supplement companies – they make specific claims for their products that they don’t back up with any hard data. So, just for the hell of it, I sent off the following e-mail:
As a former Food Science major and current consultant/author on foods/nutrition, I am curious about the following statement that appears on your web site:
“The essential enzymes, which are necessary for the digestion and utilization of nutrients, remain completely intact in their most natural, powerful state.”
This, of course, implies that Larabars a) contain significant amounts of digestive enzymes (i.e., carbohydrases, proteases, lipases); and b) these enzymes actually enhance the digestion and utilization of the macronutrients present in the bar.
Do you have any supporting research? I would be very interested to know the activities that have been measured for the various digestive enzymes per bar (any one flavor will do); as well as any data that demonstrates that the measured enzymes are a) present in sufficient amounts to significantly affect digestion of the macronutrients in the bar; and b) active under the conditions present in the stomach and intestines.
Kind Regards,
Elissa Pratt-Lowe
I’m genuinely curious to see a) if I get a response at all; and b) what it will be. Personally, I think it’s soft-focus marketing hype, but I’m willing to entertain the idea that I could be wrong. Enzymes are quite identifiable, after all, and their activities are measureable. And now that General Mills owns the company, it’s not like they don’t have the resources available to do the appropriate tests. So we’ll see.
