While the makers of nutrition bars stand by the health value of their products, others remain more skeptical. Yet the company's name is no mistake-thinkThin sounds an awful lot like a weight loss instruction. The rationale here is clear: The human body converts unburned sugar into fat, so less sugar means less potential fat. Like Luna, thinkThin names its bars after sweet treats (high-protein, high-fiber rectangles of "whey protein isolate" and "maltitol" are labeled "Chocolate Covered Strawberries"), but manages to boast 0 to 5 grams of sugar per bar. ThinkThin specializes in low-sugar content. Special formulations seek to fulfill the perceived need for gender-specific nutrition, but these brands also operate in pursuit of what they believe women want: dessert minus the hypothetical pounds.
By the end of the year, Luna will also be gluten-free, catching up with its competitors. To satisfy what Dellolacono Thies refers to as "women's specific micro-nutrition needs," Luna adds precise amounts of iron, calcium, Vitamin D, and folic acid-vitamins and minerals singled out as commonly missing from a woman's diet-to its sub-200-calorie, low-glycemic bars. ELAW bars, says Jonekos, "have the perfect ratio to help boost metabolism." "Women gain and lose weight very differently from men," she explains, adding that women require different combinations of protein and carbs than men do. But Jonekos maintains that the biological distinctions between women and men demand that women nourish themselves uniquely. This seems like a sound philosophy for anyone, men included. "My bars are promoted as 'nutritional goodness,'" says Staness Jonekos, co-author of Eat Like a Woman, and the brains behind the correlating three-step nutrition program and line of ELAW bars.
Whereas Clif serves both male and female endurance athletes, "Luna Bar is for women who are simply focused on, 'I need to get to work, I need to work out a couple times a week.' They don't necessarily have a training regimen-they're everyday women who are just trying to enjoy a healthier lifestyle." "Women are not always in that scenario," says Tara Dellolacono Thies, Clif's in-house dietician. Created by Clif Bar & Company in 1999, Luna was an attempt to introduce an alternative for women who wanted the portion-controlled packaging of energy bars without the carbohydrates meant to fuel regular exercise. Luna was the first nutrition bar designed specifically for women. Compared with just grabbing a pre-wrapped bar on your way out the door, it's almost no contest.īut how do nutrition bars aimed at women actually affect physical health? What about mental health? Does a nutrition bar, let alone any food, need to be gender-specific at all? The thought, energy, and time required to prepare three balanced meals throughout the course of an already busy day is legitimately daunting. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.Īt best, they can help when you want to manage hunger within a carefully controlled serving size. The archives will remain available here for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years.