Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Heart Talk
Nature Valley Healthy Heart Bars and Kellogg's Smart Start Healthy Heart Bars sure sound the same BUT they are not.
Nature Valley adds 0.4 grams of plant sterols to each bar. Eating 2 bars a day could lower your total cholesterol by about 5%., at a cost of some 300 calories. You would have to eat 3 Smart Start Bars every day ( each as 1 gram of fiber from oats) to get the same 5% drop, but now you are talkng 450 calories.
Smart Start is low in sodium, but so are Nature Valley and most other bars.
And Smart Start does have more blood pressure lowering potassium (350mg) than Nature Valley ( about 90mg). But the potassium chloride that Kellogg adds to Smart Start is not as good as the potassium citrate in fruits and veggies. Both lower blood pressure, but citrate also helps prevent kidney stones and bone loss.
If you are wondering what to snack on, that should be a clue.
