Fans of Isagenix IsaLean® Bar will find enjoying them all the sweeter now that a new study has shown that eating them won’t spike blood sugar levels.
Whether customers have preference for Lemon Passion Crunch or Chocolate Decadence flavors, they can rest assured with clinical findings showing that both meal-replacement bars maintain normal levels of plasma glucose and have a statistically significantly lower glycemic effect when compared to standard controls.
Glycemic effect is a measure of how a particular food affects blood glucose levels. Eating foods balanced in protein, fats, fiber and complex carbohydrates are considered a better approach to maintain blood sugar levels (1 & 2).
In the study, Brigham Young University researchers tested blood glucose response for each of the bars and white bread (standard control) in 11 adult subjects (five men and six women)—for this type of testing, experimentation is typically performed on 10 or more subjects with standard protocols.
In a cross-over design, the scientists tested blood glucose response in each subject at the same time in the morning on three different occasions with a two-day washout period between tests.
Subjects fasted and abstained from rigorous exercise for 12 hours prior to testing. Each participant acted as his or her own control by testing the bread and the bars in a random order.
The scientists took blood samples before subjects ate the test food and then at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after eating.
The effect of the meal on glucose levels is typically evaluated over a two-hour period. After a meal including carbohydrates, plasma glucose levels (blood sugar) are expected to rise in a healthy adult and then return to a “normal” range between 5.5 to 6.6 millimoles per liter, or 100 to 120 milligrams per milliliter (mg/ml).IsaLean Bars maintained normal levels of plasma glucose levels at each testing period.
“Even at the highest plasma level seen at 30 minutes, glucose levels reached only just over 100 milligrams per milliliter, well within the ‘normal’ plasma glucose range,” said Isagenix Director of Research and Science Susie Rockway, Ph.D., CNS. “These results clearly show that IsaLean Bars do not lead to blood sugar spikes in healthy adults.”
These results came from healthy men and women and are not applicable to people with type 2 diabetes, who should continue to monitor blood sugar with any food eaten.
High-Protein Bars for Nutrition and Weight Management
Meal-replacement bars have gained popularity as a convenient way to assist in weight management. The health-food bar market reached $5 billion in 2010 and retail sales are predicted to increase 10 percent per year over the next five years.
IsaLean Bars represent a convenient, high-protein meal replacement designed to meet weight management and nutrition goals. “We designed them to appeal to a mass audience, many of whom struggle with being overweight or obese,” said Isagenix Chief Science Officer Suk Cho, Ph.D.
The bars are high in whey protein, offer a balanced amount of fats and carbohydrates, and provide daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. The combination of carbohydrates doesn’t lead to elevated blood glucose levels, as the BYU study has shown.
“Not all health bars are alike,” Dr. Cho adds. ”With use of high-quality ingredients, you can have bars that taste delicious, deliver nutrient density with minimal amount of calories, and yet have a low glycemic effect.”
The high-protein bars also present multiple benefits because of impact on satiety as well as muscle protein synthesis—aiding weight management and helping to maintaining or increase muscle mass with age.
Unlike other bars in the marketplace, the Chocolate Decadence and Lemon Passion Crunch flavors also contain a blend of astragalus root, açai fruit extract and wolfberry extract—delivering “adaptogenic” phytochemicals with every bite for helping consumers adapt to stresses of everyday life. They are also all-natural, containing no artificial flavors or colors.
World Health Organization statistics show more than 1 billion people are overweight and at least 300 million of those are clinically obese. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that more than one third of adults (more than 72 million people), and, sadly, roughly one out of every seven children are obese.
References:
1. Radulian G, Rusu E, Dragomir A, Posea M. Metabolic effects of low glycaemic index diets. Nutr J 2009;8:5.
2. Brouns F, Bjorck I, Frayn KN et al. Glycaemic index methodology. Nutr Res Rev 2005;18:145-71.