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 Munch your way to good intestinal balance with these tasty probiotic granola bars from Attune. Photography by Claire Freierman.
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Product Reviews / NutriNibbles / NutriSnacksAttune Wellness BarsA Bar A Day Keeps The Doctor Away:
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First there were candy bars for energy. (Going on a hike? Take a peanut-filled Snickers.) Then, protein bars promised to be more nutritious than a peanut and chocolate candy bar. Next came energy bars, glamorized with nutrients and fancy flavors. Now, wellness bars have debuted, a new kind of functional food to cure ills. Attune probiotic bars, a standard-bearer, is packed with beneficial probiotic bacteria (a.k.a. active cultures).
While the labels herald that the bars contain five times the amount of beneficial probiotic bacteria as found in yogurt, this claim is disingenuous: It compares apples to oranges. The comparison is made to regular yogurt, not probiotic yogurt. The numbers are the same compared to probiotic yogurt, which is available in any supermarket. It bugs us that a company selling a wellness product couldn’t add one word to its marketing claim in the interest of clarity and education for the consumer. We hope the labels are reprinted, they’ll say “5X the live cultures in regular yogurt.”
But if you don’t choose to stand on principle, anyone in your family, age three years or older, who needs some digestive boost from probiotic bacteria, can nibble on an Attune bar instead of a yogurt. Probiotics have been proven in studies to help promote strong, healthy digestive and immune systems. (Note that if you have a specific digestive ailment, you should consult your healthcare practitioner before using any remedy.)
Who should be happy about this? People who need the benefits of probiotics (more about that in a minute), who:
Here’s another little tidbit: Even if you’re not a candidate for probiotics because your intestinal health is normally just peachy, if you’re taking antibiotic medication, you may want to speak with your healthcare provider about augmenting your diet with probiotics. Antibiotics kill good bacteria, including the ones in your digestive system, along with the bad bacteria. Research suggests that it is best to have probiotics in your diet while you take antibiotics. |
 Grab-and-go bars require no refrigeration. Here, Attune’s probiotic granola bars. |
Attune wellness bars are found in the refrigerator case, in the dairy/yogurt aisle (you can also purchase them online—see the information at the end of this article). While it’s best to store them in the refrigerator, to preserve the life of the live probiotic bacteria, the probiotics still will be effective when stored for a couple of weeks at normal ambient temperatures.
We’ve got to disclose that nobody on the NIBBLE staff has digestive problems—that could be a career-ender for a food writer! So we can’t tell you whether, after 14 days, we saw any digestive benefits. But we did enjoy the taste, which is why we’re writing about Attune. With our morning coffee or as a snack during the day, Attune wellness bars were guilt-free nibbling compared to the normal list of temptations. (The chocolate bar has 100 calories, 60 from fat; the granola bars, 170 calories, 70 from fat—and all those probiotics.)
But for those who do want to see improved wellness, the company recommends a 14-day initial trial for digestive benefits, and, for optimal immunity benefits, a daily Attune bar for at least four weeks. The manufacturer underscores that each person has a unique digestive bacterial community, so the particular probiotic cultures in Attune bars may not be equally effective for everyone. But if you find “a feeling of vitality and overall health and wellness”—and a happier tummy—after two or four weeks, you’ll be very happily Attuned.
What Are Probiotics
Probiotics are live microorganisms—beneficial bacteria—that, when consumed in sufficient quantities, have been proven to provide health benefits beyond what basic nutrition provides. Probiotic is Latin for “good for life.” We all have naturally-occurring probiotic bacteria communities in our digestive systems, where they help to keep the digestive system functioning well. They:
- Protect the body from harmful bacteria
- Exercise the immune system, to ensure it is ready to react to harmful bacteria
- Strengthen the intestinal wall, so it can act as a defensive barrier
- Digest fiber in our diet, so we can absorb the nutrients from the foods we eat
For people who have digestive problems, adding more probiotic bacteria, by consuming live cultures, has been shown to have beneficial effects. There are different strains of live cultures (a.k.a. live active cultures). While numerous products are labeled as having “live cultures,” not all live cultures are probiotic. They must be able to reach the intestine alive, and in sufficient quantities, to have a beneficial (probiotic) effect. There are no known side effects of probiotics. When consumed, they gradually become part of the healthy bacteria that normally live in the digestive system. |
 Imagine: millions of beneficial bacteria living in a chocolate bar. Eating chocolate every day now truly is good for you! |
The company notes that some people may notice minor intestinal discomfort for the first few days when adding Attune wellness bars to their diet, a normal result of the rebalancing in the intestinal environment, that should subside in a few days. We (who have no digestive problems in the first place) ate all eight flavors in three days, tasting them for this article, with no ill effects.
Read more about probiotics in our dedicated article on the topic.
Attune Wellness Bar Flavors
The all-natural line includes chocolate bars and granola bars, and you can eat either bar once a day and get the same probiotic benefit. Both actually taste like regular chocolate and granola bar products, so it won’t require arm-twisting to get family members to take their “daily dose.” The trouble may be confining them to just one (there’s no harm in eating more).
Chocolate Probiotic Wellness Bars We’ve been sent many samples of chocolate that claim to be “health chocolate,” touting the antioxidant value, beauty effects and more. Forget them—it will be a long time before research tells us how many antioxidants we need each day (you’ll notice that all those packages that proclaim “high in antioxidants” don’t have any antioxidant information on the back label). If you’re looking for healthy chocolate, this is the real deal. The chocolate is as satisfying as anything picked up at the newsstand, and you have the satisfaction of eating a piece of chocolate in the name of health! The bars are gluten-free and, except for the Blueberry Vanilla, are vegan. The slender bars (70g) have from 80 to 100 calories, 40 to 50 from fat. They also deliver 1 to 2 grams of protein, 2 grams of dietary fiber and 25% to 30% RDA of calcium.
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 These chocolate bars are good for you. They may look (and taste) like chocolate temptation, but millions of probiotic bacteria are helping the digestive and immune systems. The bars are scored so they can easily be broken in half for a nibble now, and another later, as shown above. |
As you can imagine, there are no wrong choices, although the crisps in the Chocolate Crisp are large and “get in the way” of the chocolate. Otherwise stated, we got more chocolate flavor from the Dark Chocolate and Mint Chocolate.
Granola Probiotic Wellness Bars
 Probiotics never looked so crunchy as in Attune’s granola bars. |
If you’d rather have a crunchy, chewy granola bar, Attune wellness bars blend whole grains and nuts into a granola top, with a creamy, yogurt-flavored base. Both layers are studded with pieces of dried fruit. These bars contain a small amount of dairy, but lactose-intolerant people have not reported any ill effects. (If you are in this group, you’ll need to test them.) In addition to probiotics, the bars deliver 5 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber and 20% RDA of calcium. There are 170 calories per bar, 70 from fat. These are tasty granola bars—flavorful yet healthy, not dripping with sweetness (brown rice syrup is used as a sweetener, and the yogurt layer adds a nice tang). The yummy flavors include:
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Regulating your digestive system has never been such a treat. A chocolate bar (or granola bar) a day may, in fact, keep the doctor away.
ATTUNE WELLNESS BARS
Purchase online* at: *Prices and product availability are verified at publication but are subject to change. Shipping is additional. These items are offered by a third party and THE NIBBLE has no relationship with them. This link to purchase is provided as a reader convenience. |
 Buy Attune wellness bars in convenient seven-day packs: a bar a day. |
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