Fiber One Chewy Bars – Oats and Chocolate is the first product I am officially placing in the FitnessMantra Product Review category. Although I have spoken about other products earlier, this is the first one I am officially reviewing.
Disclosure: I was sent one (1) box of five (5) bars to try and then present a product review on FitnessMantra. You can be assured that my reviews will always be unbiased, irrespective of whether I purchase the product or receive it to review.
Product: Fiber One Chewy Bars – Oats and Chocolate
Manufacturer: General Mills
Presentation: Single-serving bars, individually wrapped and labeled with Nutrition Facts and Ingredients
Serving Size: 1 bar (40g)
Allergy information: Contains Soy, Milk, Almond, Peanut, Sunflower and Wheat ingredients
Nutrition Information: Here is the nutrition label information for Fiber One Chewy Bars – Oats and Chocolate scanned directly from the box (this is FitnessMantra; you had to know this was coming!):
Positives:
- Visually, the bars are very appealing: they are cream in color with little chocolate pieces and make an appealing visual stimulation (even a wavy chocolate line across the bar for effect!)
- Calorie-wise the bar is perfect for a snack (it has 140 calories with 35 calories (less than 1/3 of total – the ideal number) from fat)
- As far as taste goes, you might not even realise it before the bar is gone (chocolate has that effect on people!). The bars are soft, chewy (yet not all that sticky although it is winter now and you might not want to leave these in your car during summer!) and great on the taste buds.
- Although the primary source of fiber is chicory root extract (chicory is a plant more famous for the use of its leaves as a flavoring agent for coffee) and you might expect a bland taste, the other ingredients mask this taste and make it enjoyable to eat.
- Of course the biggest selling point of the bar: fiber, fiber, fiber! Now a single bar has 9g of fiber which accounts for about 35% of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of fiber of 25g. But you must realize that this comes at a cost of some pretty unhealthy ingredients which brings me to the …
Negatives:
- You already know I am a stickler for the ethical labeling of products especially Products that are labeled “Natural” so when I saw “Naturally Flavored” in bold across the top of the packaging you know where my eyes traveled to next: the ingredients list. And sure enough there were all the usual suspects: “confectioner’s shellac” listed as the second ingredient (meaning it is the second largest component by weight) contains hydrogenated coconut oil (and if not specified, this usually indicates “partial hydrogenation” – fully hydrogenated oils are usually labeled as “fully hydrogenated”). As always do not be fooled by 0g trans fat: manufacturers need not list trans fat quantities that are less than 0.5g.
- In the same vein as #1 above, note the two ingredients High Fructose Corn Syrup and its close cousin High Maltose Corn Syrup. These are about as natural as centrifuged, enzymatically-sweetened, genetically-modified corn can get! You know the truth: HFCS cannot truly be considered a natural product although some recent research suggests the body metabolizes High Fructose Corn Syrup similarly to sugar.
- With 10g of sugar this is not the best source of fiber for those with diabetic conditions. They are probably better off with the cereal version of this bar or other varieties like All Bran.
Alternatives:
What could you have instead of “Fiber One Chewy Bars – Oats and Chocolate” and still get your fill of fiber? Why, a whole-grain sandwich would do just great! Infact dab a little peanut butter and throw in some blue-berries (my all-time favorite breakfast right there) and you have yourself a nice combination of whole grains, fiber, protein and antioxidants. Granted it’s not as easy to put in your purse as the chewy bars but at least you know it’s good for you without potentially harmful ingredients.
Conclusion:
While they satisfy the primary selling point of being high in fiber and in fact do so without subjecting one to the usual bland taste that fiber-rich products are famous for, Fiber One Chewy Bars – Oats and Chocolate cannot be unconditionally recommended unless General Mills makes a few changes to the ingredients (lopping off the hydrogenated oils and artificial sweeteners would be a good start – after which the “Naturally Flavored” label will actually be truthful). When McDonalds and Wendys can agree to be trans fat free, I wonder what’s taking a company like General Mills, which strives to be associated with healthy eating, so long.
Eat the bars as a rare treat but don’t you, for even one minute, believe you can justify having these everyday as a “fiber food” – probably “candy bar” is a better term for them. Instead try yogurt topped with flaxseed or the whole grain sandwich – they are both satisfying and give you the fiber you need – naturally!
[tags]health, nutrition, fiber, general mills, Fiber One Chewy Bars – Oats and Chocolate[/tags]
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Have you actually looked at the All Bran Bars you seem to think are better? They also contain partially hydorgenated oil, high fructose corn syrup and actually have more sugar than the Fiber One Bars. You should look at the Fiber One oats & peanut butter bars. They have slightly less sugar, no hydorgenated oil, and are labeled “naturally and artificilly flavored” (so no false advertising).
Hi Lauren,
If you read my post carefully you’ll notice I mentioned “cereal version of All Bran” and not the All Bran bars. All Bran cereal does not contain trans fats but it does contain HFCS (though with total sugar in a serving limited to 6g it is not the worst thing you could eat).
As you have suggested, I will certainly look at the Oats and Peanut Butter variety as well.
Thanks,
-FM.
Wonderful, Fabulous. I’m on weight watchers & this is a great snack! I have recommended them to everyone!!
Hi FM ~
I really enjoyed reading the above review and found it to be very helpful. I didn’t realize that confectioner’s shellac contained hyd oils and I really appreciate your input on the prodcut!
I was wondering how the LA Weightloss Bars compared to these Fiber One bars. I am currently on the LA Weightloss plan and am trying to find an equal if not better alternative to their costly LA Light Bars. If you need the nutritional information and ingredients of the LA Lite Bars I can provide that for you. Thanks!
Hi Amy,
I’ll be happy to evaluate the LA Lite Bars (although it will be based purely on nutrition and ingredient information).
Please send me the details to fitnessmantra at gmail dot com.
-FM.
The Fiber One Bars are delicious!!! I love both varieties. Yes, I realize there are better ways to get your fiber but what you suggest is your value not mine. I am looking for good choices that are convenient and available in my extremely rural area. I am a Weight Watchers Lifetime Member and I too am going to suggest these to all of my WW friends!
I agree, the fiber one bars are delicious, but I also purchased a box of Kashi TLC cherry dark chocolate bars and they are equally as good, in my opinion. Not as sweet tasting, but they do not contain any hydrogenated oils nor HFCS and although they do not provide 9 grams of fiber, they do provide a healthy 4grams, 3 of which are insoluble and 1 which is soluble. I think these bars make a pretty tastey and healthy snack bar all around.
Thanks for the review of the Fiber One bars, I just bought 3 boxes,I was hoping they would make a great meal replacement, but I guess I’ll have to stick to the actual cereal to be healthier.
These bars are delicious much to my surprise but the horrible side effects of having a bloatin good time turned me off of them. Too much fiber for me. I tried them for like a week and I bet I went to the bathroom 3-4 each day. Whew!
I will say, I loved the Oats and Chocolate Bars, I did get lots of gas with it though. I purchased the Oats and Peanuts Bars and had a very bad reaction to them, I had hives and welts all over me and I am not allergic to Peanuts. Don’t know what happend. I was in a very serious situation though. Soo be careful with the oats and peanuts. My reaction started within 10 minutes of eating them. Thank God for Benedryle!
HAve you ever tried the oats & peanut butter? They’re even better! Just love these… & since I’m not a fruit eater, rely on these for my saily fiber intake.
Hi Chris,
Like I have mentioned in the conclusion section of the review above, I would strongly urge you not to rely on these bars alone to satisfy your daily fiber requirement since they are not all-natural as they claim.
Try to get fiber from some natural sources like fresh fruits and flaxseed as well.
Best,
-FM
As someone who normally eats a fair amount of fruits and vegetables, the little amount of “impurities” in these bars doesn’t really concern me. Moderation comes to mind.
On to the real problem with these bars… The gas… lookout folks!
I am on Weight Watchers and someone told us about these bars. I really do like them. But now I CAN NOT find them anywhere!!!
I live by Flint, Michigan if anyone could let me know where they have found them.
Thank you so much for the info! I am struggling with Weight Watchers and have found high fiber items help me, but if they are not convienent I won’t use them. Just not disciplined enough yet. I have been using all of the many Kashi bars and cereals, but getting a little tired of them, this makes an awesome surprise! They taste wonderful and have the satisfying chewy texture when you need that carb fix, but they are only 2-3pts for ww. Fortunately, I have increased my number of steps by my frequent trips to the bathroom due to the increase in flatulence, so start of slow! Don’t eat the whole box!!!
I think the Fiber One “Oats and Chocolate” bars are yummy! There will always be a more healthy alternative…heck we should all grow our own vegetables, process our own grains, and milk our own cows…but for the other 99.9% of Americans who don’t have this luxury, I think this is fairly healthy way to get the fiber that most of us may not get otherwise. And, with some chocolate on top, how can you go wrong! I have recommended these bars to all my family and friends.
I too am on weight watchers and was enjoying these bars until I saw that they contain shellac. Why do they need to put bug shells in our food? There must be an alternative to using that in our food..
I had a horrible reaction to the Oats and Peanut Butter. It was the worst cramping I have ever had in my life. It happened to my husband too. Neither of us have food allergies, so I have no idea why this happened. We ate the bars on different days, so we knew it was definitely the bars. Those things need to have a warning/disclaimer on them!
Response to Ellen….worst cramping in life due to Oats and PB Bars. The cramping more than likely was not a food allergy but from the fiber. If you are not used to a high fiber diet it will cause gas and severe cramping.
Today I ate my first Oats and PB Bar, and the taste and texture were really good. The reason I purchased these bars were because of the high Fiber. I have been having BM problems and was hoping this would help. I’ve also started taking Flaxseeds 3 days ago. I will let you know if I experience any cramping or gas!!!
After eating Fiber One Chewy Bars have terrible stomach ache. Read the ingreadients and found ethanol and shellac. Can these be good for you!!!
Hi Carol,
As I have mentioned, this product is not the best example of one with “natural” ingredients. The fact that the manufacturer is selling this product in the U.S. means the FDA has obviously decided these ingredients are not harmful to you (in the quantities used).
But whether they are actually good for you? Ah, now that is a totally different question and I think you already know the answer!
-FM.
Great tasting bars……..self and girlfriend both cheer their fiber content and they really
do the job with a cup of coffee. A bit of cramping due to increased gas..but worth it,
no need for laxatives. I like especially the
Peanut Butter ones.
Love the Oats and Chocolate bar. These are the only thing I eat that has HFCS in it. Maybe all of us who like them, but would like them to be healthier (No HFCS) should write to General Mills and request that they get rid of HFCS. I’m not worried about the schellac. It’s just bug spit. Kind of like honey. And it coats alot of different candies too. (also termed confectioner’s glaze)
When I first tried them I ate one every day. But yeah, the gas….phew! Now I use it for when I have an urge to eat a candy bar. Much better than a candy bar for you!
When I want an energy/protein bar I eat ones I made at home with barley syrup and honey.
And by the way, shellac is NOT the second ingredient. It’s Chocolate Chips WITH Shellac. So there really isn’t much shellac in the bars since shellac is used to COAT the chocolate chips.
Happy eating!
I can’t find a store that sells Fiber One (oats and chocolate). Where do I go? I would rather have it sweetened by splenda, but I love the taste. Wendy
My wife and I discovered Fiber 1 bars last week while on vacation in Tucson. They are delicious. I prefer the chocoalte. My wife prefers the peanut butter. That is our only difference. From there we had everything incommon. Gas, Gas, and more gas. On the plane yet!
I bought a few boxes when they were on sale and I also had coupons. I actually came across this website because I googled does chicory root extract cause you to have gas. I figured it was the Fiber One bars that were causing the gas from reading these post I think it is confirmed. I do not think I will buy these anymore because I have never experienced gas this bad.
Started eating these for the fiber content and my 26 year old son loves them too, but the gas problem is the biggest detriment to these Oats & Chocolate bars. They are delicious and one can easily eat 2-3 a day, but I recommend only 1 a day. I also thought they were only 1 pt on WW plan…maybe I am wrong???
Kashi TLC bars are also a good snack.
I found these recently in Costco (28 for $10) and decided to try them, even though I noticed they contained palm kernel oil. Anyway, I found eating just 2/day has improved bowel movements without any side effects. They make good snacks while out cycling, though I still mostly rely on Balance Bars for energy, this does provide some variety.
I LOVE THEM, THE CHOCOLATE IS GREAT!
The reason why Fiber One bars give people such terrible gas and cramping is NOT due to the fiber content. It is due to the FAKE sugars – similar to the effects of sugar alchohals which also create nasty side effects, diarrhea, and cramping (which often occurs if one tries to hold in their gas). Unfortionately, most consumers attribute these side effects to the fiber and not to the false advertising of the company.
If anyone has the ingredients of the LA Lite bars I would love to know. Thanks.
Hi Erika,
Amy sent me an image with the nutrition information and ingredients list for the La Lite Caramel Bars and here it is (please click the image to enlarge):
Click To Enlarge
In a quick review of the LA Lite Bars that I did for Amy, I wrote:
I took a look at the contents of the LA Lite Caramel Bars and I am shocked they are selling this for so much. And with 18g of sugar I am still wondering how this product can call itself lite! Palm oil and fructose only add to the bad ingredients list. Look at my review of peanut butter and you’ll see that although there is a little more fat it’s of the unsaturated (good) variety – and peanut butter is filling, nutritious and packed with as much protein as these bars.
Another healthful alternative is cottage cheese. A 4oz serving can pack in as much as 14g of protein depending on the brand and fat percentage and the best part is that there are low-fat varieties that taste quite good like Breakstone’s. another good thing is that the form of protein in cottage cheese is whey which is absorbed very well by the human body.
So I would stop eating the unnaturally flavored LA bars and stick to some natural solutions!
Hope that helps, Erika.
-FM.
I think they are delicious… but they AREN’T worth it… I had TERRIBLE cramping and gas after eating these. I didn’t know what it was and I realized it was the only item that really changed in my diet. So i quit for a while… then I just tried them again and the same thing happened… they can’t be good for you either with some of that stuff in it… Your body just can’t process certain things and therefore stores it in your body. ick… I wish they were good for you… and didn’t cause severe pain.
I can’t believe that it has been the bars all along. I, too, think that they taste great. I was a little concerned about the HFCS and Shellac, but still wanted an easy was to get more fiber. I have had severe gas and bloating…to the point where I don’t want to go to work. I even had a stool test to see if I had parasites or candida. I stopped eating the bars for one week…no gas. I ate one today, and got gas, diarrhea, bloating. Aweful. And now that I stumbled upon this site, I’m sure that it has been the bars all along. Thanks to all who have posted. I might have thought it was just a coincidence. Anyway, for me, the great taste is not worth it!
Thanks for confirmation for what I thought might be true. I was looking for convenient (cheaper) ways to get fiber (like Odwalla). I thought this stuff was too good to be true, and I guess it was. I will just stick with the good old-fashioned pb & j. I use an all-fruit jam and Orowheat Double Fiber. Are there ANY good bars for fiber?
I totally agree with everyone and their gas comments!!! OMG,totally not worth it!!!
WHOA! I purchased 2 boxes of the Firber One Oats and Peanut butter and have experienced CRAZY side effects of BLOATING, CRAMPING, GAS!!!!
I find this VERY UNUSUAL because I have eaten loads of the Fiber-One Cereal which is much higher in fiber content.
Could this be a reaction caused by the mix of ingredients?
I thought it was a fluke and had 2 bars yesterday. I felt like I was going to explode and had SEVERE gas for about 8 hours.
BE CAREFUL!
Has anyone sent a memo to General Mills (manufacturor)?
It is not the fiber! It’s the Ethanol. The comment from Julie above is spot on: “The reason why Fiber One bars give people such terrible gas and cramping is NOT due to the fiber content. It is due to the FAKE sugars – similar to the effects of sugar alchohals which also create nasty side effects, diarrhea, and cramping (which often occurs if one tries to hold in their gas). Unfortionately, most consumers attribute these side effects to the fiber and not to the false advertising of the company.”
Oh my gosh! I ate some of those bars last weekend and I had gotten absolutely the most terrible gas in years. I thought it was a fluke and maybe it was something else I ate, but after eating a couple of those bars again today, same thing! Horrible constant gas that has been going on for 6 hours now! I’ll never eat another product by General Mills ever again. It pisses me off actually. It ruined my night last weekend. I went out with friends and was having a great time, but had to leave because extreme bloating set in and I was in pain. I had to leave and cut my night short because of that cheap General Mills crap that really isn’t even suppose to be digested by humans. It’s all about profits. They regard you people as nothing more than animals. They’ll feed you crap to make a dollar off of you.
I had the worst stabbing, cramping pains of my life the first time I ate one of these, but then I continued to eat them almost every day and was fine. So then I thought maybe it WASN’T the bars after all. Anyway, I went a few days without one and then had one again and felt like I was going to die (again). So, I’ve decided that since they’re not the healthiest thing on the planet, I don’t want to eat them EVERY day, but if I don’t eat them every day – well, the pain just isn’t worth it. Too bad, because they did taste really good.
I love these bars, but when I went to Stop & Shop this weekend, there was a sign saying that they had been discontinued. Does anyone know if General Mills has stopped making them or if Stop & Shop just won’t carry them any more?
I had terrible cramping & bloating for 3 days from Fiber One CEREAL, followed by severe explosive diarrhea for 2 more days. I’m afraid to even try the bars. In fact I was afraid to eat any cereal or fibrous veggies or fruit for a few days, surviving on potato soup and gatorade. I wonder if anyone else has had that experience from Fiber One cereal. All Bran doesn’t do that to me. I did like the taste of Fiber One cereal, but it’s definately not worth it.
Praise the lord for this site! I just ate a bar about 3 hours ago and have been making EMERGENCY trips to the bathroom for the past 20 minutes. As scary as the intense GI pain was the fact that I had NO idea why it was happening. After considering what I had eaten recently, I thought about the Fiber One bar and Googled Chicory Root Extract, but didn’t find anything that seemed to indicate that it would cause this kind of reaction. It makes sense that it isn’t the fiber, because I regularly supplement my diet with large amounts of fiber via Metamucil, but I’ve never had any reaction like this. YIKES! This product better be removed from the market soon or it will injure someone.
These bars (BOTH kinds, the chocolate and the peanut) caused such severe gas, cramping, and intestinal distress that I thought I wasn’t going to make it. I regularly eat a high fiber diet, so it’s not as if the fiber was a shock to my system…it’s the awful chicory root in this product that caused my pain – buyer/eater BEWARE!!!
On Weight Watchers a bar is only 2 points. So I’ve been eating two in the morning with coffee for breakfast. I have one around 8:30 and another around 10:30 so I’m not hungry before lunch. Only 4 points for half the day is great. But I’ve been wondering about the gas and I’m glad I happened to see this site. Well, back to oatmeal for me. I’ve eaten my last bar.
I haven’t laughed so hard in years! Don’t feel bad though – I’ve got you all beat. I ate an entire box of them (yes, all in one day). I had no problem with 2 in the morning and figured 2 more at lunch and 1 at supper was a bargain for all that fiber and so few calories. At 3:00 that afternoon the devil came to claim my soul. I believe at one point I actually felt my intestines convulse out of my body. I was unable to stand straight – let alone button my pants! My job entails heavy client contact, and uncontrollable flatulence is not an option. I had to make up some lame excuse to leave work early. I think moderation is the key here. If a Fiber 1 bar keeps you out of the snickers mini’s, then fine. Anything more than that – just go have a DQ Blizzard and get it over with!
I’ve experienced some of the same problems and have stopped eating the bars as of this morning. Just wondering though, I just started going to Weight Watchers and am losing at a snail’s pace even though I am staying within my points each day and haven’t added in the extra 35. I was eating one Fiber One bar each day. Could they be slowing down my weight loss? I’ve never experienced such poor weight loss before, but I never ate Fiber One bars prior to the past few weeks. Is there a connection? Thanks.
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