# pop-tarts vs cliff bars



## go do it (Sep 12, 2007)

pop-tarts

cliff bars

I was surprised by how similar these are. Pop-tarts are probably cheaper also. Granted the Cliff Bars have a lot more vitamins and minerals but wouldn't your ride be over before you receive any of their benefits?

Yes I know that the Cliff Bars have better ingredients and all but Pop-Tarts look like good bike food.


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

so you're into corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup? okay then. have at it.


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## crit_boy (Aug 6, 2013)

go do it said:


> I was surprised by how similar these are. Pop-tarts are probably cheaper also. Granted the Cliff Bars have a lot more vitamins and minerals but wouldn't your ride be over before you receive any of their benefits?
> 
> Yes I know that the Cliff Bars have better ingredients and all but Pop-Tarts look like good bike food.


Your definition of "similar" is quite large. Similar in that they both have carbs, fat, protein, and are sold in packages. 

I have no issues with HFCS, but I wouldn't kid myself into thinking pop tarts and cliff bars are equivalent. 

I (meaning my wife) make my own cliff bar type things. They are very close to actual cliff bar taste and only cost a couple dollars a dozen.


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## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

MMsRepBike said:


> so you're into corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup? okay then. have at it.


Bah, bike enough and it doesn't matter.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Nutrition and energy aside pop tarts would be a pain to deal with on the bike.


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## sdeeer (Aug 12, 2008)

The merits of pop tarts vs cliff bars depends on when you are using them and what you are using them for.....

And yes, the vitamins / minerals are not needed during your exercise bout. But you shouldn't really be using Cliff Bars as "nutrition" (ideally) other than during the exercise time (just before, during, right after). They are not a snack, unless you like paying about $1 for hype. 

As one person mentioned, the cliff bar is convenient as it is just sticky enough and easy to work with while riding. I like bananas myself during training, but have lost a chunk in higher speed/intensity moments more than once. So the crumble factor is an issue.

Cliff gets all high and mighty about organic and no HFCS.....But for no scientific reason. During exercise, a mix of glucose and fructose is actually better than glucose or fructose alone. And in some soon to be submitted data (shown below) the HFCS is similar in performance outcomes to other calorie matched supplements on high intensity endurance performance [20k TT after 45 minutes of fatiguing cycling]. {but I wouldn't recommend eating just the HFCS as a "raw" supplement as it tastes like sheet}. These data agree with other currently published studies. 

Finally, I don't think Cliff Bars are the best choice for high intensity exercise as they have a bit more fat and protein than what you would want for the "go fast" metabolically.

BUT...they are great for the long rides and quite tasty. Key point is to use the best product (or home-made equivalent) that matches the goal (speed / intensity / duration) with taste and convenience and budget concerns.

Food is cheap and convenient enough for most applications for my needs. I typically only use products to practice using the product prior to racing with it (key thing to do so you know how you respond with it) and then during races when the convenience or dosing strategy is required.


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## go do it (Sep 12, 2007)

MMsRepBike said:


> so you're into corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup? okay then. have at it.


 I am no chemist but when you get down to the molecules sugar is sugar is sugar. I eat real food on rides and have been for a long time. I was just making an observation; and if the differences between Pop-Tarts and Cliff Bars could be isolated by someone less lazy than I am I would imagine they are relatively small.

And what additional benefits that are received from supposedly the better product, Cliff Bars according to the advertisement hype, may not give you a very good return on your investment.


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## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

spade2you said:


> Bah, bike enough and it doesn't matter.


Not true. HFCS will spike your blood sugar. Doing this has been linked to health problems. Just biking it off won't fix it.


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## jspharmd (May 24, 2006)

sdeeer said:


> The merits of pop tarts vs cliff bars depends on when you are using them and what you are using them for.....
> 
> And yes, the vitamins / minerals are not needed during your exercise bout. But you shouldn't really be using Cliff Bars as "nutrition" (ideally) other than during the exercise time (just before, during, right after). They are not a snack, unless you like paying about $1 for hype.
> 
> ...


Am I reading your data correctly? Is 5-hour (assuming 5-hour Energy) the supplement with the shortest TT time? Are these data means +/- SD or SE? Are they statistically significant? Interesting.


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## Rich Gibson (Jul 26, 2013)

I'm no nutritionist but I have to disagree with the TV commercials stating HFCS is identical to sugar and not a problem. My understanding is that HFCS is not identicl to sugar. 

Just this morning there was a feature story in the Washington Post about chronic diarrhea. The patient suffered for years and the tests yielded no solution till one of the doctors identified a bacterial imbalance which was related to the use of HFCS. Some medication and avoiding HFCS has solved her problem. A close friend of mine is undergoing a similar problem and has lived with it for years. A recent (and unpleasant) colonoscopy also failed to identify the problem. I am bugging him to pester the doctor and to take this article with him.

Rich


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

deviousalex said:


> Not true. HFCS will spike your blood sugar. Doing this has been linked to health problems. Just biking it off won't fix it.


Sucrose will spike your blood sugar. Glucose will spike your blood sugar. Maltodextrin will spike your blood sugar. An orange will spike your blood sugar. Recognize that fructose is the most common natural sweetener in fruit. And while you are exercising, your response to high glycemic index foods is not the same as when you take a glucose tolerance test.


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## Jwiffle (Mar 18, 2005)

go do it said:


> I am no chemist but when you get down to the molecules sugar is sugar is sugar. I eat real food on rides and have been for a long time. I was just making an observation; and if the differences between Pop-Tarts and Cliff Bars could be isolated by someone less lazy than I am I would imagine they are relatively small.
> 
> And what additional benefits that are received from supposedly the better product, Cliff Bars according to the advertisement hype, may not give you a very good return on your investment.


I like pop tarts as much as anyone, but I would hesitate to call them real food. That said, if pop tarts wouldn't crumble to bits, I'd consider taking them on rides


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## jbinbi (Jan 7, 2013)

Mmmm. Pop tarts.

The cinnamon frosted ones are good for you, right? I mean, how can cinnamon be bad for you.


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## go do it (Sep 12, 2007)

I like how my curious and simple comparison has been expanded into an actual discussion, this is fun. I don't consider Pop-Tarts real food either and I haven't eaten one since I was a kid. They are just a bunch of flavored chemicals in my opinion. And if you get technical so is real food but you know what I mean.

My new favorite bike food is a peanut butter and fruit preserve sandwich on a hearty and nutty whole wheat bread with Nutella spread on first. I call it the "Trifecta" because it beats the field.

This thread has further solidified my commitment to real food on the bike. But those shots and gels and bars etc. sure are compact and convenient aren't they?


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

I take bananas for food and I make my own gel. I use the little hammer gel bottles and they hold about 800-1000 calories worth of homemade gel. That's more than enough even for the longest of rides and rather convenient.

I think it's nice to control what chemicals are going in. I prefer not to buy/consume anything portion packaged for consumption.


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

You can get organic whole wheat certfied non GMO kosher made with only real ingredients pop tarts. The one I picked at random is fairly comparable, nutrition wise, with a clif bar. The main difference being 3g protein vs 10g for the clif bar I picked at random. For long rides some protein is useful.

Pop tarts are kind of dry and could be difficult to get down while riding. However on one double century the organizers had (regular not organic etc) pop tarts at the 160 mile stop. I don't normally eat them but I ate one and it was good. 

I make most of my ride food, prefering solid real food even for long (6+ hour) rides and races. On those the bars can get really hard to eat after a while because they are so sweet. But I keep some Clif and Lara bars around for when I am out of home made stuff.


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## go do it (Sep 12, 2007)

Mr. MMsRepBike do you have a recipe for your homemade gel?


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

go do it said:


> Mr. MMsRepBike do you have a recipe for your homemade gel?


I'll tell you the ingredients:
organic brown rice syrup, grade a vermont maple syrup, organic agave nectar, local honey, black strap mollasses and organic vanilla extract


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

FWIW: Agave nectar can be nearly 100% fructose, if that concerns you.


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## tlg (May 11, 2011)

MMsRepBike said:


> so you're into corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup?  okay then. have at it.





MMsRepBike said:


> I'll tell you the ingredients:
> organic brown rice syrup, grade a vermont maple syrup, *organic agave nectar*, local honey, black strap mollasses and organic vanilla extract


lol You're into agave nectar?

In most instances agave nectar is the same or worse than HFCS. Even organic. 
It's a processed sugar and it's processed just like HFCS.

Are you against organic corn syrup.. but ok with organic agave syrup?


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

tlg said:


> lol You're into agave nectar?
> 
> In most instances agave nectar is the same or worse than HFCS. Even organic.
> It's a processed sugar and it's processed just like HFCS.
> ...


correct. I'm against anything processed from GMO corn. My body doesn't like it. There's nothing wrong with fructose, it's GMO corn products I have a problem with.

My diet is mainly fruit, so there's no way I can have a problem with fructose.


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## phoehn9111 (May 11, 2005)

GMO is a red herring. Genetic Modification perse does not change cell
structures into some malevolent cancer-producing pandora. Broscience.
The only possible connection is that GMO crops may have a higher likelyhood
of being in high productivity agricultural settings with more use of pesticides.
But even that hasn't been conclusively proven to affect health.
And the HCFS leaky gut argument is farcical nonsense.


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## evs (Feb 18, 2004)

This is my chocolate coffee gel recipe but all that malt is made from corn syrup

*Chocolate Coffee Gel*
*The ingredients*


2 cups of maltodextrin
1 cup of strong coffee
1 cup of cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vodka
3 dash of sea salt
3 teaspoon Certo liquid pectin
3/8 teaspoon citric acid (lemon juice)
*The method*
Add 1 cup of strong coffee to a pot and bring to a simmer. Dissolve 1 cup of cocoa powder slowly in to the pot. Dissolve the maltodextrin into the hot pot. Then add the pectin, citric acid and mix well. Allow to cool in the fridge.
*The result*
Great chocolate flavored gel
*Energy Provided*
The maltodextrin provided 75 calories per serving. 
One 5 serving gel flask = 375 clories


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## Fireform (Dec 15, 2005)

evs said:


> This is my chocolate coffee gel recipe but all that malt is made from corn syrup
> 
> *Chocolate Coffee Gel*
> *The ingredients*
> ...


Looks good, but the proportions are all wrong.


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## deviousalex (Aug 18, 2010)

evs said:


> This is my chocolate coffee gel recipe but all that malt is made from corn syrup
> 
> *Chocolate Coffee Gel*
> *The ingredients*
> ...


Vodka....?


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## evs (Feb 18, 2004)

oops, my bad, it should have been a shot, to drink while stirring in the malt.....lol

It is a stabilizing agent and removes any lasting bitterness.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

phoehn9111 said:


> GMO is a red herring. ....


I was gonna say: Every time a food plant or animal reproduces sexually, you get a hodgepodge mixture of genes, mutations, viral and bacterial gene insertions, and methylation. Not infrequently, the result is so dysfunctional it doesn't survive. If it does survive, we eat it. At least with GMO, the genetic changes are known, well understood and undergo extensive testing before we eat it.


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## jajichan (Jul 9, 2014)

I use them both on long rides. Clif bar in first two hours. 1 poptart an hour for the next two hours. 

Delicious.


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