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Doctor Will Bar Case
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Doctor Will Bar Case

Dr. Will Harden is a chiropractic physician in Portland, OR.  Over the past few years, he has been on a quest to create a better, more nutritious, more effective, delicious energy bar.  His hard work has paid off in the form of the Doctor Will Bar.  It’s small, calorie dense, and has all the right stuff for the boost you want on that long ride.

Head on past the break for the full story, including ingredients and nutritional information.

Doctor Will Bar Individual Bar

The Doctor Will Bar is made from a mix of fruits and nuts.  It includes healthy fats and sugars, and has the ability to provide short term energy, as well as a sustained, crash free energy for those epic rides.  The bar is able to do this without spiking your blood sugar.

The other nice thing about the bar is that it’s small.  I don’t have a Cliff Bar handy for comparison shots, but trust me, this thing is a fair bit smaller in size.  While it is smaller, it is still calorie dense.  A Cliff Bar has 240 calories on average.  The Dr. Will Bar has 230.  The Cliff Bar is 68 grams.  The Dr. Will Bar is 50 grams.  Thus, you get what you need in a smaller, easier to manage package.  I don’t know about you, but the less bulk I have to take with me on my ride the better.

Doctor Will Bar Unwrapped

Now, how about taste?  In one word, “Yum!”  These things taste good.  Peanut butter is the first ingredient, and as you might guess, it sets the tone for the bar.  The seeds and puffed rice add a bit of crunch, and the cranberries and cherries give it a nice depth of flavor.  The bar is not dry, and it’s easy to eat while on the bike.  I tend to drink a lot while riding, but I don’t feel like I have to take a drink after ever bite, and I like that.  If this flavor doesn’t do it for you, more are in the works.  Chocolate chip and lite coffee are planned.

There always seems to be an ongoing debate when it comes to nutrition and what kinds of fats, sweeteners, and other ingredients are good or bad for you.  For Dr. Will’s take on this, visit the website and read the F.A.Q. section, as well as the news section.

Having a girlfriend that is allergic to wheat, I asked if the bar is gluten free.  I was told that the oats are the limiting factor and that they are working on sourcing official gluten free oats.  However, the baker used to make these, also makes other products.  Therefore, the bars are made on machinery that could contain trace amounts of egg, milk, soy, and wheat.

Pricing is set at $1.50 per bar.  You can order them direct from the website for $36 per case of 24 bars.  If you are interested in selling them in your retail shop, feel free to drop the doctor a line here.

The full list of ingredients includes:

Peanut Butter, Flax Seed, Oats, Corn Syrup, Pumpkin Seed, Brown Sugar, Cranberries, Cherries, Sunflower Seeds, Almonds, Puffed Rice, Whey Protein, Coconut

Dr. Will Bar nutritional-facts

 

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professed
professed
12 years ago

ok, so 230 calories in a 50 gram bar.
that’s easy as 110 of those are from fat.

nothing wrong with fat but if you are riding and more so racing it is pointless eating fat as firstly most of us have enough stored on us, its no use for anerobic energy cycles and what you need is pyruvate to run your aerobic cycle to burn fat. Pyruvate? yes, you get it from carbs.

Dr Will obviously doesnt race or knows very little about sport nutrition.

biochemist
biochemist
12 years ago

Actually in anaerobic conditions pyruvate converts to lactic acid which leads to muscle soreness. It is also a key metabolite for linking several metabolic processes together. When there is excess pyruvate it can be converted into fatty acids but through a bit of a process that involves it being turned into acetyl coenzyme A. From there these fatty acids may either go into the blood stream (if they are short chain) or into storage (long chain).

Carbs give you the most ATP (energy) for the bang and this will happen via the Kreb’s cycle if there is enough glucose available. This is also a much faster and direct metabolic pathway. So for anything under 2 hrs your body will react best to increased glucose levels hence the gels. Anything that’s more endurance based will need a variety of nutritional components to it as your body fights to maintain homeostasis. If you just pump glucose into your body, your body will naturally start focusing on clearing it to appropriate levels but begin neglecting other essential metabolic pathways as well and your body will suffer.

Hammer provides a great synopsis of athletic nutrition on their website. Its an important read if you are concerned about nutrition.

Tommy Rodgers
Tommy Rodgers
12 years ago

So what makes a Chiropractor a good candidate to design a nutrition bar? Do they even take 1 class in biochemistry in school?

Using a Chiropractor’s credentials (not to be confused with MD, though both can use the title “Dr.”) to legitimize nutritional expertize is a bit like claiming one can give legal advice as a licensed Engineer.

And yes, I’m a Registered Dietitian, and qualified to judge this 🙂

Dr. Will Bar
12 years ago

@Professed, Nutrition is a complex subject in modern sports. The philosophy of the bar is to provide a building block to sustain your endurance activity. Gels and Drinks should be consumed in conjunction with a bar like ours to provide a complete nutritional profile and for intense efforts within an endurance activity. Aside from Will the company is made up mostly of higher category (1 & 2) racers.

@BioChemist, Thank you for the thoughtful comment. You bring up a lot of valid points and issues that came up in our research and production of the bar. We went with a Glucose Syrup (corn derived) specifically for the reasons you are mentioning. We also bring a balance to the bar for sustained endurance with the fruit and nuts given the extra nutrients and variety of calories they provide.

@Tommy, The bar is founded by a chiropractor and cyclist. Obviously, RDs were consulted and worked with closely in the development of that bar. Multiple nutritional profiles were tested and re-tested. If you will, Dr. Will is a Licensed Engineer in a legal situation with a lawyer sitting by his side.

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