Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Cliff bars.

The difference is, more cocoa and less sugar.

The 99% cocoa (also known as baker's chocolate) is pretty damn dark.

Someone on a non-ketogenic diet will think this chocolate tastes like crap (bitter and chalky). But when you're not used to sweetness the baker's chocolate is quite good especially with nuts.

Now I added the sweetened chocolate chips because I figured I might need the extra carbs as I was on a backpacking trip on a part of the Pacific Crest Trail (Bucks Lake Wilderness). Don't know if I needed it or not, but I stayed in ketosis the whole time, so the ratio of chocolates was just right.

Baloney. Simple sugars have almost nothing to do with clogging arteries with plaque. Bad cholestrol, LDL, is the leading cause.
The only way sugar can contribute to this is that many consume bad fats, saturated fats, with sugars in the form of snacks like candy bars.
I've found a combination of Cliff Bars and Nature Valley's Fruit and Nut Bars to work quite well as an easy snack or even a light meal while on the trail. You can argue that both have too much sugar in them, but at least the sugar in the Fruit and Nut Bars comes from High Maltose Corn Surup which does not give one the insulin spike that other sugars do. E

I like Cliff bars but as others have said, they suck when it's cold. I mainly carry Lara bars anymore.

Once again you're behind the curve. When you say "LDL" you need to realize that it's a general term and there are different kinds of LDL, some of which are harmless in terms of forming plaque in the arteries.

LDL/HDL ratio was used to determine risk of a heart attack years ago, but it's not anymore since "LDL" is such an imprecise term and you need to know the individual components that make up LDL to make any conclusions.

These days many use the HDL/Triglyceride ratio as a more reliable indicator of risk. The higher the triglycerides, the higher the risk and consuming a lot of sugar will in fact elevate your triglycerides.

As a matter of fact, sugar is the cause of plaque buildup. It damages the surfaces of the arteries and the body's defense is to coat the damaged area with cholesterol to protect the damaged areas. The liver will regulate the cholesterol by itself but we must cut way back on sugar to let it do the job.
You can cut LDL to nothing and you won't get rid of it. The body needs a certain amount and what you don't eat, the liver will produce.

You are correct that the HDL to LDL ratio is considered a reliable indicator of such things. But consumption of sugars have nothing to do with it. An entirely different food group. E

I don't recall you giving me that luxury!

No way. Artery walls are damaged mainly by stress, and poor diets. E

You are incorrect, I said nothing of the kind.

High sugar intake is a poor diet.

Buy Power Bars instead! They taste better!

Proven causes of clogged arteries:

Diabetes, high BP, smoking, high alcohol use, high cholesterol and high fat diet, lack of exercise and corresponding overweight.

Addition: Aging

Might be interesting to learn and something to heed if you weren't some internet yokel.

Posting sources would be helpful.

Regular Clif Bars are good stuff. They have a variety of good flavors...I like em' all...I especially like the Coconut Chocalate Chip. They are filling, they taste good, they pack very well, and they have a good mix of carbs, protein, and fat. They provide calories for quick energy, and they provide calories for sustained energy. I climb a lot, and I hike a lot...and Clif Bars are a mainstay for me. I also use the Clif Builder Bars when I need some more protein after strenuous physical exertion...to help repair and rebuild muscle tissue.

Well�.

References you want? Really don't have any in that those comments are part of the accumulated knowledge I've acquired over 40+ years of being a pharmacist. The majority of which has been in a major hospital setting.

Combine it with continuing education classes, case studies, having physician acquaintances I shoot and hunt with and the discussions we have had. I'm more than a little interested in the subject due to the incidence of heart problems in the family. Therefore, I picked their considerably knowledgable brains for whatever info that may be of benefit.

Heed it if you want, I don't really give a [bleep].

Okay.

But don't take what I said too personal, it applies to both sides of the party.

I guess that's about what I had elsewhere but getting more ideas isn't always a bad idea. I make a few backpacking trips thru the summer months so I doubt that I could ever eat enough of them to do me any serious damage. After being opened up three times for cancer I decided that not only did I not like sugary stuff but almost hate sugar. I never add it to anything and try to choose food that do not contain a lot but we just can not completely stay away from it. Like in many other things, moderation is the key.

O, I think the peach one is my favorite so far but I haven't tried them all. One with two cups of coffee this morning was breakfast.

Thanks to ya'll for your opinions and ideas.

Aging. That's the hard one. If I last that long and probably will, I will turn eighty in November. I'm in great shape for an old goat but it sure would be nice if we could reverse that process.

Google: National Institute of Health. At the search all location, type in "Coronary Artery Disease". Read on: