I love to eat and I especially love chocolate candy. I admit it. If I had to choose between a five-course gourmet meal and a Hershey Bar, I'd take both. That's why back in January when I made a "change in my lifestyle" (went on a diet), I had to learn a few things. The diet was simple. Smaller portions, lower carbs, more veggies and fruit and really really watch out for SUGAR — "Good-bye Milky Ways".

That's when I started to read the fine print on the labels of the food I was buying. And that's when I found a whole line of food that is not quite what it seems to be. Call them "Nutrition Bars" or "Energy Food" or "Meal Replacement" or whatever — I call them CANDY BARS. I found them in big chain grocery stores and health food stores, as well as all natural food stores and all organic food stores — well, sugar is natural and it can be grown organically.

So I did a little research by going around the aisles of various stores and gathering some information from the package labels. My frame of reference for this sleuthing: 1 serving of regular old sugar = 1 tsp. = 4 grams = 15 calories.

First I picked up an Oasis - Complete Nutritional Bar for Women. 15 grams of sugar! That's almost 4 teaspoons! Compare that with a package of Reese's Sticks which claims to be a candy bar and has 17 grams of sugar. "I'll take Candy Bars for 2 extra grams, Alex."

The next one that caught my eye was called Balance Bar - Meal Replacement and Weight Loss Bar. That's what it says right on the front of the package. Meal Replacement AND Weight Loss. The Balance Bar (cute name by the way) listed 22 grams of sugar. Jenny Craig's Nutritional Meal Bar showed 24 grams. I can't remember ever eating 6 teaspoons of sugar and calling it a meal. Unless you count when I was a kid and fixed my own bowl of corn flakes. On the other hand, I have eaten a package of M&Ms Peanuts (25g) and called it lunch. (Wouldn't you?)

Granted, I'm only comparing the sugar content. And the size of the bars is slightly different. The nutritional "energy/healthy" bars weighed in at an average of 2.3 ounces while the candy "bad for you" bars were around 1.8 ounces. But all of the packages clearly listed the serving size as one bar or the contents of one package. The average cost for the nutritious "good for you" bars was around $1.49 while the candy "don't eat that junk" bars was about 79 cents.

Then I found one last example. A Centrum Energy - Performance Nutrition Bar. Hey, I'm a performer. This might come in handy at the next concert or something. Plus it's from a company well known for vitamins and they should know what's good for me. 24 grams of sugar! Well, the next time I need a lift before a performance I'm just gonna pop a generic multi-tab and wash it down with a couple of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. At 21 grams of sugar, this seems like about the same thing to me, and I'll save a little bit of money.

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