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 By: Clayton South As scientific knowledge continues to advance, dietary supplementation science is becoming increasingly specialized. Currently, many first-generation "general use" dietary supplements are being replaced with functional and specialized, time-specific supplements. Whereas first-generation general-use products like MRP's (Meal Replacement Packages) were designed to meet the athletes "total daily nutrient needs", new second-generation time-specific supplements are designed to meet the varying nutrient needs of athletes at specific times of day. Recently, two companies - Labrada Nutrition and MuscleTech Research and Development - have debuted functional dietary supplements called "cookie bars" designed to meet the athlete's needs during the morning hours of the breakfast period.
 vs.  Labrada Vs. MuscleTech! While the Labrada Nutrition cookie bars were the first to hit the market and have proven extremely popular, the MuscleTech cookie bars are new and relatively unknown.
Product Photos:
  Click To Enlarge. Lean Body "Soft and Moist" Cookie Bars.
  Click To Enlarge. Flavor: Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip.
  Click To Enlarge. Flavor: S'mores.
  Click To Enlarge. Flavor: Oatmeal Apple Cinnamon.
The color scheme on the individual bar wrappers is bright, reflective and attractive. The packaging is sturdy and the bars are well sealed to maintain purity, flavor and freshness. Freshness:
Smell:
Texture:
Taste:
The pleasant flavor of the product was enhanced by the warm, moist texture of the bars, and the real ingredients used throughout each bar - chocolate chips in the case of the Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, graham cracker pieces and marshmallow bits in the case of S'mores, and real apple pieces in the case of Oatmeal Apple Cinnamon.
Initial Product Quality Rating: (9 out of 10 stars)
 
Fat:
Protein:
Protein sources are (as listed on product label):
Carbohydrates:
Comments:
The high protein content of the bar satisfies protein requirements for one meal, and the multiple types of protein used ensures a constant release of muscle building and muscle sparing amino acids. During the morning period when the body is in a state of catabolism, the use of multiple protein sources will end catabolism and promote a positive nitrogen balance. The small amount of simple carbohydrates in the product (13g) will serve as an immediately available energy source, thereby offsetting catabolism and sparing muscle tissue. In addition, these simple carbohydrates will aide in skeletal muscle and liver glycogen replenishment and spare the protein in the product from liver oxidation. Finally, the complex carbohydrates in the product will provide long-term energy and will further replenish muscle and liver glycogen stores while preventing the "spill over" effect that leads to fat storage. Overall, the product is ideal to meet the needs of an athlete during the morning period.
Product Macronutrient Analysis: (9 out of 10 stars)
Comments:
Bar flavoring is excellent without the use of excessive simple sugars, and each bar uses real, high quality, ingredients to live up to its namesake flavor. The Labrada Nutrition LEAN BODY COOKIE BARS are balanced nutrition bars that are ideally suited to meet the nutritive needs of athletes during the morning breakfast period. The balanced macronutrient profile addresses the need to end catabolism and initiate muscle-building anabolism. The high quality ingredients make this bar functional and useful. The ingredients serve to maintain positive nitrogen balance, build muscle, increase energy, and promote feelings of fullness. Product cost is ideal and makes this high-quality product affordable for everyone.
Final Product Rating: (9 out of 10 stars)
Product Photos:
 Click To Enlarge. Meso-Tech Complete "Meal Replacement" Cookie Bar.
  Click To Enlarge. Flavor: Double Chocolate Chip.
  Click To Enlarge. Flavor: Peanut Butter Chip.
Packaging:
The packaging is sturdy and the bars are well sealed to maintain purity, flavor and freshness. Freshness:
Smell:
Texture:
Taste:
These bars used real chocolate and peanut butter chips for flavoring, and these chips were distributed throughout the bars. Although the use of real ingredients contributed to the eating experience and enhanced overall flavor, the real ingredients in the Double Chocolate Chip bar are not enough to make this flavor impressive. These bars are average tasting.
Initial Product Quality Rating: (7 out of 10 stars)
 Product Macronutrient Analysis:
Fat:
Protein:
Carbohydrates:
Comments:
While the simple sugars in each Meso-Tech Complete bar will replenish muscle and liver glycogen stores and will provide the body with immediately available energy, the lack of complex carbohydrates will lead to an eventual energy-crash for the user when simple sugar sources have been used for energy and are exhausted. The medium-range protein content of the bars is standard and average, and makes them suitable for athletes weighing less than 200lbs in body mass. For athletes weighing 200lbs or more, the medium-range protein content of these bars make them an incomplete supplement option to meet nutritive needs during the breakfast period. Heavier athletes have higher nutritive needs throughout the day, and especially during the morning periods, and these athletes typically require more than 25g of protein per meal to initiate anabolism and maintain nitrogen balance. Given the less-than-stellar saturated fat percentage, the medium-range protein values and their sugar count of these bars, they receive an "average" macronutrient analysis rating.
Product Macronutrient Analysis: (7 out of 10 stars)
Comments:
Given that this bar is more expensive overall, has less protein, has carbohydrates from simple sources only and has fats that are twice as expensive as the Labrada product, the additional $1 USD price cost for this product is concerning. The products cost-per-nutrient breakdown is average for a product of this kind.
Product Cost Analysis Rating: (7 out of 10 stars)
The Peanut Butter Chip bar tasted very good and was moist, but the simple sugars made it taste too sweet. The Double Chocolate Chip bar smelled of solvents and smelled artificial, and its texture was dry and bland making it difficult to eat without fluids. Far from tasting like Double Chocolate Chips, this bar had little taste. The macronutrient breakdown of this product is average, and it's my opinion that these bars are suitable for smaller sized athletes that have lower nutrient requirements due to smaller body size. The cost-per-nutrient breakdown of this product is average in a high-priced supplement market, and while protein and carbohydrate costs are line-priced with the Labrada Nutrition product, the Meso-Tech Complete bars are more expensive, have less protein per bar, and have a higher saturated fat percentage than the Labrada Bars. Additionally, less than 75% of the fat sources in the Meso-Tech Complete bars are from unsaturated sources, and while protein is typically the most expensive macronutrient in dietary supplements, the fats in the Meso-Tech Complete bars are twice as expensive per gram than those in the Labrada Nutrition Lean Body Cookie Bar product. Finally, the carbohydrates in the Meso-Tech Complete bars are from simple sugar sources. Given these facts, this product receives an average rating.
Final Product Rating: (7 out of 10 stars)
As you can see from the scorecard, the Labrada Nutrition Lean Body Cookie Bars were superior in every round of this test to the MuscleTech Meso-Tech Complete bars. As a result, the Labrada Nutrition Lean Body Cookie Bars win this segment of Battle Of The Breakfast Bars! That being said, you can be the ultimate victor in this epic battle if you use the information here to make wise buying choices. I hope that this in-depth product comparison and analysis will prove helpful to you, and will provide you with the information that you need to critically think about your supplement options.
Know your choices, know the score, and spend wisely. Good luck!
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