Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen posted this fascinating article, “Sugar vs. Artificial Sweeteners: Which Is Healthier and Safer?” on the RealAge YOU Docs Daily blog. The two popular doctors coauthored the best-selling YOU books. If you are eating foods with artificial sweeteners, they can have a negative impact on your health and may actually cause you to gain weight, not lose weight!

“In fact, sweeteners have been studied far more than most drugs (there’ve been at least 100 studies on sucralose/Splenda alone). The problem is that they subtly mess with how you react to food.

• Sometimes it’s a mind game. For instance, diet sodas can cloud common sense, making you think your no-cal drink “cancels out” the fat calories in burgers and fries.

• Sometimes they make you eat more, not less. Because no-cal sweeteners essentially don’t register in your brain’s satiety center, instead of satisfying a sweet craving they can send you hunting for something else . . . and then something else. They also train your taste buds to go PING only when they detect intense sweetness.

• Sometimes there’s something going on no one even understands yet. Recent Texas research has linked drinking diet soda to bigger waists — 70% bigger than in people who didn’t touch the stuff. “Huh?” That’s what we said. More to come on this. But Dr. Mike, who used to drink a daily diet cola (or six), is glad he gave ‘em all up over a year ago.”

There’s also evidence that fake sugars and diet sodas don’t help you lose weight, and up your risk of metabolic syndrome, which precedes diabetes, heart disease, and more. So it’s hard to be enthusiastic about them.”

We received so many great reviews of NuGO Slim almost sugar-free high protein bars, but this new review from Mary at Fervent Foodie is one of our favorites.

“What’s ASTOUNDING about these bars is the taste. Apparently the folks at NuGo concocted some sort of magic spell that makes 2 grams of sugar sufficient without the need for fake sugars or sugar alcohols. 

Let me repeat. These bars taste GREAT and they only have 2g of sugar. Real sugar, not the fake crap. My world has been rocked.“

The magic spell she is referring to is Real dark chocolate and chicory root. We discovered this revolutionary potion, which allows us to make a delicious low sugar protein bar without artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols. Fervent Foodie describes the bad aftertaste and gastric problems associated with sugar alcohols.

“Every low sugar bar I’ve tried to date has come up short. Quest Bars, Think Thin Bars, Atkins Bars… all absolutely horrible in my opinion. The most common failures for these low sugar bars are the texture and that horrible taste fake sugars give things. Blegh! I hate that… just thinking about it makes my teeth hurt! Not to mention that the sugar alcohols always seem to upset my stomach and make me regret eating the low sugar bar in the first place.“

Mary wrote that she has searched for years to find a tasty low sugar bar since she is hypoglycemic. We are delighted that Mary has finally found her magic treasure!

Here is an adorable photo of kids who created their own NuGo bars. The photo was taken at a summer camp at the California University of Pennsylvania. The children learned about chocolate, ate NuGo bars for snack, and then created their own NuGo bars using a coloring sheet. Look at their colorful creations!

We are so excited to hear that Joy Bauer loves NuGO Slim protein bars and recommended them to her fans. Joy is the Today Show nutrition and health expert. She is also the author of Food Cures and Your Inner Skinny. Today, Joy Bauer posted this review of NuGO Slim on her Facebook page.

“Healthy Food Find! NuGo “Slim” nutrition bars. My “tasters” and I liked all 3 flavors (Brownie Crunch, Roasted Peanut, Raspberry Truffle) but Brownie Crunch was my favorite by far—it has a nice dark chocolate flavor. The bars clock in at 170-190 cals, 21-23g carbs, 9-10g fiber, 2g sugar, and 15g protein. As you can see, they have a nice amount of protein, plus they’re very low in sugar and have no artificial sweeteners or sugar alcohols.“

After watching Joy on the Today Show, we knew she would appreciate that NuGO Slim is the first almost sugar-free protein bar without maltitol or artificial sweeteners and has the health benefits of REAL dark chocolate. Thank you Joy for sharing your NuGo joy!

We love reading and sharing great reviews of NuGo REAL Dark Chocolate protein bars. Here is a sampling of some recent reviews of NuGo Dark, NuGO FREE, NuGO Organic, and NuGO Slim. The first two reviews are from bloggers who found very creative and funny ways to declare their love for NuGo.

Funny Reviews:

Chocolate Covered Diamonds

“Thanks to NuGo I have taken one small step away from processed foods and one giant step towards leading a healthy lifestyle. I leave you with this…

We started out as friends, but quickly became lovers

A naturally protein-packed bar with a physique like no other

You leave me wanting more after about a quarter to four

I indulge willingly because you’re never a bore

A moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips

Doesn’t apply here because you are perfect bliss!

The Rolls Royce of Chocolate”

Beauty and Balance by Baynes

“I’m in love… …with a protein bar. 

Yeah, I said it. I think I’ve found true love in a cute little chocolate, crispy protein bar. Why, you ask? What hath made my adoration so sweet? Here’s the top five reasons the NuGo Free Protein Bar is my new favorite hobby:”

NuGo Dark:

KosherEye Product Pick of the Week

“NuGo is one of our favorite finds from the summer Fancy Food Show. In addition to their nutritional benefits, the bars taste delicious and are made with real dark chocolate. NuGo offers a large variety of kosher nutrition bars in numerous flavors and with various benefits, but we especially like the dark chocolate line because they are OU parve (dairy–free).”

Healthy, Happy, Whole

“The Dark Chocolate Pretzel is literally like heaven in a wrapper. In fact, any flavor I have tried has been fabulous”

NuGO FREE:

Gluten-Free Mike

“It was an interesting mix of rice protein crisps, brown rice, cranberries, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and walnuts. As if that was not enough throw in a coating of rich dark chocolate and you have granola bar kismet. The bar is just sweet enough to satiate your sweet tooth without being too sugary and the seeds and nuts are the perfect contrast to the chocolate coating.”

NuGO Organic:

Mama on a Green Mission

“The NuGo Organic Bars are not only organic, but they are Vegan. They are the only protein bars made with REAL dark chocolate instead of chocolate flavored vegetable fat that can raise your bad cholesterol (LDL). The REAL dark chocolate in NuGo’s Organic bars is a natural antioxidant that actually has health benefits such as reducing bad cholesterol (LDL) and increasing good cholesterol (HDL). Don’t you just love it when there is a good reason to eat chocolate? I absolutely loved the Double Dark Chocolate bar!”

NuGO Slim:

Mama on a Green Mission

“I was really curious at what these bars would taste like because it seems most “slim” products I have tried aren’t the tastiest in the world. The slogan on the wrapper reads “Getting slim is now something you and your stomach can both agree on.” I think that’s such a cute slogan and you know what? It’s true! These bars are REALLY good! I preferred the Roasted Peanut bar more than the Brownie, but neither one tasted like “diet” bars! They each contain only 190 calories and 2 grams of sugar!”

National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) Newsletter

“I especially liked the raspberry flavor, which was sweet, but had a touch of bitterness – almost like a wine and chocolate pairing. The texture is neither crunchy nor chewy, but somewhere in between. The Brownie Crunch has a particularly fudgy element, which makes it decadent but still reasonable at 180 calories. Best of all, each bar contains 15g of protein and 9g of fiber, so it’ll tide your sweet tooth over for a while.”

Shosh and the City

“I love that these have a high amount of fiber, and protein, but don’t have a lot of other junk – and are coated in real dark chocolate. Love! I’ll definitely be ordering more!”

The Candy Fan

“The dark chocolate really is a nice touch on this very lightly sweetened bar. And there was no funky aftertaste that usually accompanies things containing artificial sweeteners. I really liked this bar. It was light and crunchy and perfect for my needs. And best of all: no headache! I’d really like to try the other varieties and I was super sad when I finished it and knew I had no more of them at hand.”