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Candy With Less Saturated Fat Than KIND Bars

by Lauren Holter
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Some bad news for all the health-conscious snackers out there: the FDA has claimed some KIND bars are mislabeled as "healthy." The FDA wrote a letter to the health bar company last month demanding the company change the labels on certain KIND bars because the bars don't measure up to federal requirements dictating what can be labeled "healthy." Luckily, this only applies to four varieties of KIND bars, so we don't have to rule out these snack options altogether. The main culprit in the "unhealthy" bars is saturated fat, and, as it turns out, there a few candy bars that contain less or equal amounts.

According to the FDA, the Fruit & Nut Almond & Apricot, Fruit & Nut Almond & Coconut, Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate + Protein, and Fruit & Nut Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew + Antioxidants currently contain too much saturated fat to be denoted as "healthy." The administration deems any food with more than one gram, or more than 15 percent of its total calories from unsaturated fat, unhealthy. All four of these bars contain more than one gram of saturated fat; the worst offender is the Fruit & Nut Almond & Coconut, which has five grams in one bar.

The company says it is taking action regarding the FDA's letter, but defends its "healthy" label. Senior Vice President of Communications at KIND, Joe Cohen, said in a statement to Bustle:

Nuts, key ingredients in many of our snacks and one of the things that make fans love our bars, contain nutritious fats that exceed the amount allowed under the FDA’s standard. There is an overwhelming body of scientific evidence supporting that nuts are wholesome and nutritious. This is similar to other foods that do not meet the standard for use of the term healthy, but are generally considered to be good for you like avocados, salmon and eggs. Our team at KIND is fully committed to working alongside the FDA, and we’re moving quickly to comply with its request.
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One of the main reasons KIND bars claim to be better for you than other bars is that they're made of wholesome and sustainable ingredients. Candy bars can't make the same claim, but nonetheless, there are a number of candy bars with less saturated fat than the Fruit & Nut Almond & Coconut KIND bar.

Snickers

According to the Snicker's website, the gooey bar contains four and a half grams of saturated fat. However, a Snickers bar has 60 more calories than a Fruit & Nut Almond & Coconut KIND bar and 15 more grams of sugar.

PayDay

Shockingly, a PayDay bar only contains two and a half grams of saturated fat, but also has 50 more calories and 9 more grams of sugar than the KIND bar in question.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

A package of two Reese's Peanut Butter Cups comes in at four and a half grams of saturated fat, with only 20 more calories and 9 more grams of sugar than a Fruit & Nut Almond & Coconut KIND bar.

3 Musketeers

A 3 Musketeers bar has the same amount of saturated fat as the Fruit & Nut Almond & Coconut KIND bar: 5 grams. It contains a whopping 24 more grams of sugar though, as well as 50 more calories.

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