What's Inside: PowerBar Protein Plus (Laxatives, of Course)

By Patrick Di Justo 01.18.08 | 6:00 PM

Whey protein isolate
Globular proteins left over from cheese making, minus the fats and sugars. The main protein, beta-lactoglobulin, is an especially good source of amino acids for building other proteins.

Calcium caseinate
Legend had it that casein can worsen autism due to the protein's alleged opiate-like effects on the brain. But a 2006 study showed no significant connection. So don't blame PowerBar for your Asperger's, nerdlinger.

Soy protein isolate
High intake of soy protein has been linked to lower rates of coronary heart disease. But manly men seeking to sculpt their musculature may not like the fact that it's rich in phytoestrogens (girlie hormones). Cooties!

Chocolatey coating
Why the y? Anything sold as "chocolate" can contain only one type of added fat — cocoa butter. PowerBars use fractionated palm kernel oil instead, which is about as healthy as Elmer's Glue-All.

High fructose corn syrup
This ingredient is everywhere, even in so-called health foods. In 2006, Americans consumed 58 pounds of this sweetener per capita, up nearly 50 pounds in 30 years.

Glycerin
The bar's chewy texture is due in part to this sugar alcohol, which moonlights as a food moisturizer.

Maltitol syrup
Another sugar alcohol and probable sweetener, but one that the body absorbs super slowly. Besides gas and bloating, maltitol can produce a laxative effect so powerful that Australia and New Zealand require a warning label on foods that contain it.

Oat fiber
Oat fiber helps lower cholesterol by fermenting into the short-chain fatty acid butyrate, which can limit the release of lipids from the small intestine.

Calcium phosphate
This supposed performance enhancer (which is essentially powdered bone) is also used to polish teeth and build hard-tissue prosthetics.

Copper gluconate
In theory, a copper deficiency can lead to anemia and neurological disorders (though such problems are usually found only in people who have been kept alive via intravenous feeding or in babies fed nothing but cow's milk). So copper gluconate sounds healthy. Too bad a 1985 study showed zero effects from adding it to the diet.

Pantothenic acid (calcium pantothenate)
Better known as vitamin B5, pantothenic acid is necessary for the digestion of sugars, proteins, and fats. Handily, it's found widely in foods — plants, animals, and all PowerBar Protein Pluses.

Vitamin B6
B6 is essential for the synthesis of neurotransmitters like epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. But don't binge, new moms: Too much can stop lactation.

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Paris designers spruce up men's suits

By JOELLE DIDERICH, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jan 18, 5:54 PM ET
PARIS - Paris menswear designers set their sights on the youth market Friday, with vibrant collections that breathed new life into that perennial wardrobe staple — the two-piece suit.

Once the preserve of investment bankers and CEOs, suits have found increasing favor with younger men looking to shed their cargo pants and hooded tops.

But forget the stuffy shirt and tie. Today's customer is just as likely to throw his impeccably tailored jacket over a loosely buttoned T-shirt and to top it off with an oversized scarf.

At French label Sonia Rykiel, a body-skimming gray pinstriped suit was jazzed up with a black-and-white leopard-print shirt and a V-neck sweater in kingfisher blue.

A burgundy plaid jacket was deliberately mismatched with midnight blue velvet pants, while fuzzy wool overcoats reflected this season's trend for elaborate textures.

"I don't see why men should have a very strict rapport with fashion," said Nathalie Rykiel, the president and creative director of the label founded by her mother.

"Mixing and matching is not just for women. To a certain extent, it's a question of taste and education, but as long as you know what you're doing, practically anything is possible," she told The Associated Press.

British designer John Galliano took the concept one step further with his parade of medieval princes, jesters and executioners decked out in drop-crotched britches and swaggering coats tufted with fur.

Looking battered and bloody, his models stomped down a catwalk shrouded in dry ice fog wearing outfits that owed as much to historical figures like King Henry VIII as they did to contemporary street style.

The designer is famous for staging over-the-top displays and saving his commercial savvy for the shop floor, but it was hard to pick out the wearable elements in this show.

By the time a model posed in a jockstrap, an executioner's hood and a thick rope wound around his neck, Galliano had definitely crossed the line of bad taste.

French label Kenzo stayed true to its tradition of melding East and West with a short but sweet collection inspired by Thomas Blake Glover, a 19th century Scottish merchant who traveled to Japan.

The outfits, showcased on a revolving catwalk with moving backdrops and fake snow, told a compelling story. But the casual suits worn with beanie hats and the sturdy fly fishing coats firmly anchored the tale in everyday life.

A final sequence of black Mao-collared jackets featured removable panels of gold embroidery inspired by the battle armor of Samurai warriors.

It seemed a sensible compromise in a season overshadowed by fears of a U.S. recession, rising energy prices, the subprime mortgage crisis and a weak dollar.

"We're obviously seeing a lot of suits at the moment in these collections because people are hoping to show stuff that will definitely sell, in what everyone says is going to be a difficult year for retail," said Charlie Porter, associate editor of the British edition of GQ magazine.

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