Healthy vs unhealthy, good vs bad, nutritious vs non-nutritious - these are the kind of ideologies that some companies rely on in order to sell their products
The caveman “nutrition bar” (yes, that’s actually how they listed it on their website) is a great example of this practice. Check out all the buzz words on the packaging – “paleo”, “GMO-free”, “gluten-free”, “soy-free”, “dairy-free”. Funnily enough, despite going to the effort to EXCLUDE so many nutrients, it turns out that caveman bars INCLUDE more calories than your standard chocolate bar. Therefore, in the context of what matters most if you’re on an energy budget and financial budget… standard confectionary may be the way to go if you’re experiencing a chocolate craving.
In the context of an entire dietary pattern, you’re missing the forest for the trees if you’re contemplating which chocolate bar is going to have a greater dent in your health status. Therefore, we encourage you to focus on the bigger picture and your dietary pattern as a whole and aim to consume an abundance of plants and lean protein sources.
If you want to eat a chocolate bar, then choose the variety that’s genuinely going to bring you the most satisfaction. This could mean your childhood Halloween favourite, or a paleo bar that’s virtually “free” from everything (except calories).
If you want to snack on something that’s arguably nutritious, perhaps divert yourself to the fruit isle. Funnily enough this is more likely in line with what was on offer during the Paleolithic era anyway… not 20+ ingredient chocolate bars. But hey, if this showed up in our cave we honestly wouldn’t have any complaints