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PowerBar Founder Dies of Heart Attack
Posted by: Dr. Mercola
March 24 2004 | 1,265 views

Brian Maxwell, the 51-year-old founder of the PowerBar, has died of a heart attack. A former world-class marathon runner, Maxwell reportedly collapses in a post office and emergency personnel were unable to resuscitate him.

The PowerBar company has become a multimillion-dollar empire since Maxwell and his wife, a nutritionist, founded it in 1986. They began selling the popular energy bars out of their kitchen and over the next 10 years the company grew to $150 million in sales. In March 2000, the couple sold the company to Nestle SA for a reported $375 million.

Maxwell thought of the idea to make PowerBars while running a 26.2-mile marathon. He had to stop the race after 21 miles, the point where experts say the body stops burning carbohydrates and starts to burn muscle tissue.

In 1977, Track and Field News ranked Maxwell the No. 3 runner in the world, and in 1980 he was part of the Olympic team that boycotted the games in Moscow. He represented Canada in many international competitions as a long-distance runner.

USA Today March 20, 2004


Dr. Mercola''s Comments
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
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I have been running since the late '60s. In the '70s the myth was that if you ran a marathon you were virtually immune to heart disease. Brian's death nails that myth shut. What is even more surprising is that he was a strong promoter of conventional nutrition.

Here is the list of ingredients for PowerBars:

  • High fructose corn syrup with grape and pear juice concentrate
  • Maltodextrin (complex carbohydrate)
  • Brown rice
  • Unsweetened chocolate
  • Glycerine
  • Natural flavors

While he meant well in creating an energy bar, please notice that the first ingredient is sugar (high fructose corn syrup) and then more sugars with grape and pear concentrates and maltodextrin. They use milk protein that is made from pasteurized milk and then processed in a way to damage the protein.

Moral of the Story

Exercise alone won't cut it folks. If you eat candy like PowerBars you run the serious risk of dying prematurely from heart disease. It is quite incredible to find a world-class marathoner dying from a heart attack at such a young age. That just goes to show you how powerful insulin is.

Related Articles:

Energy Bars Are Not Your Best Option

Energy Bars Not Your Best Option for Weight Loss





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