I  love water in all its forms. I drink at least a gallon a day. Tap, spring, bottled, diluted, rain, toilet (jk on the last one but my cat really seems to like it). Water doesn’t contain unnecessary calories or artificial sweeteners and it’s really thirst-quenching and delicious.

The thing that I find most disconcerting, is that half of the earth’s population is striving to find  descent water sources while the other half goes out of it’s way to sell water. And when it comes to designer H2O, the options are limitless. Bottled water manufacturers have us convinced that paying a high price for “mineral” or “spring” water is the healthy choice, but is this really the case?

 The cost of bottled water is obviously higher, but the fact is that many bottlers simply use reprocessed H2O. Pepsi’s Aquafina and Coca Cola’s Dasani give the impression that they come from crystal clear mountain springs, but the fact is they are really bottled at plants using processed water from municipal sources.I’m not a big fan of so-called enhanced waters, those spiked with vitamins, minerals and sometimes flavors, but I am occasionally tempted by Glaceau’s Vitamin Waters. Their portfolio of pop flavors, with names such as XXX Defense and Focus, caused Coke to swoop in and buy them for a reported $4 billion this year. They already had the whiff of exploitation before being swallowed by the corporate giant and now they’ve virtually cornered the market.

Backed by health claims and endorsed by a wide range of athletes and celebrities, people looking for healthy but flavorful beverages reach for these pricey bottles. But how healthy are these drinks, and are they worth the money? At first glance, a bottle of Vitamin Water appears to offer more than plain water. Equipped with 10 percent of the recommended daily value of vitamins A, B3, B6, B12 and B5 and 40 percent of the daily requirement of vitamin C per serving, a kiwi-strawberry flavored Vitamin Water is both aesthetically pleasing and palate pleasing with its light pink color and sweet taste.

According to the label, Vitamin Water consists of vapor distilled, deionized, and/or reverse osmosis water, crystalline fructose (aka corn sweetner), citric acid, electrolytes, natural flavors and vitamins. But a Kiwi Strawberry Focus drink also contains thirteen grams of sugar per serving, which means that with each bottle containing 2.5 servings, one consumes a total of 32.5 grams of sugar per bottle (nearly the equivalent of a 12 fl oz. can of Coke). So, do these products really have “fitness-promoting” benefits or are companies merely peddling sugar water for 10 cents an ounce?

j.s.

Fast Facts

What Your Water Says About You:

Smart Water: You want the edge getting through a big meeting or test.
Fruit Water: You like healthy, fresh food (but isn’t everything artificial these days?).
Voss: Your morning Yoga class was a killer.
Vitamin Water: You want that extra edge in the gym or on the field.
Bling H20: Not for everyone; just those that Bling!
Metro Mint: You’re into holistic health and freshening your breath.

Beverage Breakdown

Before you reach for an iced Frappucino, glass of milk or fruit juice, bottle of Gatorade, or can of soda refer to the following chart:

Filed under: Entertainment, Health, Nutrition by jane

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