So today I want to rant a little on health drinks. Well, I want to talk about just one. Men’s Health voted Glaceau Vitamin Water as the worst “healthy” drink. Here’s why I’m ranting and why I agree with the article. So many people buy into every new health beverage that comes along. I mean who wouldn’t buy the stuff, it’s called “VITAMIN WATER.” It’s time we get a little educated on these things before we jump on the bandwagon.
According to “how Stuff Works,” “Despite sleek advertising and a lineup of drinks including Smartwater, Glaceau’s products designed for “responsible hydration” may not offer the best health benefits…Because the sugar found in Vitaminwater or Coke is made from a refining (or purifying) process, it contains no nutrients or vitamins beneficial to our health. It instead acts only as a source of energy — once anything with sugar is ingested, the sugar skips digestion by passing through the stomach wall and raising blood sugar levels. Since your body is programmed to keep its blood sugar at a certain level, the pancreas secretes insulin to balance everything out. The increase in insulin finally tips the scales, and your body’s metabolism is disrupted. Metabolism is simply the process by which molecules in your body combine to create new material or break down to take in energy and release heat. This disruption of metabolism suppresses your immune system, making it easier to get sick or develop diseases.”
Talk about blinders being pulled over our eyes. It’s basically sugar water; whatever vitamins are there are surely offset by the amount of sugar thats been added and not the other way around. Who knows if the vitamins are quality either. I think some people will try anything in the name of health and these beverage companies know it. They also know of our love for sugar. I’m guilty as well. I battled with my weight for years and tried all kinds of drinks in the name of health and have found out one thing. Most drinks out there that are marketed as healthy are really not. Most people know that soda’s bad for you so they grab a tea. When you do a little research however, you’ll find that most teas have the same if not more amounts of sugar than a can of coke. I cut out soda about 2 years ago and my girlfriend has also done the same. Recently my brother Aaron did the same thing along with his family. So did my brother Israel. Trust me when I say that this was no easy feat, we grew up on the stuff. We drank it all of the time. Rock on Familia!!! For the moment, this post serves to open your eyes to the drinks that disguise themselves as health drinks. In a future post I’ll list healthy alternatives.
As of lately, I’ve resorted to just drinking water, some fruit juices, and certain teas. For those of you that don’t know, I committed a year of my life without sugar. I did this with the advice and help of my nutritionist Dr. Fujita. I’m now about 10 months in and don’t regret it a single day. I remember how hard it was to do this and how it took a few times before I actually cut it out for good. I thank God I made that decision because just a few months in, many of the negative health symptoms I’d been experiencing had completely disappeared. I remember reading a list that Dr. Fujita gave me called “124 ways sugar ruins your health.” It immediately scared me into doing something about it. When this year of sugar is up, I need to re-evaluate sugar. I’m fairly certain I won’t jump back into using it or consuming food with it. I’ve already found many alternatives such as fruits or super small amounts of honey added to my drinks. By the way, I’ll never touch artificial sweetener as long as I live and I hope you never do as well. More on that another day.
Before I started my year of no sugar, I had Starbucks about 5 times a week and we’re not talking just coffee, we’re talking Venti Mocha Frappacino’s which have 79 grams of sugar and 6 grams of fat. I also regularly drank large sodas as well. Looking back, I now have a fresh perspective on things. I know that I was addicted to all these types of drinks. It’s no wonder I was so sick and had many health problems. This was just beverages! Another day I’ll have to go into my eating habits so you’ll get an accurate picture of my health a few years back.
Ok, so I bashed Health drinks that aren’t really healthy and I shared a little story about me. What’s my whole point? I guess what I’m trying to say is this, be wise when choosing what drinks go into your body. Don’t be fooled by something that has the appearance of health. Do a little research. Try cutting out sugar. Try drinking mostly water or only water. With so much damage that we inflict to our bodies by bad foods, stress, and free radicals can we try to start going back to drinking things that our bodies can process with ease and actually benefit from? When you make these changes, your body will thank you. I’m not trying to just bash Vitamin Water either. What it comes down to is this, there are many things which we can put into our bodies both good and bad. In the end, we’re the ones responsible for what goes down the hatch. In time, your health will dictate whether you’re making the right choices.
As always, thanks for reading and join us today to take back your health! Make it a great day,
Jacob
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“Making Diet History by Making Diet’s History”
http://thisisnotadiet.org
Filed under: Food, Health, Health Tips, Jacob's Post's, Pictures | Tagged: Beverage, Coca Cola, Coke, Drink, Health, Sugar, Vitamin Water
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While I completely understand where you’re coming from, Vitamin Water is a healthier alternative to Coke or other soft drinks, or even Kool Aid. I drink it because I don’t like water. It doesn’t take the place of water, but it’s healthier then soda, and contains the vitamins Kool Aid does not.
However, I’m not using it to hydrate myself or while playing sports.
Hi Erica, You’re right about the fact that it’s healthier than Coke. I find it fascinating that people don’t like water. It’s so good and pure. I don’t know. Anyway, I love your blog! It’s very helpful.
-Jacob
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“Making Diet History by Making Diets History”
It is true that the marketing behind many health and sport beverages can be very misleading. From a nutritional or scientific standpoint, excess sugar consumption should be avoided whenever possible, particularly processed sugars. That is the reality. One beverage might be healthier than another by mere comparison; however, that alone does not deem a beverage “good” for the human body.
The sooner we can admit to ourselves that we as species have been duped into a sugar addiction, the sooner we will be able to free ourselves from it.
Heart disease is the number one cause of death for Americans. Recent studies suggest that there may be a correlation between excess carbohydrate consumption, copper deficiency, and heart disease.
Food for thought..
Hey Mazaibuzai, Thanks for the input! Yes, these are things that I’m just starting to learn and am grateful for. Hopefully more people will learn to face these truths as well! -Jacob
“I find it fascinating that people don’t like water.”
Me too. I drink the stuff all day long. Maybe it is just because I am cheap and it costs almost nothing coming from m faucet.
Hey Jacob, yeah I find that interesting… people I know would rather drink something other than water. I agree, Erica has an amazing and resourceful site.
Thanks for the kind words about my site
It is rather amazing that I don’t like water
But I drink from well water so any that I drink is paid for- and I guess if I’m paying for liquid I like it to have some kind of flavor…Tea is my favorite 
I had a serious Diet Mt. Dew habit. I know, arficial sweeteners, probably worse than sugar. I drank enough that I stayed up late and then had to get up in the middle of the night to relieve myself. I switched to bottled iced tea, then iced tea that I made myself then finally just water. Now I dislike any flavored drinks. I think it’s just what you get used to.
Hey Verda, I like the natural progression you made to drink only water. That’s how it should be done. Some times it’s hard for us to quit something cold turkey so I guess progressive steps are the key. Great work!
vitaminwater is all natural and does NOT have any refined sugar in it. they use crystalline fructose and cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup. read the label, do some research, and then spread your gospel. until then you are only spreading lies.
Chico Grande,
Thanks for your concern. Actually I never said it was made of sugar if you read the article. I said that it was basically “Sugar Water” because of the level of sugar in it. You should read the label as well it says 13.3 grams of sugar. The serving size is 2.5 which means if you consume a bottle, this means you just consumed 33.25 grams of sugar. Even though it is sweetened with Crystalline Fructose, it’s still basically sugar and basically the only difference between High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and Crystalline Fructose (CF) is that CF has less calories. It’s still basically derived from HFCS. Since Crystalline Fructose is 100% Fructose, it’s health affects are damaging because it has to be processed completely in the liver. In time, what happens is consumers will develop a fatty liver and possible even Cirrhosis. Crystalline Fructose also has small amounts of Arsenic and other heavy metals which have proven to be carcinogenic. Damgage to our health usually takes place at the cellular level so even in small amounts, over time, it is harmful. So much for a “Natural” health drink. Don’t take my word for it either. Do a little research and you’ll find the same results.
Since Vitamin Water is not the healthies drink for you I tried to look for a substitute (something other than water) and I found a new beverage called SoNu Water at a pizzeria called La Strada in Bloomfield, NJ. Its organic and it doesn’t contain artificial sweeteners. For those who like flavored water and want to stay healthy I recommend SoNu Water. It comes in six flavors but Mango/Peach is the best one. Check out their website at http://www.sonubeverages.com
Wow, I’ll definitely check this out. Thanks Maria!!
I tried Sonu Water as well and loved it!!! I found it in Costco – Westbury, NY. I love that it’s organic and that it uses natural evaporated cane sugar. Pomegranate/Acai & Lemon/Tangerine are my favorites.
Yeah I’ve also heard some things about vitamin water that it makes you have positive urine toxic and it’s bad for you if your using it in a diet, cause it makes you gain weight! I just found out about this new drink called SoNu Water Beverage and it’s really refreshing. It has a boosting cocktail of vitamins, no corn syrup or coloring.SoNu Water is approved by the USDA. All of it’s ingrediantes are organic and kosher. It’s also low on calories and sugar, reduces the chance of diabetes. If you are on a diet I think you should try it!!!!