Vitamin Water (vitaminwater)

Is vitamin water any good for you? What do we know about its nutrition? Should you be drinking this product? Are there healthy alternatives to vitamin water?

These are all worthwhile questions to consider, as vitamin water has become popular in a huge way.

The best known product in this area is called vitaminwater, and is marketed by Glaceau (a subsidiary of Coca-Cola). But there are competitive vitamin-enhanced waters as well, such as SoBe, Life Water, and Propel.

The popularity of these products is so great that vitaminwater alone brings in over $350 million a year in revenue.

What's the Attraction

The interest in vitamin water is not surprising.

Thousands of people realize they don't get the nutrition they need. And others have a hard time drinking all the water they should because they don't like the taste of their water. So, the prospect of getting additional nutrients by drinking flavored water can be very appealing.

Besides that, vitamin water is usually packaged in a stylish way with catchy names like "connect," "focus", and "revive."

Add that vitamin water is endorsed by celebrities like basketball great Lebron James, and it's no wonder that it's assumed that this is a product that's good for you.

But is it?

Vitamin Water Nutrition

Here are two vitamin water nutrition facts you need to know. . .

First, vitamin water is loaded with sugar. The Coca-Cola product vitaminwater has 32 grams of sugar in a single bottle.

Second, vitamin water has a paltry amount of vitamins – and those it does have are synthetic, not natural.

The upshot of this is that consumers of this product think that they are doing themselves good as they drink what they believe is quality, fortified drinking water. . .

But they are actually consuming a high number of calories along with synthetic vitamins, which are not so easy to assimilate by the body. None of which is good news for the consumer who is drinking vitamin water because he thinks it's healthier.

So, vitamin water is not near what it's perceived. It's more like just another soft-drink, than a first-rate drinking water.

In fact, Coca-Cola has been sued for making unwarranted claims about vitaminwater's benefits.

And what does Coca-Cola's legal defense say about this?:

“No consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage.”

So, by Coca-Cola's own admission – despite its advertising – no one should think that vitaminwater is healthy for you to drink.

This certainly makes the question about whether you should be drinking vitamin water an easy one to answer!

But it does raise another question. . .

Is there a healthy alternative to vitamin water if you want some water that is enhanced with extra flavor or nutrients?

Absolutely!

An Excellent Alternative

If you want to improve the flavor of your drinking water, just add a drop of a quality, therapeutic-grade essential oil to an 8 ounce glass (or a few drops to a quart) of water.

My favorites for this purpose are peppermint and lemon oil. Also good are some of other citrus oils – like tangerine, grapefruit, or orange.

Besides improving taste, using essential oils in this way can bring added benefits too – like settling your stomach, cooling you off, curbing your appetite, dissolving fat, and even protecting against tumor growth.

If you want to get more nutrients in your water, try an ounce of essential oil-infused Ningxia Red in a quart of water. In this way you are getting a true “vitamin water” as Ningxia Red is the highest known source of Vitamins B1 and B3, and contains triple the Vitamin C of oranges. . . and it's completely natural, because it's made from whole foods.

Ningxia Red is also loaded with antioxidants, which serve to reduce inflammation and blood pressure, and increase energy and strength – along with many other benefits.

Another healthy alternative to vitamin water is juicing. The drawback of juicing is that it's not very convenient in comparison to water. . .

AND, to get the equivalent level of antioxidants, you would have to drink a whopping three gallons of the fruits and vegetable used for juicing compared to one ounce of Ningxia Red.

The truth about vitamin water shows again that the most popular choice is not always the healthiest. . .

And it reminds us as well of the excellent alternative that essential oils provide. 

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