What could be better for you than water? How about enhanced waters? There's are new products on the market that are fast becoming popular for anyone who has an active lifestyle: vitamin water! That's right - vitamin water. Looks like plain water but is flavored like you favorite fruit and is supposedly jam-packed full of vitamins. One of the most actual problems in modern medicine is constant shortage of a daily ration of vitamins. Bottled waters with added vitamins, herbs, and flavorings often replace good-old tap water. But, hey there bonehead, just because it's clear doesn't mean it's calorie-free!Here's the real truth about vitamin waters and bottled waters. You'd be better off drinking tap water and getting your vitamins from a supplement — and avoiding the 30 to 125 calories in that overpriced workout water. For example, Glaceau's Vitamin Waters and SoBe's Life Waters have 125 calories and about 33 grams, or 8 plus teaspoons, of sugar per bottle — that's the calorie equivalent of a Dairy Queen Soft Serve Vanilla Ice Cream with toppings. Drink one a day and you'll gain 13 pounds over the course of a year. You're better off drinking plain old tap water and taking a moderate-dose multiple vitamin.
Dr. Andrew Weil, M.D questions about how manufacturers deliver oil-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin E, in water, and whether any of the vitamins remain stable in water for the shelf life of the product. Some, such as vitamin C, break down quickly after being exposed to air and might not be available to you unless you drink the whole bottle as soon as you open it. "Manufacturers claim that vitamins are best absorbed in liquid form, but I know of no evidence to back up that idea." Weil says. "Getting your vitamins from bottled water also seems an unnecessary expense since the price is much higher than the cost of vitamin supplements. You are always better off getting your vitamins from your daily diet. For insurance, I recommend a good multivitamin/multimineral supplement. Given the cost of vitamin waters, I would imagine that their main benefits are to manufacturers' profit sheets."
So what's the bottom line? As for the vitamin water craze, skip it. Fitness, specialty and vitamin waters with not give an athlete an advantage or edge. In fact, vitamin-fortified waters may pose a risk for over-supplementation. You'd be better off to drink regular water which has zero calories and down a multivitamin like Flinstones chewables instead. You’ll stay hydrated, and get the nutritional boost you’re looking for without the added calories and besides, don't we all enjoy eating a little Fred or Wilma once in a while?So what about bottled waters? Regular bottled waters might not be all they are cracked up to be. Just because it's bottled doesn't mean it's safe. One study that compared 57 bottled waters with samples of tap water found that one in four of the bottled waters had unacceptable levels of bacteria, almost 2,000 times higher than the tap water samples. The amount of bacteria probably won't make you sick, but it is a warning sign, especially since regulations for bottled water are pretty lax (it was only last year that the Food and Drug Administration finally set a standard on bottled water for acceptable levels of the highly toxic metal arsenic!). Besides, about a quarter of those “gourmet” waters come straight from the tap. Skip the middle-man and get your eight glasses a day from your own faucet or filter it yourself at home.
There you go. My rant on the bottled water craze. If you want B12, do what I do. Go down to your local hemotologist and get yourself an injection. Need iron? Like me, make another visit and get an iron IV. Heck, it's all covered by your health insurance! Need to stay hydrated? I can't think of too many places that you could go who wouldn't give you a cup of water for free.
If you really want "healthy" water, send me $2.75 and I'll send you a vitamin enriched bottle full of that super green algae that was the craze a while ago. It's very clean, is naturally distilled by Mother Nature, contains many healthy forms of bacteria, and everybody I know who's swallowed some hasn't gotten sick...yet! And by the way, it's from my pool!
