Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Dear POM, You're in Trouble....

Hello everyone! Today was such a crazy day but finally at 930pm I have time to sit down and post. I wanted to make sure I got this post written because it actually started as a request from my friend and avid blog reader, Stephanie. PS Everyone congratulate her because she is getting married to my friend Alex in less than two weeks!! YAY!! She asked me if I ever considered writing a blog about the truth behind sports drinks and bottled water.. It made me wonder.. how many people really understand what theyre drinking?

Did you know that the average american drinks almost half their calories in a day? Did you know that Diet Drinks are just as bad for you as regular drinks because what they take away in calories, they make up for in chemically enhanced sugar and artificial flavors? One of the first changes that I made when I decided to overhaul my health was to change the things I was drinking.. cut down on alcohol ( not hard.. I wasnt a big drinker anyway), cut down on Soda.. I still have one if I am at a cook out or something but I dont keep them in my house..I probably average 1 a month and understand whats really in what youre drinking.

There has been a major trend  lately dealing with bottled water. First off, its always important to carry around a water bottle with you to make sure that you have the opportunity to stay hydrated during the day.. but make sure you use a refillable bottle because a filtered water pitcher is much more environmentally friendly! but what about those flavored or vitamin enriched waters? They are enriched with vitamins and they say catchy things on their labels like "concentration" and "immunity" so the must be better for me to drink than regular filtered water right? Wrong. Many flavored water drinks have been in the news lately for their health claims having no real merit.

Vitamin water for example titles their different flavors for what they are supposed to do such as helping immunity or keeping you calm. However, these drinks were just bourght forth as being filled with artificial sweeteners

Snapple just came out with an "Antioxidant Enriched" water. First off, does anyone really know whats so absolutely life changing about antioxidants that they have to be in water and you cant just eat fruits and veggies? anyway.. this "healthy" water has 33 grams of sugar in one bottle!

Gatorade was first created to replenish football players on hot summer days. It will give you energy for sure because it has artificial sweeteners. Plus I think that Gatorade leaves a funny film in your mouth.. but thats personal opinion.. its a blog .. Im allowed.

One of the drinks thats been in the news most recently is actually being sued over their unfounded health claims. POM juice comes in a cute little bottle but unfortunately what it can do to your body and your waistline isnt as cute. The pomegranate juice is claiming that it can help prevent and treat certain illnesses including cardiovascular disease and ED. The FDA is coming back at POM saying that it never confirmed that POM can be used as a medical aid and to be honest eating an actual whole pomegranate is better for you.

So with the majority of the healthy claims being unfounded and the chemicals and artificial sweeteners commonly used in these drinks.. doesnt it make more sense to just drink regular ice cold water? Put some fruit like lemon or lime in it if you dont like the taste of just plain water. Also, if you want to make sure your water tastes as crisp as possible.. try cutting up some cucumber and throwing it in!

Questions of the Day: Whats your favorite healthy drink?

2 comments:

  1. Ha Yay! Good answer.. its so simple.. I dont know why people even have to mess with it! PS thanks for reading and being my first comment since I moved over to blogspot.. youre awesome! : )

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