Its advertised as an instant energy booster jam packed with vitamins but is the hype about Vitamin Water actually true? The drink contains no juice, fat or protein, yet boasts 100% daily value of Vitamin C, and 50% daily value of various versions of Vitamin B. And you guessed it, that is the only nutritional element of the drink. If you read between the lines on the label you will realize that by consuming the entire drink (2.5 servings) you are consuming 150 calories – about half a regular soda. Furthermore, by drinking 1/3 of the bottle consumers are drinking an entire’s day worth of sugar! 15 g of sugar is the Daily Recommended Intake (DRI). By guzzling the whole drink you are actually consuming nearly 3 X that amount (39 g of sugar per bottle).
Also hidden at the bottom of the label is a mention of “natural caffeine”. Last time I checked, water is not supposed to contain caffeine. Guarana, seemingly harmless on the label is also included. Upon diligent research, I found that it is a fruit from Brazil that contains twice the amount of caffeine as a coffee bean. The instant energy you feeling after chugging Vitamin Water is actually just sugar and caffeine.
Aside from branding Vitamin Water, the company Glaceau carries water and Smart Water. The only perks to Smart Water are the facts lining the plastic container, a larger serving of water, and supporting Tom Brady in his ads. All in all, Glaceau cleverly created a line of waters as a marketing strategy, deceiving drinkers into thinking they are getting a drink replete with vitamins. If Vitamin Water was your “source” of nutrients, revert back to the old days and pop a Flintstone Vitamin.
At least behind the scheming of Glaceau, they support recycling. The label contains one truth: “Green is definitely the new black.”
By Nikki Pepperman
3 Comments
OHlala
wow. what an article! whoever the writer is–NYTIMES, watch out
critical reader
While some parts of this article are true, I am shocked that no one seems to be proofreading them. In addition to the obvious grammatical errors (“its”, comma splices, etc), it is also untrue that we are “supposed” to consume only 15g of sugar per day. There is currently no official recommended sugar intake, but most nutritionist and doctors suggest no more than 40g of refined sugar per day. Obviously no one thinks that vitamin water is super-water. Everyone knows it contains chemicals…if not it would just be water or juice. Plus, one bottle contains 2.5, not 3 servings. Finally, vitamin water also makes a lower-calorie version.
Shera Fornataro
Me gusta la imagen que has subido a tu perro