It's unethical.
It's immoral.
It's scandalous.
It's delicious.
I'm talking about a beverage called, Vitamin Water.
It sounds awesome right!? Sure, it's got to be the healthiest thing ever! Doctors tell us to drink 8 glasses of water a day, why not drink those chocked full of the vitamins that our bodies also need... right?
Produced by the clean sounding Glaceau company (ignore that Glaceau is a small company owned by mega-beverage company Coca-Cola), Vitamin Water has a very healthy look and is marketed as a smart alternative to drinking cola.
I am sure there are many dieting Americans out there who are drinking this swill like it is going out of style, thinking they are doing themselves a great favor by giving up cola. But, Vitamin Water is not the healthy cola-alternative beverage that it is marketed to be.
Sure, Vitamin Water contains both vitamins AND water, but look what else...
Vitamin Water - 20oz bottle
Serving Size: 8 fl oz
Servings Per Bottle: 2.5
Calories: 50
Sugar: 13 grams
Holy smokes! For something marketed as vitamins and water... that's got a ton of sugar. I guess "Sugary Vitamin Water" didn't go over as well with test groups.
If you are anything like me, or most other people I know... you don't stop after 8 ounces. Typically (I would think) most people consume a whole bottle in a single serving. Which means you're now drinking 125 calories and around 32 grams of sugar. Can anyone tell me how long it will take you to run that one off on the elliptical machine?
Let's compare Vitamin Water to a more familiar product, just to give perspective...
Coca-Cola Classic - 20oz bottle
Serving Size: 8 fl oz
Servings Per Bottle: 2.5
Calories: 100
Sugar: 27 grams
Vitamin Water sure looks a lot closer to a cola than a bottle of water... which is exactly what you should be drinking anyway (if you're trying to trim down anyway).
Numbers don't lie. While it may be half the calories and sugar of cola... it still has HALF THE CALORIES AND SUGAR OF FREAKING COLA!!!!
To be fair, lets look at one last Coca-Cola Company product (which they would have you believe Vitamin Water is comparable to):
Dasani Water -20oz Bottle
Serving Size: 8 fl oz
Servings Per Bottle: 2.5
Calories: 0
Sugar: 0
The bottom line? Advertising and marketing lie.
If you want to lose weight, read the label.
I wonder how long this will go under the radar before Dateline or somebody does an exposé on this and Coca-Cola gets sued?
5 comments:
So.....? You think it's just vitamin water? Gatorade has 14g of sugar in an 8oz bottle. It's a sports drink. These are marketed to be sports drinks, an alternative to water, not really an alternative to soda. It's not called Vitamin Soda.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the stuff is great or beneficial to you, unless your a fine tuned athletics machine who is doing an athletic activity. Not just sitting on your ass watching TV. There's science saying that the vitamin B helps with energy and metabolism.
Anyway.. these drinks have sugar in them, they all do. Thats why they taste good. Everyone knows if something tastes good it's probably bad for you.
So, I normally enjoy your rants... but really? Vitamin water is really no different than Gatorade or any other "sports drink". Healthier than cola, tastier than water... and the sugar and calories are right in the middle as well. You should be able to understand all of this after your first sip... common sense. They do have a 10 calorie version now, which I'm told tastes like butt. And even in America, suing over a name when the nutrition label required by law is clearly displayed is a little out of line, not to mention futile. I could bottle water under the name "Baby Placenta" as long as the ingredients and nutrition information were accurate, I'm in the clear.
Bottom line, anyone dumb enough to get conned by this clever name deserves what they get. I think I'd be more bothered by the fact that Dasani water, also a Coca-Cola brand, is just tap water from London, England than by a smart name and marketing scheme. Meanwhile, the rest of the world can have a lower calorie, healthier alternative to the soda / diet soda argument. Moderation, people... moderation.
Clay,
What bothers me is that on multiple occasions I have seen people drinking Vitamin Water, who have said they are doing so as part of a healthier way of living.
People don't read nutrition labels. People aren't generally as smart as you want to believe they are.
That's just my 2 cents.
Funny how a rant on beverages gets so much attention.
(I had nothing better to do... i'm still sick at home with Strep Throat)
I work in retail... I know people aren't generally smart. In fact, some days I think the average person may be 1 dead brain cell away from being legally retarded.
But the info is there if they will take the time to look. Regardless of how serious you were when you wrote this, you're saying we should be protecting consumers from themselves. I think that's overstepping the bounds of government.
If it doesn't directly contribute to killing or disfiguring anyone, it's their responsibility to make that choice. The government requires labels, that's all they should do. Just like cigarettes, there are warnings about the health risks. I bought a knife the other day and it had a warning that it was sharp, and to use caution. People have more than enough warnings.
The term "healthier" is the key, Paul. VW is "healthier" than cola. Therefore those drinking VW for a "healthier" lifestyle are doing just that, providing they are replacing cola and not simply regular water. On the other hand, Dasani is a joke.
As for your closing remarks, you're a few years late on the media coverage / legal cases exposing / against Glaceau. Look into which of those vitamins claimed to be in the drink are actually water / fat soluble, and what levels of concentration actually exist in various drinks.
:)
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