Water, the adult human body is made up more than 60% of it and it’s the most essential element of all life on earth.
Personally, I consume massive amounts of water each and every day. It keeps you hydrated, is great for flushing out toxins in your body which helps reduce your risk of kidney stones, helps maintain digestion regularity, promotes weight loss by reducing your appetite and the list goes on. So why do so many people have a hard time drinking it? And why do they turn to unnatural flavored water drops?
Other than a few squirts of fresh lemon juice anything else (man made) in my water ruins it, but I have observed people and their inability to drink water without some sort of sweetener or flavor. Why? The answer just may lie in your mouth.
With years of eating processed foods, your taste buds are bombarded by food companies making their foods unnaturally sweet, salty, and as fatty as possible in order to get you to become addicted to their product. By eating processed foods that are loaded with artificial flavorings and spices, your taste buds are going to be desensitized due to all of the years of unnatural stimulation that they have become accustomed to and they will no longer be sensitive enough to fully appreciate the taste of natural foods like fruits, vegetables, and even water. Great news is that after about two weeks of consuming non-processed foods, your taste buds will begin to heal and will become more sensitive to real foods and can fully appreciate the clean and crisp taste.
This brings me back to the issue of flavored water drops and powders to which my very own mother and brother can’t seem to do without. While there are countless flavored drops on the market, there are 3 popular brands of flavored drops that you will probably recognize as MioFit, Crystal Light, and Dasani Drops. Mio and Crystal light are manufactured by Kraft Foods and Dasani by Coca Cola.
My issue with these flavored waters is their usage of artificial flavors, sweeteners, and coloring that have been linked to Type 2 Diabetes and hyper activity in children. If you read the back of most flavored drops and powders most will contain the same ingredients. We’ll examine the major three previously mentioned.
According to their website, what you can expect to find in a bottle of MioFit is the following: “Mio is listed as having less than 2% of natural flavors. Other listed ingredients are citric acid, propylene glycol, malic acid, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, potassium citrate, Allura Red AC 40, Brilliant Blue FCF 1 and potassium sorbate.”
Sucralose (Splenda): Reported side effects are gastrointestinal problems, seizures, dizziness, migraines, blood sugar increases, and weight gain.
Propylene glycol: Propylene glycol is also used to make polyester compounds, and as a base for deicing solutions. Propylene glycol is used by the chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries as antifreeze when leakage might lead to contact with food. Affected Organ Systems: Dermal (Skin), Renal (Urinary System or Kidneys), Respiratory (From the Nose to the Lungs)
Acesulfame Potassium: Contains a known carcinogen methylene chloride. Ace-K as it is known; with long term exposure can cause nausea, headaches, mood problems, impairment of the liver and kidneys, problems with eyesight and possibly cancer. Acesulfame-K may contribute to hypoglycemia.
Allura Red AC 40: This food additive can be found in soft drinks, candy, children’s medications, cereal, beverages, snacks, gelatin desserts, baked goods, and ice cream. Most food colors have been known to cause hyperactivity in children and currently banned in Denmark, Belgium, France, Sweden and Switzerland.
Brilliant Blue FCF: This is a blue synthetic coal tar dye that is often used in conjunction with Yellow 5 to produce shades of green. The usage of this additive can also be found in dairy products, candy, and beverages. This is also not recommended for consumption by children as it’s known to cause hyperactivity. This additive is currently banned in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Maltodextrin: An artificial sugar made from a starch such as corn or wheat. Void of any vitamins and nutrients and is a simple carbohydrate that is absorbed quickly into the bloodstream. Just like most additives, potential associated health risks include unexplained weight gain, flatulence, bloating, and allergic reactions.
As for Crystal Light, I attempted to locate their ingredients on their very pretty website however I was unsuccessful. With all of the visual stimulation they put on their website, I guess they think seeking out the ingredient list isn’t something most people will be drawn in to do and that you’ll just be mesmerized by bouncing pink elephants and sparkly spin wheels asking what your favorite flavor is. Even though Crystal Light does not include their ingredients on the website, I went to the grocery store and scoped it out for myself. Most of the ingredients are the same except Crystal Light contains ASPARTAME! Need more information on aspartame and artificial sweeteners? Here’s one of Coach Kozak’s recent vlogs.
Dasani Drops was a little more straightforward with their ingredients and according to their website, this is the ingredient list: “DASANI DROPS uses natural fruit flavors to give the delicious fruit flavor. It is artificially sweetened using sucralose and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) sweetened and has zero calories per serving”
*natural or artificial flavors are made by “flavorists” in a lab blending both “natural” and “synthetic” chemicals to create flavors.
In conclusion, there is absolutely nothing clean, healthy or even refreshing when it comes to the zero calorie flavor drops or powders that you put in your glass of water. If you’re really in search of fruit flavored waters then your best bet is to hit up the produce aisle and do it yourself.
Click here for fruit infused water recipes. The possibilities are endless and truly all natural.
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