The market has been flooded with bottled water ‘” plain water, flavored water, sparkling water and vitamin water. Most people have at least tried bottled water if not the others at one time or another. Tired of lugging jugs of water home from the store, I purchased a water filter system that has paid for itself and made my life easier.
When I was put on 3 new medications after having a heart attack earlier this year, those medications seemed to drain all the energy out of my body. I was eating more fruits and veggies, especially those high in potassium, in hopes of raising my energy level, but it was all I could do to stay up past 8 p.m. Some of my new medications prevented me from taking potassium supplements, so I decided to try vitamin water to see if that would help.
Most vitamin waters on the market are made with distilled water, salt, Vitamins A, B3, B5, B6, B12, C and E, along with electrolytes and a sweetener. Some vitamin waters contain sucrose (table sugar), sucralose (an artificial sweetener such as Splenda), erythritol (a natural sugar alcohol found in fruits) or Reb A (the extract from the stevia plant). Some vitamin waters also contain calcium and manganese, while some have additional additives.
Vitaminwater, made by Glaceau, has 50 calories and 13g sugar per 8 oz. serving. It’s made with vapor distilled deionized water, crystalline fructose, electrolytes, citric acid, vitamins and natural fruit flavors. Glaceau also makes Vitaminwater Zero which contains distilled deionized water, less than 1% erythritol and Rebiana (stevia), electrolytes and vitamins. An 8 oz. serving has 0 calories and 0 grams sugar, 0 mg sodium and 0 carbohydrates. Vitaminwater offers many different flavors, such as acai-blueberry pomegranate, dragonfruit, grape-blueberry, lemonade, orange-orange, kiwi strawberry and tropical citrus. I’ve purchased the Vitaminwater Zero and have found that their drinks are not too sweet and quench my thirst.
SoBe vitamin water, owned by Pepsico, is another top-selling brand of flavored vitamin waters. It is sweetened with sucrose, erythritol and Reb A, but it has more additives than Glaceau waters. SoBe contains distilled water, sodium, xanthan gum, modified food starch and cochineal extract (for color). Their flavors include Agave lemonade, Orange tangerine, Fuji Apple Pear and Strawberry Kiwi. I wouldn’t mind some form of natural coloring, but cochineal extract is, in reality, bug powder. I tried several bottles of SoBe and discovered that regardless of what flavor I selected, my empty glass was left with a pale, white filmy residue. I can’t imagine what that residue would do to the lining of my stomach. The residue on my glass prompted my research on vitamin water.
There are several other name-brand vitamin waters to choose from, but most have almost the same additives as SoBe so I haven’t tried them. Some grocery stores offer store-brand vitamin waters that are similar to the name brands, have 50 calories or 0 calories, similar flavors and cost less.
Though the vitamin waters I’ve tried are a nice change of pace from drinking plain water, they haven’t increased my energy level. Because I only buy the 0 calorie drinks, I haven’t gained weight because of them. However, according to nutritionists, consumption of vitamin water on occasion is acceptable but should not be considered a replacement for daily consumption of plain water, and the vitamins found in vitamin waters do not replace vitamins we get from eating a healthy diet.
