Originally posted on Sustainable Table’s Daily Table blog.
Today’s Tip: Drink tap water instead of unhealthy soft drinks and sports drinks.
The drink aisle at your local grocery store can be a very confusing place. The claim “Lite” on a soda makes
the aspartame, sucralose, and acesulfame-K based drinks seem healthy (those are the top three artificial sweeteners). The claim of “natural” is a great way to disguise the massive use of high-fructose corn syrup in regular soda, which leads to high obesity rates from over-consumption of fructose among other things. High fructose corn syrup is also made from corn grown using government subsidies on large-scale farms run by major agri-businesses, so not only is it bad for you, it is bad for independent family farms.
The most misleading new trend in soft drinks is that of adding minerals and vitamins to water, sports drinks, even sodas. Brands like Gatorade and Vitamin Water claim to replenish vitamins and electrolytes (salts and sugars that keep the acid levels in your body balanced), but the vast majority of Americans have no need for either of these. Anyone who eats a healthy, balanced diet has more than enough vitamins and electrolytes already, even after a long and sweaty workout.
Gatorade’s label claims that it provides “fluid and electrolytes to promote complete rehydration and carbs to refuel working muscles.” An 8-ounce bottle of the beverage contains just one percent (30 milligrams) of the Daily Value (the recommended daily requirement for nutrients set forth by the USDA) of potassium; a carrot, on the other hand, contains 230 milligrams of potassium. In the end, it’s much healthier to head down to your farmer’s market and buy some vegetables and drink some water. It’s cheaper too!
Remember, any drink to which manufacturers add sweeteners – whether artificial or “natural” – is unhealthy. Don’t be fooled by claims of health drinks, light soda, and vitamin-enriched beverages. Instead, stick with the healthiest drink of all – water straight from the tap. You can learn why it’s the best choice at H20 Conserve. If you get tired of tap water, try tea, or a 6-ounce glass of fresh juice from a local source. Some companies, such as Fizzy Lizzy, have also developed soft drinks that are 2/3 natural juice and 1/3 sparkling water. If you are craving a soda, try one with as few ingredients as possible and no added sugar, and always be sure to read the label closely.
3 responses so far ↓
1 lyndas9254 // May 12, 2009 at 6:39 pm
I understand but we all thrist for something but water at times. I heard that the new water drinks flavored with the minerals and vitamins are high in calories so I don’t use them. I do however drink diet pop and there is no calories their. I wonder if there is something hidden in this though.
Lynda
2 BRT - homemade Fruit-Ade sports drinks // Nov 14, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I agree that all soft drinks and most sports drinks in the stores are junk food – empty calories and unnecessary chemical additives. On the other hand, for sports competitions or intense training sessions lasting more than 1 hour experts agree that these extreme athletes do benefit from sports drinks. My Fruit-Ade recipe shows how any fruit juice can be diluted to the correct sugar concentration needed to make a healthy, natural sports drink that tastes great. If you use organic fruit juices in the Fruit-Ade recipe, then your sports drinks will also be organic.
http://brt-insights.blogspot.com/2009/11/organic-sports-drinks-made-from-healthy.html
3 Raili // Feb 22, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Your post is somewhat misleading. I agree that sports drinks can be considered junk food if they aren’t used for what they are intended. Organic fruit juice can also be considered junk food if the person drinking it doesn’t need the extra calories. The main problem is not people eating “good” or “bad” foods but people eating too MUCH of everything!
Sports drinks are formulated specifically for endurance athletes. What does this mean? Working out at a moderate intensity for an hour (preferably longer) or more. Anyone working out for less than this or at a very low intensity (ie walking) does not need a sports drink. Numerous studies have shown that when used as they were intended sports drinks improve performance significantly over plain water. Also, drinking plain water can be dangerous for someone working out in high heat or for a long intensity (marathons etc). When only water is consumed the salt concentration in the blood drops creating a potentially dangerous situation that may only lead to impaired performance but could cause death in extreme cases.
The weight and health problems in this country are fairly simple to explain. People don’t exercise enough and they eat too much! Sure there are a few ingredients that really should be avoided- anything artificial- but blaming sugar for the problem misses the point entirely.
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