Thursday, March 26, 2009

Water with added vitamins-why and for whom??

I fail to understand the need for water which has been enriched with certain vitamins and minerals.I'm a strong believer in the fact that if you eat a 'Balanced Diet' you don't need to take nutritional supplements(unless you have been advised by your doctor or are an athlete/sportsperson with special needs). I believe that the body is able to absorb vitamins better from those found in it's natural form, rather than from supplements. What about countries where these products have not been launched-does it mean that they are not getting their Recommended Dietary Allowance(RDA). Or what about animals-does anybody give them supplements? Don't they survive even in the wild with their regular food-so,why does a regular human being require supplements?
Next comes the question 'for whom' are these products targeted at? Those who can buy the product can buy and consume foods which contain these very nutrients(with added benefits of getting fibre thrown in for 'free'). The malnourished people who do require them, probably cannot waste money or afford to buy these products.
Also,those of you who are watching calories need to be aware that unlike 'plain water' these 'special' waters are not Zero Calorie!! Most of them contain anything between 9-70 kcal/ 8 ounce serving!!
So let's raise a toast to the only "Zero" calorie drink-good old 'plain' water(about 8-10 glasses/day) and fresh fruits and vegetables!!
For further reading check out these two articles on WebMD:
  1. Super-Waters:Health or Hype.
  2. Vitamin Water On the Hot Seat.

3 comments:

Lori said...

I am definitely with you regarding supplements. I use to follow the typical "for insurance" advice regarding vitamins and supplements, but not any more. We are basically throwing our money away to companies when we can simply get everything we need in a variety of foods. That goes for vitamin water too. Not a big fan. This is all especially true when you begin to see research indicating that vitamins from supplements are utilized differently in the body than those from food. Even more reason just to eat real food. :)

chow and chatter said...

well said Sweta

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Thank you Lori and Rebecca.
I wish more people believed us instead of all those misleading advt. promoting these products on television :-(