Title: No Vitamins Needed
"Instead of drinking soda, I've switched to vitamin water." - Vitamin water is more calories than soda, genius.
A recent trend I’ve noticed at the gym is people consuming unnecessary amounts of vitamin water. Despite the word ‘vitamin’ in the title, such beverages are not healthy, in fact, they can be harmful.
The drink might be 50 calories a serving; however, there are 3 servings in the small bottle. That’s 150 calories. AHA, didn’t realize that, now did you?
And not only does one serving have a large amount of sugar, but it also contains sodium (salt). Ok, so there’s vitamin B, a Zinc, infused in the beverage. Those are actually very common nutrients. The United States and the European Union mandate that bread/wheat products to be infused with the B vitamins. Since labels rarely list vitamin B, you are fooled into believing you are being nourished with something that your body chemistry will benefit from. The reality is, the nutrients and minerals in vitamin water are the same things you’d encounter with a glass of regular water. You know, the clear, non-red dye #7 mixed, liquid that composes 70% of your body.
Besides, what kind of activity are you performing at the gym? Stairmaster? Half an hour on a Cross Trainer? Walking 2.5 miles per hour on a treadmill does not warrant the replenishment of electrolytes. Unless you’re running a marathon, stick to the stuff that comes from the tap, and leave the sugary/salt-mixtures for athletes on the Wheaties box.
