Vitamin Water - water of Life or water of Sabotage?

On the stand today we have a colourful, tasty, sweet bottle of Vitamin Water:

Don't they look Sweet!

People have been chugging back bottles of the oh so innocent looking neon tinged drink for a couple of years now, secure in the knowledge that they are doing something good for their health. I have also been a victim, drinking the odd one, especially after a workout.
There are two things to consider here... are the purported health benefits of Vitamin Water actually true and what are the down sides to drinking it?

1. Well, first of all... you can ditch any of the drinks that have vitamins A, D, E or K in them unless you are going to treat them like wine and drink them with a meal. These vitamins need to be taken in with dietary foods to be absorbed otherwise they have no effect. Ok, so that still leaves you with the B and C vitamins - all well and good, until you consider the fact that as a westerner you are unlikely to have a deficiency of either of these or any other vitamin for that matter. So, Vitamin Water, I accuse you of trumping up the charges of vitamin deficiency!
2. Oh Vitamin Water, from what a great height must you now fall.... what is the number one enemy to a good diet?... Sugar! Now the great thing about real water is that it has many upsides and absolutely no downsides when drunk in appropriate quantities. Vitamin Water on the other hand now seems to have almost no upside and many downsides! Check out the label and look at the sugar content... The 'power-c' dragonfruit version in front of me has 27 grams of sugar in it. 2 Heaping Tablespoonfuls of the Stuff!! And the cunning boys of coca-cola, who are ultimately the makers of this soft-drink in disguise, will tell you it is largely fructose... Wrong again! The fructose in this drink comes from a corn syrup that has been enriched with fructose.... that's like enriching nuclear waste with vitamin C to make it healthy!

Verdict - add fresh fruit or vegetable juice to get the same effect as this monstrous lie of a drink purports to have! Unfortunately, Vitamin Water, I sentence you to a lifetime in the Coca-Cola isle in the supermarket....

Alternative - coconut water.... Coconut water is the new California-craze that is sweeping east! You can buy VitaCoco from Planet Organic.

Say no to tooth decay!

I hope this has been helpful!

Brother Gym