When your reach for a bottle of vitamin-enriched water, you may think you’re making a healthy choice, but beware – you’re falling for a food scam, warns renowned heart physician and cardiologist Dr. Chauncey Crandall.
“The problem is that these so-called vitamin-enriched waters are being downed by health-conscious consumers who wouldn’t think of drinking soda, but there really isn’t much of a difference,” says Dr. Crandall.
“The claims that these drinks are healthy are just a scam. Some contain up to 33 grams of sugar. Claims that such drinks are healthy are hooey! In the old days, people just drank water to keep healthy, and it was a good choice. But nowadays, vitamin-enriched waters are being downed by health conscious consumers who think they are making a healthy choice,” he says.
It’s certainly true that consumers should be able to chose any type of beverage they want, but they shouldn’t be misled into thinking they are making a healthy choice when it turns out that all they are doing is drinking a sugary beverage with just trace amounts of vitamins, Dr. Crandall notes.
“This type of scam marketing is particularly scandalous when two-thirds of Americans are considered overweight and a third are now considered obese, and the percentage is climbing,” Dr. Crandall said. “In addition, 17 percent of children and adolescents are now considered obese — not just overweight, but obese. This puts them on a lifelong course of misery and a shortened lifespan as well,” he added.
After smoking, obesity is America’s biggest cause of premature death. It’s also a major contributor to health problems and is linked to 70 percent cases of heart disease, the biggest killer disease in the U.S. It’s also considered responsible for more than 80 percent cases of Type 2 diabetes.
On the other hand, research shows that drinking plain water is a healthy habit, and that drinking a glass of water before a meal can result in weight loss,Dr. Crandall noted. So, he added, “Don’t fall for the so-called ‘healthy water,’ scam. The best water you can drink is not enriched with anything – it just contains pure, natural goodness.”