Don’t mess with my food or water
After delving into conflicting reports on the effects of eating various foods, our endless preoccupation with the causes of obesity and a seemingly useless affection for bottled water, I’ve come to a conclusion: Let’s call the whole thing off.
By that I mean let’s go back to eating smaller portions of mostly whole (unprocessed) foods and back to remaining physically active as long as possible. And be glad we live in a country where municipal water supplies are, for the most part, reliably free of contaminants.
So why are Americans carrying plastic water bottles everywhere they go? They’re so convenient, people say. And they make it easier and tastier to drink the recommended eight glasses a day.
Well, maybe we should and maybe we shouldn’t drink that much. It all depends on what we’re doing, what the temperature is, lots of things. But the companies that bottle and sell water that is rarely purer than ordinary tap water would have us believe their water is more healthful. So they now are marketing vitamin-infused, sweetened, artificially colored waters.
Coca-Cola bought VitaminWater; PepsiCo acquired SoBe and Cadbury Schweppes snapped up Snapple, notes Nutrition Action Health Letter in a recent rundown on all the watery beverages now available. VitaminWater’s Be-Relaxed Jackfruit-Guava (B + Theanine) claims it will keep you calm during stressful times. But there’s no evidence that its vitamins will do anything for your nerves or stress.
“Whether jackfruit or guava would help is irrelevant since there’s not a drop of either one in B-Relaxed Jackfruit-Guava,” Nutrition Action says.
The label should say Jackfruit-Guava Flavor.
What it does have is 125 calories worth of sugar in every bottle. SoBe Life Water Calm Your Life (Who makes up these names?) has roughly the same amount of sugar, while Fruit2O Relax uses artificial sweeteners. I’d be more relaxed with a cup of tea.
Coca-Cola’s Dasani Plus Defend + Protect adds 4 mg of zinc (not to be confused with zinc lozenges, which in some studies shortened the duration of colds) and 8 IU of vitamin E to its dyed, artificially sweetened water, claiming to boost immune systems to fend off colds, though there’s no solid evidence that either will do that.
Pepsi claims Aquafina Alive Satisfy is enhanced with 10 percent of your daily value of fiber to lightly fill you up. Hard to figure out how they could put fiber from whole grains or bran into water. Well, they don’t. The fiber in question is maltodextrin, which so far hasn’t been proven to work like the fiber in beans and bran. Actually, I’d rather eat a piece of fresh whole grain bread. Or a bowl of oatmeal.
And beware of any drinks that claim to energize you. Propel Invigorating Water does it with caffeine (50 mg). The labels on Dasani Plus Refresh + Revive and SoBe Life Water Energize Your Life don’t list caffeine but both list guarana, a plant from the Amazon that contains a seed rich in caffeine. Those who get jangled nerves and fluttery heartbeats from coffee and Coke now need to look for guarana on water labels as well as on power bars.
Then there are the health claims of food processors and industry advocates. The thing to remember here is that most Americans eat way too much processed food. Why? Because, like bottled water, it’s convenient. You don’t have to peel it or slice it or cook it. Maybe just add a little water. But even whole foods usually have something added or they’re frozen or canned, or dehydrated and packaged. Everything from pomegranate juice to blackberries, both good sources of antioxidants, recently has been touted as having medicinal properties.
The most egregious article I’ve read about real food lately is an AP story headlined: “Scientists say watermelon yields Viagra-like effects.”
Puhleeze!
Watermelons do contain an ingredient called citrulline that when eaten in large quantities reacts with enzymes and can be converted into arginine, an amino acid that can help relax blood vessels much the way Viagra does. The fact that this connection was made by the director of Texas A&M’s Fruit and Vegetable Improvement Center should raise suspicion, so read on. He concedes that watermelon may not be as “organ-specific” as Viagra, but says it’s a great way to relax blood vessels without any drug side effects.
First problem is that more citrulline (about 60 percent) is found in the melon rind than in the flesh. Not many would find the rind palatable, except horses, who love it. Of course, data doesn’t exist on how many horses have prescriptions for Viagra.
Then too, one would have to eat about six cups of watermelon to boost the body’s arginine level. Problem is watermelon is a natural diuretic and, well, we all know what that might do to the Viagra effect.
Citrulline is present in other produce such as cucumbers and cantaloupe, but then cantaloupe, too, is well known for its diuretic effect. At least melons don’t come with warnings about failing eyesight.
Meanwhile, I’ve put a filter on my kitchen tap and when I need to carry water, I use a stainless steel, leak-proof travel mug. That’s about as pure and as convenient as I need. I eat melons and blackberries in reasonable amounts. I admit I loathe pomegranate juice but I just read another bit about red wine that sounds promising.
Ah! A loaf of (whole grain) bread, a jug of wine and, of course, one divine chocolate. Now that’s real food.