Interesting presentation. Seeing as this is public I'll assume this is open for discussion. My thoughts:

How can you possibly consider this drink a "healthy" option. It's still made by a soda manufacturer and carries with it all the lies and scandals they bring. When, negating starvation, is that much sugar ever beneficial in our line of work? It costs the same if not more than a soda so in the end you are still wasting money on useless "vitamins" placed in sugar water in a sad attempt at getting people to buy it based of faulty assumptions that it must act like "medicine."

B-relaxed "jackfruit-guava" - Hey Coca-Cola, your package is illegal considering the fact that your b-relaxed drink has no traces of these what so ever.

What makes a glass of water so hard? Why must we keep funding these money machines?

          Sorry, Charles, but I'm with Mike on this one.  I'm a huge carb. addict, I have a huge love of bread and horrible drinking habits, too.  Luckily, I only like two pops over more water-based drinks (Dr. Pepper & the new Canada Dry Green Tea Mix), but I still down Gatorades all the time.  It's not good for me, but I like how Gatorade makes me feel fat.  It sounds stupid, but that effect really reflects the negative effects of so much sugar in soft drinks on the body.  I mean, Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey has 70 calories per 8 oz. while Gatorade has 60 and Vitamin Water has 50.  Also, Pepsi has 100 calories per cup, and Coke does too as far as I know.  Ironically, I can drink a 2 Liter (800) calories of Pepsi a day easily (if I get beyond the upset stomach, of course), but 8 cups of Vitamin Water has half the amount, and also fills me up.  When I drink pop, I just feel like drinking more pop and eating something to wash it down with.  Still, every time I drink Vitamin Water, it weighs me down just enough to make me want to skip a meal.  It's not too bright of an idea for most people, but my diet is rich with fresh cuts of meat, large portions of fruits and vegetables and a good amount of carbohydrates (usually bread, sometimes rice or pasta).  Every time I 'spoil my appetite' with, for all practical purpose, sugar water, I skip out on my carbs and still take in my proteins, fruits and vegetables.  The only difference that effects me is that I get the proper hydration I need when I want it, 'cause for some reason I really hate the taste of plain water, all brands, purified or tap.

          As for the initial question of "Is Vitamin Water good for you?", I have to say no, hands down.  It's not even a consideration to think of Vitamin Water as a good thing, since it really isn't 'vitamin water'.  That's just the advertising of it.  However, I do feel pretty good after drinking it besides the fact that I feel weighed down.  I like tea.  It runs through you, so you can drink your fair share and expel it before it ever (feels like it) weighs you down.  Pure water really doesn't appeal to me because it just seems as if it's making me heavier.  I know it's an extremely important part of any diet, but every time I drink pure water, I feel like I'm on a fad diet saying to myself "Yeah, body, it makes you feel bloated right now, but it's really good for you, I promise".

          I'd much rather have tea over Vitamin Water because it has zero calories, comes with either caffeine or no caffeine (in case you're replacing coffee), and feels like a natural purifier, whether it is or not.  Plus, I don't know about you guys but I actually enjoy urinating, so it's not a hassle, which what some people like to call it.  If you're so non-mobile that you have to worry about getting up to pee, you have your own diet problems to tend for.

          Good day : Vitamin Water Green Tea. 

Horray!  An interesting topic i can throw my 2¢ into!


I am glad you agree with my viewpoint before i presented it  I am going to assume you meant Charles' view point, but i found that typo funny


This is true.  It is better than soda and beer.  But, actually, not by much.  These drinks are actually what I would consider high carb - 50 cals per serving all due to sugar is ~12 g of sugar which means about ~30g of high glycemic sugar per bottle with NO fat and NO protein and NO fiber to buffer the uptake into the blood stream.  Also, its a liquid, which means it passes through an [empty] stomach quite quickly and goes right into the blood.  Drinking these high carb drinks as a beverage, especially between meals or to replace meals all together, is a great way to stunt your weight loss or body composition goals.

While I have coached people through dietary changes, I have, in fact, recommended vitamin waters to replace sodas and coffees.  But that is only because they have absolutely refused to start by drinking water.  If one has the willpower, making the switch to water is ideal for several reasons that really do not need to be rehashed right now.  Unfortunately, many people, especially those who are not super-motivated, tend to have this psychological fixation on sugary tasty drinks.  Usually, I would recommend something like skim milk, Special K Protein Water, or a heavy dilution of IsoPure Bottled Drink in lieu of water until they can get off the high carb sugary drink crack they are addicted to.

There are only two reasons, in my opinion, to drink these "watery soft drinks."

The first is as a means to break away from the higher sugar content in other soft drinks.  A stepping stone, if you will, to the ultimate goal of being mostly hydrated by water. 

The only other reason would be to indulge yourself.  Yes, vitamin water, imho, should be considered an indulgence for a serious, motivated athlete.

If you are happy with your body comp and don't want to lower your BF% or increase your lean mass, then Vitamin water is fine -- but this takes you out of the realm of a serious motivated athlete then since an athlete (and traceur..) should always be looking to improve themselves.

Actually a very slight mixture of salt water is more ideal that just water... if you're a heavy sweater and acutally need to replace electrolytes.

But yeah.. water >>>> anything with sugar. If you have to pick between vitamin water and soda/beer/whatever then pick vitamin water... hardly recommended though. o_o

I guess I was to tired to be specific. I'm sure most people here can make a good interpretation of what I said and im sorry if I was misleading.

+1 for bringing up beneficial discussion

I mentioned specific goals, so please don't make assumptions on what I deem standard based on a general statement. I used a cyclist as an example mainly to describe a performance based athlete who wouldn't worry much about recovery. Sorry for not making that clear. A performance based cyclist will almost always exceed your precious 50% threshold.