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Vitaminwater, This Water and similar ‘health’ drinks are no better for you than cola. For the first time ever, Coca-Cola is no longer in the top 10 in Brand Finance’s annual list of the top 500 brands worldwide, and this is because people are opting for enhanced water boosted with vitamins and electrolytes instead of fizzy drinks. But some of these products contain even more sugar than Coca-Cola.

Water sales explode

Between 1990 and 2005 global bottled water consumption quadrupled, and the industry is worth £2 billion in the UK alone. In the last few years the market for enhanced water exploded largely due to manufacturers’ claims that it’s a healthier choice than fizzy pop. Coca-Cola caught on to the trend quickly and bought up Energy Brands Inc, makers of Vitaminwater, in 2004.

Now, besides waters with added vitamins like Vitaminwater, consumers also have a wide choice of flavoured waters (This Water, Pret a Manger’s Pure), water containing electrolytes (SmartWater) and drinks that claim to be able to enhance everything from sex to relaxation (Neuro drinks).

Misleading claims

In January an advertisement claiming Vitaminwater is nutritious was declared ‘misleading’ by the Advertising Standards Agency. The drink is packed with vitamins, as it claims to be (including the full RDA of vitamin C), and it is a ‘low-calorie’ drink according to EU standards, but each 500ml bottle contains the equivalent of five teaspoons of sugar. This is around a quarter of the daily amount recommended by consumers’ guidelines.

It’s not only Vitaminwater that is misleading the public. This Water markets their products as healthy drinks, too: ‘Our drinks are simple: they are blended with pure squeezed juices from real fruits and spring water.’ But they avoid mentioning sugar content. In fact, some This Water flavours contain even more sugar than Coca-Cola – 42g per 420ml bottle. This is even more than a 500ml bottle of Coca-Cola, which contains 35g of sugar.

Many of the ‘healthy’ enhanced water products on the market are the furthest thing from good for you. Rather than buy into dubious health claims, save the planet, your wallet and your waistline by choosing to drink filtered tap water.

Tags: Keeping Healthy, water