LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Fitness |
by Rick Moore |
Say No to H20?
"Hold on a second," said my client, Mark. We were taking a break from a serious workout. Mark, a tall, beefy blond who doesn't look his age is as devoted to his workout as he is to his partner, Joe. "Need a drink of water before we do another set." "Hey, your water looks really cloudy," I said, referring to the tall squeeze bottle he was holding. Well, he had added just a shot of lemon juice to his "workout water." Seems Mark and I have something in common. We just don't care for the plain taste of H20. We are children of flavor who grew up in the 60s and 70s with soda, Hi-C, Hawaiian Punch, Nestle Quik, and Tang. Plain water is boring. Don't you agree? Well, there are many ways to up your recommended daily intake of H20up to 64 ounces or eight eight-ounce glasses per day. Are we the only ones that feel this way about good old plain water? Apparently not. There are numerous types of water: Smart water with vitamins, oxygenated water, yep, it's out there in sport waters like Propel, caffeinated waters, and LifeForce water. Even Special K has water with protein! Perrier has gotten on the bandwagon and introduced flavored water with citrus flavoringslemon and lime. Dasani, too, has their versions but the one who started all this flavored water frenzy was probably Fruit20. These guys rolled out flavored waters with lots of flavors: orange, lime, strawberry, raspberry, and berry-berry. They were very successful in the marketplace and the rest followed suit. Are flavored waters safe? You must read the labels very carefully. Many items contain artificial flavors and artificial sweeteners. The sweeteners can raise some eyebrows. Take, for instance, Propel. It is artificially flavored water made with Aspartame or NutraSweet. Many people, myself included, have a reaction to these substances. Things like headache or upset stomach are a warning to stay away from these items. And you should know by now (if you've been reading my columns in Letters), about high fructose corn syrup. It's in many of those flavored waters, too. Another caveat about flavored waters is calories. Make sure to read the label. Many have zero calories and many do not. Most people use tonic water at some time or another. Well, this water has calories. There are 60 calories in an eight ounce serving, and four servings per 32 ounce bottle which equals 240 calories. And it has fructose corn syrup in it, too! Another thing to be aware of is the packaging. Many water labels have promising statements like "It will make you smarter" or "the extra protein you need." Or a label on a sports drink says it will make you a better athlete. While you're at it, check out the price of flavored water. Is it worth it? Is it reasonable? Does it deliver what it promises? Confused? How do we get around all this hype over flavored water? We could probably make our own. It's quite easy in fact. Hate plain water? Then spice it uppeople put ginger in water to flavor it, as well as mint or even lemongrass. All are natural and fresh tasting. Something that we like to do is add lemon juice, lime juice, or cherry or grape juicejust a dash to our ice water. Just a hint to make it refreshing. Some people try salt to flavor theirs and others say they like to add a dash of apple cider vinegar. Add real berries: raspberries, strawberries, or blueberries to your cold water and drink up. One of the strangest concoctions I've heard is adding cucumber slices to your ice cold water. They say it's really tasty. Gotta try that one.Rick Moore is a personal trainer certified by the American Fitness Professionals &Associates. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 19 No. 07 June 19, 2009 |