| Written by C. Thomas Corriher |  |  |
Members of the health movement are often on the lookout for healthy beverages. Water is not particularly flavorful, and this has given rise to a plethora of health drink scams. Flavored water has existed for well over a decade, and it continues to fool some people into believing that they are getting all of the benefits of spring water, with added flavors. Campbell's V8 came reconstituted more recently, adding mysterious "natural flavors" and reconstituted juices. When green tea became popular, companies like Lipton jumped on the new trend by delivering green teas containing unknown "natural flavors", along with DNA-damaging sodium benzoate, sodium hexametaphosphate, and of course, artificial colors.Coca Cola has been pushing Vitamin Water for some time. This health scam contains 33 grams of refined sugar, which equates to around 8 teaspoons (about 3 tablespoons). That is not far from a regular can of coke, which has 39 grams. Synthetic vitamins are then added to make the drink healthy. As such, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) filed a lawsuit against Coca Cola for making ridiculous health claims about its chemically engineered sugar water.
On the bottles, Coca Cola Company makes the unapproved (and bogus) health claims that the drinks prevent chronic diseases, reduce the risks of eye diseases, promotes healthy joints, and supports optimal immune function. The sugar inflammation and the fact that these drinks cause the depletion of real nutrients will wreak havoc upon those who are duped into drinking it.
Notice that the F.D.A. has not sent any warning letters, or commenced armed raids against the Coca Cola Corporation yet, as is so common with legitimate health claims about nutrition. Instead, the only regulation for Coca Cola is privately funded by a non-profit consumer advocacy group.
According to The Huffington Post, the Coca Cola company attempted to defend itself by asserting that, "no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking Vitamin Water was a healthy beverage". Did you catch that slight-of-hand? The company responded by implying that it is ridiculous to believe that vitamins can improve health. Did they not realize that this is an admission of the own dishonest marketing, since their own vitamin-enhanced water was previously said to be "healthier" than regular water before the lawsuit began?
It is irrational to trust the marketing claims of Coca-a-Cola, particularly on issues of health. They are yet another company that places poisonous aspartame inside diet drink cans that already have a hidden lining of transparent BPA plastic. All of their drink products contain B.P.A., by the way. They continues using carcinogenic aspartame despite the fact that this "calorie free" poison has been proven to cause weight gain. They sell regular tap water in bottles (Dasani), whilst giving customers the illusion that they are making health-conscious decisions. They even ran a "Say no to H20!" campaign that advised people to drink soft drinks instead of water. For health reasons, of course.
We are opposed to all forms of deception, but it is especially despicable when those who are trying to take care of their health are being intentionally baited into harming themselves.
