Thomas Coleman: sophomore in pre-building science, drinks a Vitamin Water for refreshment. Vitamin Water is just one of the many brands that sell flavored, vitamin-enriched water. The popularity of this water has led to a decrease in soft drink sales. Pete Riley / PHOTO
Water.
It makes up 75 percent of your muscle tissue, 83 percent of your blood and 25 percent of your body fat. And now it even provides a tasty alternative to a typically chalky multivitamin at breakfast.
Vitamin-enriched water, created by brands such as VitaminWater and Life Water, is the latest health craze that has taken over the United States, and experts say it is the source of the decline in soft drink sales.
The water itself is made up of vapor distilled water, electrolytes, sweetener and several different vitamins including Vitamins C, B3, B5, B12 and E.
VitaminWater, which is owned by Coca-Cola, adds different flavors and ingredients depending on the purpose and flavor of each type of water.
The new alternative to tap or purified water is excitingly welcomed by some students.
Eric Thompson, a junior in biomedical sciences, said he is already caught up in the new health trend and can see why the drinks are so popular.
“I would definitely say I am addicted to several of the vitamin waters,” Thompson said. “Your body needs a lot of water every day, and it gets old drinking plain bottled water five or six times a day.
“I think a lot of people are going to start seeing the appeal of getting their vitamins through water instead of over-the-counter vitamins.”
The only downside to the new bottled water is the calorie intake, ranging from 80 to 150 or more calories per bottle, which Thompson said is not as big of a deal as health experts are making it.
“As with anything else, too much of a good thing can be bad for you, but you can burn off the calories just walking around campus to class,” Thompson said.
Some students said they haven’t made the switch or tried the new vitamin waters because they are still fine with drinking bottled water.
Molly Frazier, a sophomore in business accounting, said she hasn’t tried the new water yet, but plans to eventually.
“Whenever I go to the store I usually just end up buying the big things of bottled water,” Frazier said. “I would definitely like to try (vitamin water), though.”
For other students, it’s simply a matter of not getting around to buying the product.
“I’ve always just drank bottled water, but I did try one of the free samples of vitamin water once, and I liked it,” said Heather Tingas, a sophomore in elementary education.
With major beverage companies front-lining the new waters, Coca-Cola purchased VitaminWater for 4.1 billion dollars in 2007, it seems almost certain this new health trend is here to stay.
Bottled water prices have been criticized by experts for years, and although the new vitamin waters can be slightly more expensive, students say the extra change is worth it.
“My fridge has been stocked up with (vitamin water) for months, and I don’t plan on going back to bottled water anytime soon, especially since the price difference really isn’t that bad,” Thompson said.
