I needed to stay hydrated so I went to the beverage case and this vitamin water caught my eye.  What is the crystalline fructose along with cane sugar and can a bottle of vitamin water really have 32 grams of sugar?  This does not sound like a wise choice to me!

This is what I learned when I researched vitamin waters:

“The way that vitaminwater is marketed and positioned it’s made to look more healthful than other sugary beverages, but it’s not – it’s still just a soft drink,” said Margo G. Wootan, Director of Nutrition Policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “It has this aura of healthfulness that is not deserved. Adding vitamins and minerals to junk food doesn’t make it healthy.”

And Elena Conis from the LA times writes:

Some like me may have wondered what exactly is crystalline fructose and is it like high fructose corn syrup? “Technically, yes, but physiologically, no,” says Roger Clemens, a professor at the USC School of Pharmacy whose research has focused on functional foods, food processing and nutrition. The two ingredients are chemically distinct, Clemens says, but their nutritional ramifications vary only slightly.”

They are both made from the same starting material: corn. In the U.S., this is an abundant and cheap source of fructose which is a plant sugar which is responsible for making many fruits naturally sweet.

Yes, it seems that plain water is a better choice.