Coca-Cola Sued for Marketing VitaminWater as Healthy
A class-action suit contends that Coca-Cola is illegally marketing its “Vitaminwater” line as a healthy product. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is one party to the suit, which cites California consumer-protection laws.
According to the suit, "Vitaminwater is not a healthy beverage. Rather it is sugar water -- just like soft drinks -- with a few added vitamins."
The suit cites the labeling of Vitaminwater with flavors such as "defense," "rescue," "energy" and "multi-v" as proof of its health claims. The suit asks that California consumers of Vitaminwater be awarded actual and punitive damages.
Sources: -Advertising Age January 15, 2009
Doctors Note:
Health and wellness is a trend that is rapidly growing in today’s society. So many food and beverage companies are struggling to stay ahead in today’s market. So what do they do to stay ahead? They mislead consumers into believing that an unhealthy product is actually beneficial to your health.
Some examples include:
Packaging that reads 0 grams of trans-fat- This is misleading because most of these products contain 0 grams per serving and are not actually trans-fat free. There is no safe amount of Trans-Fat. Even 0.5 grams can be harmful to your health.
No MSG- Instead food makers use other forms of MSG, a name you might not be familiar with such as autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed protein, etc.
Light- suggesting that it is a healthier version. Food makers cut down on the sugar but poison you with artificial sweeteners (neurotoxins).
Low Sodium- they cut down on the salt but replace it with MSG in one of its many forms.
Natural Sugar and Salt are far better for you than artificial sweeteners and MSG… even if you are diabetics or have high sodium levels. They should be consumed sparingly but not replaced with unhealthier alternatives.
The only way to know if a food product is actually good for you is by reading the ingredients and knowing which are healthy or unhealthy. Reading the ingredients is the only real way to determine if a food is healthy or not. Nutrition Facts can be very misleading.
When it comes to determining if a product contains trans-fat do not trust the nutrition facts… you must read the ingredient to see if it contains partially hydrogenated oil. Sometimes companies label partially hydrogenated oil as hydrogenated oil, so that should be avoided as well.
Click on the link below to see a list of the ingredients that should be avoided.
Remember, it can be overwhelming to eliminate these ingredients at first but once you get it down it’s a piece of cake.