It was about ten years ago that I remembering seeing the first one. I remember thinking how odd it was at the time and I still feel the same way about it. Commercials for prescription drugs are all over the t.v. now and they range in nature from blood pressure "fixers" to pills that can help you "in the bedroom".
What they really are is completely ludicrous. Think about it. Now people see a commercial on t.v. for restless legs and think to themselves "I might have Restless Leg Syndrome". No, dear one. What you have is either too much caffeine in your system when you try to rest, a vitamin deficiency, or possibly some stress overload. You do not need a prescription medication for your leg movements. However, they proceed to schedule an appointment with their primary physician and ask them about prescribing something to treat this "syndrome" that they heard about on t.v. Their doctor proceeds to treat the symptoms instead of the real problem and prescribes one of the usuals. The patient goes home happy. The doctor goes home richer. However, the pharmaceutical company goes home the winner.
Everyday they advertise more and more prescription drugs on t.v. and everyday our nation takes a few more morning, noon and night. Did you know that from 1992-2002 the number of prescribed medications rose by 61%? Do you think that had anything to do with the beginning of television advertisements regarding prescriptions that can "fix" whatever ails you?
It is a brilliant marketing campaign. But, it's not the only one. Sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade should win the award for "Most Brilliant Marketing Campaign EVER"!
Forty years ago, coaches used to make their players go entire practices without water breaks. They believed it made them stronger. Well, a few tragic instances and a little bit of wisdom later and we now hydrate fully at each sporting event.
You probably already know that Gatorade came from the mind of an assistant coach at the University of Florida who was correct in his thought process regarding electrolytes fueling our bodies and how we lose them (electrolytes) during exercise. However, what happened in the fifty years following the Gators first Orange Bowl, no one could have predicted.
Last night at Craig's baseball game (which I am lovingly referring to as our home away from home), every single one of his teammates had a Gatorade bottle in hand.
They were replacing electrolytes. (And given that it was 102 degrees (literally) when his game started, this was a wise decision.)
They were hydrating. (Very wise decision.)
However, let's take a closer look at what they were putting in their systems. Take a Gatorade (Rain Berry flavor) for example. (What is a "rain berry" anyway?) The ingredients listed on the back are water, sucrose syrup, high fructose corn syrup, natural flavors, citric acid, salt, sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, phosphoric acid, red 40, and blue 1. Now, let's break those down one by one.
WATER - Listed first, this means that it is what Gatorade is mostly made of. (The first ingredient listed always tells you what the majority of the content is.) Nothing wrong with water; let's move on.
SUCROSE SYRUP - Sucrose is simply sugar, so this is a sweetener - a sugar syrup. Sugar (in moderation) is much better than any artificial sweetener out there.
HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP - This is where things start to get a little scary and it is especially disturbing that this is the third ingredient listed. The biggest problem with HFCS is that it is made from corn and corn is a mess right now. It is nearly impossible to find corn that hasn't been genetically modified in some way. Health guru's all over the world recommend eating a corn-free diet because of the dangers of corn crops. (For optimum health, they say stay away from corn, gluten and soy.) Anything that you consume that has corn in it (corn chips, corn syrup, cornbread, etc...) contain synthetic ingredients because the corn was genetically modified. (Obviously the exception to this would be organic corn, but let me assure you that HFCS is not made from organic corn.) Super dangerous friends. The second biggest problem with HFCS is that despite the UNBELIEVABLE MARKETING CAMPAIGN on the t.v. right now saying that it is just like sugar, it is NOT. I cannot stress this enough. HFCS is not just like sugar. Sugar is sucrose. When you consume it, it travels to your liver where your liver decides whether to metabolize it, store it or get rid of it. However, fructose doesn't get to go to your liver. It is immediately turned into fat. It's like sneaking in without paying admission. If you want an ingredient to watch out for that is bad 100% of the time - HFCS fits the bill.
NATURAL FLAVORS - I won't spend long on this one because it's a joke. Manufacturers are allowed to use the words "natural flavors" on their ingredient lists as a cover all. Natural flavors could cover anything from MSG to food colorings, preservatives to additives. It is a scam - a cover up. Any product that uses the words "natural flavors" cannot be trusted.
CITRIC ACID - This is a natural preservative from citrus fruits. Obviously - consuming the citrus fruits themselves would be more beneficial and healthy, but citric acid hasn't been linked with any health fallout yet.
SALT - The funniest part about salt being in Gatorade is that it's the only thing it really needs other than water. Putting just a pinch of salt into a glass of water (not even enough to taste it) will provide enough sodium chloride to replace lost electrolytes. Add a banana in (for potassium) and you've just replaced all lost electrolytes. Hmmmm... kind of makes you wonder what the other ingredients are doing in there, huh?
SODIUM CITRATE - Not completely bad, this is simply citric acid mixed with baking powder. It hasn't been linked with any fallout yet.
MONOPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE - A food additive I would recommend staying away from, it is technically a salt of sorts - but it is used in fertilizer and fungicides. It is a source of potassium which is probably why it is in the drink in the first place; however, it would be easier (and more beneficial) to just eat a banana. Maybe a banana wouldn't fit in the bottle.
PHOSPHORIC ACID - A mass produced man-made chemical (your first clue that it's not good for you) that is used to get a tangy flavor into the drink. It is primarily used for rust removal if that is any indicator as to why you might not want to ingest it. (That's why a soda on your car battery will remove the "gunk".)
RED 40 & BLUE 1 - I would label these two as the worst pieces to this disastrous puzzle. Food colors are made from coal tar. They are so dangerous that most of the other nations in our world have outlawed them. I know what you're thinking. The last time you went to England or China, you probably enjoyed a soda or maybe your favorite cookie or chips because they looked familiar. However - you didn't enjoy them with the same ingredients they are made with in the U.S. In order for companies like Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay, and Keebler to ship to other countries, they have to figure out how to make their products with ingredients that are completely legal in those countries and food dyes are among the many that the America allows in it's products that other countries do not.
So, the next time you think about pushing a sports drink down your child to rehydrate them - think twice! All they really need is a tall glass of water with a pinch of salt and maybe a side of banana.
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