I know that I’m beginning to sound like a raving lunatic about the hazards of food additives, pesticides and processing methods in our food supply. It is just that the more I learn, the more appalled I become.

Crystal Light is positioned in the marketplace as a health oriented drink mix. Its advertising says that it will help you drink more water, which sounds like a healthy idea. It even comes in flavors like Antioxidant White Tea Blueberry and Immunity Pomegranate Cherry. Doesn’t that sound healthy?

So let’s look at what Crystal Light is made from. Here is the ingredients label from one of their original, and best known flavors:

Citric Acid, Potassium and Sodium Citrate, Aspartame, Magnesium Oxide, Contains less than 2% of Natural Flavor, Lemon Juice Solids, Acesulfame Potassium, Artificial Color Yellow #5 Lake, BHA

Citric Acid is a relatively benign ingredients. Most citric acid is made by fermenting cane sugar or molasses in the presence of a fungus called Aspergillus niger. If you are allergic to yeast, you should stay away but for the rest of us, Citric Acid seems to be a generally safe additive.

Potassium Citrate and Sodium Citrate – These are mineral salts normally found in food. Because of a long history of their use and the fact that they are found in unprocessed foods, there have been very few studies about the effects of the manufactured forms of these products. However, the no significant studies show problems.

Aspartame, is an artificial sweetener. This chemical has been linked to cancer, increased risk of seizures and memory loss. Aspartame is made up of 3 ingredients: Aspartic acid (40%), phenylalanine (50%) and methanol (10%). Ingestion of Aspartame increases aspartic acid levels in the blood; higher levels of aspartic acid can lead to the destruction of neurons. Phenylalanine is an amino acid regularly found in the body, but some people suffer from a disorder called PKU; an inability to metabolize phenylalanine. High levels of phenylalanine have been found in the brains of people who consume aspartame. Methanol is slowly broken down in the small intestine, but if it reaches 30 degrees celsius or higher, it reacts with the chymotripsin to form formaldehyde. In Operation Desert Storm, troops supplied with large quantities of diet soda reported symptoms that mimic formaldehyde poisoning. Some American aviation publications have warned pilots about consuming products containing Aspartame due to complaints of seizure like symptoms, blurred vision and blackouts. Aspartame was recently identified in some studies from Italy as possibly increasing the risk of leukemia, lymphoma and breast cancer (CSPI’s Nutrition Action cover story Chemical Cuisine: A Guide To Food Additives, May 2008). And finally, 75% of complaints to the FDA regarding health complications from food additives have involved Aspartame. There are many governmental studies that refute the adverse affects of Aspartame, but since there is so much evidence implicating this chemical with health problems, why take chances? According to the well-respected Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), “The bottom line is that lifelong consumption of aspartame probably increases the risk of cancer. People—especially young children—should not consume foods and beverages sweetened with aspartame…”

Magnesium Oxide – Like Potassium and Sodium Citrate, Magnesium Oxide is a dietary supplement. It is used to prevent caking of powders. While it is a relatively benign additive, excessive amounts can cause loose stool.

Lemon juice solids – Lemon juice solids are simply the solids extracted from lemons and turned into a powder. Again, this is a relatively benign ingredient. However, if you are concerned about pesticides, according to USDA and FDA tests on commercially grown foods collected between 2000 and 2005, lemon had 55.6% (percentage) of samples tested with detectable pesticides, a 10.0% (percentage) of samples with two or more pesticides. So it is likely that you are getting a dose of pesticide with those juice solids

Acesulfame-K or Ace-K is an artificial sweetener used in Coke Zero. There have been inadequate studies to conclusively prove this substance is totally safe for human consumption. Acesulfame Potassium (K) was approved for use by the FDA as a safe artificial sweetener in July, l988. It is a derivative of acetoacetic acid. Unfortunately, several potential problems associated with the use of acesulfame have been raised. They are based largely on animal studies since testing on humans remains limited. The findings showed that Acesulfame K stimulates insulin secretion in a dose dependent fashion thereby possibly aggravating reactive hypoglycemia (”low blood sugar attacks”). Acesulfame K apparently produced lung tumors, breast tumors, rare types of tumors of other organs (such as the thymus gland), several forms of leukemia and chronic respiratory disease in several rodent studies, even when less than maximum doses were given. In 1996 the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the FDA for additional testing to determine safety. That testing has never been done.

Artificial Color Yellow Lake #5 – This chemical is also also known as Tartrazine. There is currently a petition to the FDA to ban tartrazine from food. Some schools have banned products containing tartrazine and subsequently noticed a big difference in the overall behavior of their students. Tartrazine is a coal tar derivative, like most artificial colorings, and is one of the most controversial of the azo dies used in food. Norway has banned the substance. This chemical has been linked to severe allergic reactions, especially in asthmatics and is one of the food additives thought to be a cause of hyperactivity in children

BHA - Butylated hydroxyanisole is a preservative usually used in cereals, potato chips and chewing gum to stop them from becoming rancid. It has been shown to cause cancer in mice, rats and hamsters. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers BHA to be “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” Despite this warning, the FDA still allows BHA to be used.

So Crystal Light looks a lot less like a health food when you look closely at the ingredients label. The packaging says in big bold highly visible letters “NATURAL LEMONADE” and then in tiny, tiny letters, it says “flavor.” If this isn’t clearly designed to mislead consumers, I’ll eat my BHA.

Thankfully, we no longer need to add chemicals to our water to enjoy delicious on-the-go drinks. We no longer need to patronize these companies that try to mislead consumers about what is in their products. Flavrz Drink Mix is now available in on-the-go packets that Flavor 12-20 ounces of water.

Flavrz Drink Mix is free of all artificial ingredients, USDA certified organic, and contains no pesticides residue. Flavrz is low sugar (only 9 grams per serving) and low calorie (only 30 calories per serving). Flavrz packets are more expensive than Crystal Light because real ingredients—fruit, agave nectar and flavorings and coloring made with real fruits, vegetables and botanticals–are more expensive than artificial, chemical-based additives. But they are not only free of things are unhealthy, they have lots of healthy ingredients that are actually good for you.

Water is good for you. Most of us could use a little help to drink more water and stay well hydrated, especially in the colder months when we are exposed to the dryness of indoor heating systems. If a drink mix helps us drink more water, it is a positive contributor to health, but only if it the flavoring is made from good healthy things.