Many of you may have noticed the appearance of new Hint Water at our school cafeteria. Whether you have tried it or not, there are many other reasons besides taste why you should choose Hint Water over other sugary drinks such as Switch or Snapple 100% Juiced. The all natural flavored water, Hint, proves itself the healthiest choice, besides of course actual water.

Hint flavored water has no zero diet sweeteners, sugar, calories, preservatives, gmo’s, and it’s gluten-free. Many of us may not even realize how much sugar we consume daily, and much of it comes from sweetened drinks. Switch Juices offered at the cafeteria may have about 29 grams of sugar in one can of 8.3 ounces. An 11.5 ounce can of Snapple 100% Juiced, also offered at our cafeteria, comes in at about 40 grams of sugar. Some of you may be wondering, how much is a gram of sugar relative to a teaspoon? A teaspoon of sugar is equal to 4 grams. A drink containing 40 grams of sugar contains 10 teaspoons of sugar. Hint Water, though flavored, contains no sugar.

Hint water also contains no artificial sweeteners such as Splenda, Truvia, or Equal. Many experiments conducted on these sweeteners to prove if they are safe or effective in weight loss have been inconclusive.On the contrary, many experiments have proved that they have the potential to be dangerous. Some studies have linked Splenda to chronic migraines and possibly even weight gain. When tested on laboratory animals, the animals fed Splenda regularly gained more weight than those who were not, despite Splenda having 0 calories. Equal sweeteners have also been linked to weight gain in animals and in large doses, some of the animals developed tumors. However this correlation between sweeteners and weight gain/ cancer is exactly that, just a correlation with no definitive results. The animals that developed tumors were given doses of Aspartame (the artificial sweetener in Equal), in extremely large amounts relative to their body weight that the average human cannot consume. The sweetener Truvia, that claims to be all natural and derived from Stevia leaves, is actually highly processed and not natural in the slightest. Hint water does not add any of the above.

So how does Hint Water get its fruity flavor? Fruit oils and essences are used to flavor the drink without adding any sugar or calories. However, the process in which the flavors are extracted is not revealed. Hint Water, though a healthier alternative to sugary drinks, is not perfect. The two ingredients in Hint are water and natural flavors. However, the FDA very loosely regulates what can be considered a natural flavor. The basic definition is anything derived from a natural source, but it can be modified in a lab. Some of these natural flavors include: MSG, aspartame, and insects. You can be assured Hint Water is free of all of the above, and the natural flavors are derived from non GMO plants although it is still unclear of what these flavors are.

Hint Water water contains natural fruit flavors with all the benefits of regular water, but without any added sugar. So, the bottom line is that whether or not you’re a fan of flavored water, it certainly is a better drink choice in the cafeteria versus Switch or Snapple.