Ame's EcoDrink Benefits Opinion - Lose Weight, Gain Energy, Let's Talk . . .

So I was reading information on the web regarding EcoDrink and I came across a very opinionated blog page. Now, I don't have a lot of information about sucralose, so I thought that I should look it up. I wouldn't want to be uneducated. However, upon reading up I found nothing to substantiate her claims. There really is no definitive research results showing that sucralose is bad for you at all. It increases pH in the waste of test rats and that was their biggest side effect. Come on. It's all just hype.

Now I understand that aspartame has certainly hurt people, but there is no aspartame in here. That's not the same compound at all. We are talking about sucralose. It is also known as Splenda. I've read the stories by mass mails about a woman that drank diet soda (with aspartame) and thought she was dying because her body was not working right. Her sister told her to stop drinking diet soda and she was miraculously cured! Hooray!

Honestly, I don't believe that story. If you were dying would you really keep drinking "diet" drinks? Like, "I'm dying but I've got to keep my girlish figure." Wouldn't you start eating healthier, trying to keep yourself as healthy as possible? Drink tea with honey and whatnot? Anyway, I digress.

Here's my two cents on EcoDrink and her blog post:

" . . came across EcoDrink Complete Multivitamin at Costco the other day. It cost $19.99 for 30 packets — 15 berry flavor and 15 orange flavor. You mix it with water in the BPA free shaker bottle that is provided, and it gives you enough for two people (or a big dose for one person).

It's got:

• Zero Calories
• Zero Carbs
• Zero Sodium
• Zero Caffeine
• Zero Sugar

What?? Zero sugar. Why is this drink so grossly sweet that we could barely drink it. Oh, of course! It might have zero sugar, but it’s loaded with Sucralose, the artificial sweetener that is shown to overexcite and kill off our brain cells! We should know better by now to REALLY look at the labels and not leave it up to the manufacturers to have the contents CLEARLY stated."

Uh, the contents ARE clearly stated on the side of the box. All of the ingredients are in the same size print. Also, how does less than 1% of sucralose make it "loaded"?

"As an aside, the side panel has blurbs about how this product helps with heart health, a healthy immune system, healthy eyes, joints, and skin, and bone health. Then right below that in little tiny print, it says: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration“. Hmm, interesting."

First of all nutritional and vitamin products are never evaluated by the FDA. For this reason green tea can't have a label that says, "Prevents cancer", even though it does. Lycopene can't say, "This product has been shown to prevent prostate cancer", even though studies have proven that it does. Why? The FDA has too many compounds and products to evaluate already. They simply tell us what is OTC and what is prescription. They let the doctors "evaluate" what does and does not treat our ailments.

I will comment on the FDA part, but to be clear are you saying that it's not good for:
1) The immune system: Anti-oxidants like green tea, lycopene, lutein, grape skin extract, acai berry and alpha lipoic acid have all been proven to strengthen the immune system and in many cases prevent cancers. Perhaps you should read up on them.
2) Healthy eyes: Lutein has proven to improve overall eye health.
3) Joints: Hydration is important for your body's muscle and joint functions.
4) Skin: Hydration and good vitamin health have both proven to keep the skin healthy.
5) Bone health: Hydration and vitamins like calcium (in ecoDrink) are important for bone health.

The reviewer implied that EcoDrink would make you fat. Well, the only review I saw on her website regarding fat praised the product stating:

• Patty says:

  July 28, 2011 at 4:55 pm

  
  Tell you what, Kathleen, I have used the Eco-drink for almost 3 months; I have lost 30 lbs.Only 3 lbs more to go for my goal. If the drink is too sweet, dilute it more with water,or whatever you might prefer. I take 1 packet of the Eco-drink and mix it with about 24 oz water or whatever, in my blender with a banana & an orange or a peach or a pear. You need not peel, just wash the skin of the peach or pear and the blender will mix it beautifully. To that I add a couple handfuls of ice cubes. It will be frothy. It makes 2 good sized drinks which last me all day ’til my regular dinner. I eat anything I want for dinner, and if I want something before bed I have a cookie.

Ooooh. Patty forgot to mention that you can freeze ecoDrink in ice cubes and then use those to make smoothies. That's my favorite. I add strawberries and a scoop of yogurt or ice cream. It really keeps you going in the morning.

Anyway, I digress. Here are some more reviews with feedback on using the actual product.

1. • Sandy says:

     July 15, 2011 at 12:27 pm

     I have been drinking half a pack a day for week now. I noticed increased energy. I have also started eating less and DO NOT crave chocolate, which is very weird for me. Nobody told me that is one of the benefits so I am not sure if it is related or not, but this is the only thing that has changed in my routine.

My input? That energy that Sandy has is a result of several things. First of all the vitamin B12. That is the "energy B". If you consume 100% of your vitamin B12 (6 micrograms) for the day you will indeed feel better. A tiny amount of B12 will go a long way. You do not need 31,000%, as some products would have you believe. Your body can't even absorb, let alone process that much B12 and if it does you'll feel jittery. All you need is 6-10 micrograms to feel good all day.

The second thing really helping Sandy is that ecoDrink has so many electrolytes. The potassium alone is 400 mg. That is a great dose and will make a leg cramp go away three minutes after you drink it. However, those electrolytes do so many things. Hydration keeps your organs and blood pumping smoothly. That means a few things:

1) Your heart doesn't have to work so hard to pump your thick blood around. (That's more energy for you.)

2) Your organs and muscles will operate to their maximum efficiency because they are well lubricated. (It's like not doing an oil change on your car. You can't expect an engine to run forever on thickened, dirty oil. Right?)

3) Your brain is kept working correctly when your electrolytes are balanced. That's what mood-lifting water drinks have. It's just added electrolytes in your water.

Oh, and before I forget. The packaging on ecoDrink says it "reduces leg cramping" for liability reasons, but I can give you my personal opinion. A half packet of ecoDrink will take away any leg cramp in about 3 minutes. Seriously. Three minutes! This is extremely important to me. If you get charlie horses in the middle of the night you know what I'm talking about. I know because I use it for just that. It's my main reason for buying and using ecoDrink. Leg cramps no longer keep me up all night. I just have a half of a glass of ecoDrink when any cramp comes on and it is gone and I'm back asleep in no time.

1. aimee says:
   

   April 21, 2011 at 10:56 am

   I read all the huff about a tiny bit of sweetener in this vitamin drink, but do any of you eat BBQ sauce, ketchup, granola bars, bread, teriyaki sauce, spaghetti sauce……?
   I honestly found the Eco vitamins about 8 months ago at Costco and I add 1 packet to a large container of water, because is is a sweet and drink it through out the day, I am 42 and have to travel between LA and San Diego for work weekly, I was exhausted, I don’t have the energy I once did as a 20 something.I also am a very healthy eater, no meat, fried food, processed food, lots of who green foods and fish. I noticed a HUGE difference in my energy level not a little change a drastic change, I did not really notice until I ran out of the product and was too busy to get another box, but about a week into not taking one packed a day I really notice a big drop in energy. I have taken all sorts of vitamins through out my life but honestly have not felt the energy level and clarity I do with Eco vitamins. I also do not EVER drink caffeine so i know the difference between natural energy and the jitters or a sugar high. Also my 65 year old mother who refuses to swallow a vitamin and rejected every other vitamin drink i tried will drink it and felt better too!

My advice? Believe the end consumers; Those who use it and actually can review it objectively. Don't believe the hype or exclude something from your diet just because you heard something from someone who is very opinionated.

On a side note: Do you think that peanut butter really causes cancer? Of course it does if you only eat peanut butter and you are injected with it 20 times a day. (I'm not making that up. They really did that to rats.)

Some artificial sweeteners are bad. I get that, but does that mean that we shouldn't even take our vitamins and electrolytes? Is 0.07% sweetener too much for you? . . . Is it so much that you would keep a healthy item out of your diet? Are you going to eat that broccoli, spinach, those blueberries and all the other things you'd have to eat in a day to get this much nutrition? I doubt you can.

Does that mean that people who drink caffeinated soda every day are better off drinking that stuff than drinking ecoDrink? Does it mean we'll gain weight on ecoDrink? Absolutely not.

Don't give ecoDrink a bad rap because other sweeteners like aspartame have been overused and over consumed. Drinking twenty diet sodas a day is not good for anyone. Seriously.

Why are people always looking for a cure all? Everything in moderation people. Don't eat too much sugar and you won't get fat. Don't jaywalk on the freeway if you don't want to get hit by a car.