When I go to a health store, one of the products I see the most – especially among the impulse items at the checkout counter – are those packets to make vitamin C drinks. They come in dozens of flavors and promise lots of benefits from health to energy. To be honest, I’ve tried pretty much every flavor of them from several different brands. I’d used them as an energy drink alternative for a few years. That said, according to researchers and nutrition experts, they’re a giant waste of money.
Vitamin C Drinks Don’t Add Health Benefits to Most Americans
The thing about vitamin C drinks is that they’re not typically providing us with anything that we’re not getting enough of through our food. There’s a reason you’re not hearing about a lot of people suffering from scurvy in your social circle. It’s because a lot of the foods we eat on a regular basis – even when our diets aren’t hugely nutritious – still contain at least the bare minimum of that particular nutrient.
It’s so commonly adequately consumed that removing it from product nutrition labels has been debated.
The thing is that even if you’re not sure if you’re getting enough, the best way to top yourself up is to eat fruits or veggies that contain it. It doesn’t take much to get everything you need for the day. With some top food performers, a single serving is enough.
Are Any Supplements Good?
Overall, the idea is that vitamin C drinks and straight-up C supplements typically don’t do much for the average person who has a decent diet. If you are tracking your nutrition and you happen to note that you’ve had too little of it in a given day, you can top things up with a supplement. That said, I don’t even tend to track that anymore because I’ve been taking an immune support supplement that gives me the top-up I need as a part of a broader overall formula (the one I take also has quercetin and European elder fruit) to give my body what it needs so it can keep fighting off infections and so on.
As much as I liked those vitamin C drinks, I’ve stopped buying them. I mean, with my diet and the added overall wellness supplements I’m taking, I’m covered. Moreover, taking a supplement and eating food rich in this nutrient means that I’m not guzzling all that added sugar that made it taste so great.