G2

I tried Gatorade's new "G2" low calorie electrolyte beverage recently. I had the orange flavor and the grape flavor. Can't say I would get them again. The orange did taste way better than the grape, though, I'll give it that. It tasted like watered down tang, whereas the grape tasted like sweet salt water.
For a 20 oz bottle, G2 has 70 calories, yet it is sweetened with sucrose syrup, high fructose corn syrup AND sucralose & acsufame potassium. (If you see acsufame potasssium in a beverage, you will always see sucralose - sucralose is added to temper the bitter aftertaste of acsufame potassium = please note: if you are sensitive to artificial sweeteners, keep an eye out for acsufame potassium).
For hydration, I'll stick with plain old water, thanks. And if I need a electrolyte beverage, I much prefer Powerade's Fruit Punch.

Vault Red Blitz

I tried a 20 oz bottle of Coca-Cola's new Vault Red Blitz today.
Can't say that I'm too impressed. The flavor is supposed to be "Berry Injected" ~ why they just don't say "strawberry" flavored is beyond me. Strawberry isn't my favorite artificial flavor, and I was hoping more for a cherry or red raspberry flavor. Or even cranberry - Sierra Mist's Cranberry Splash from the holidays is one soft drink I could drink year 'round.

But not Vault Red Blitz.

Along with the flavor not bowling me over - this 20 oz bottle has 290 calories. You know those flavored water commercials where they're whining about how many extra sit-ups they're going to have to do after drinking the flavored water? Wait til they chug a Vault Red Blitz. Plus, as a "hybrid energy soda", it contains caffeine and guarana along with all those calories. Bouncing off the walls, anyone?

Cran-Raspberry Goodness!

A few days ago, I blogged about how I loved Blueberry DanActive. Well, move over Blueberry, there's a new flavor on the block!
DanActive's Cranberry Raspberry is now my favorite. The initial tartness of cranberries is soon mellowed by a deep sweet red raspberry lusciousness - how did they cram so much raspberry flavor in a little bottle? And make it good for you?!?

Drink Your Way To Health

We need good bacteria, especially in the intestines, to stay healthy. I read that an average healthy adult human has over three pounds of beneficial bacteria in their digestive tract. So, after taking that first double-dosage of Zithromax and you have to make that "run for the border" -- say farewell to that three pounds of good bacteria.
In order to replace the good guys in your gut after the antibiotics are over, a pro-biotic is recommended nowadays. Prescription ones can be expensive, and frankly my doctor said that unless I was a candidate for a "yeast infection" she didn't see the necessity of an RX pro-biotic.
Nevertheless, I thought that helping my body get back to some regularity would be a good thing, so I turned to some over-the-counter in the dairy-case alternatives.

Dannon's DanActive. The bottle specifically states it is a "Probiotic Dairy Drink".
Its label says "Clinically Proven To Help Strengthen Your Body's Defenses" and it states:

"About 70% of your immune system is in your digestive tract. This is where DanActive goes to work with the exclusive L. casei Immunitas™ cultures."

The DanActive drink is a small, bullet-shaped bottle, sold in 4-packs & 8-packs. It's 3.3oz size was a good chaser for breakfast, but not very filling in itself. The flavor I like best is Blueberry.
Their newest flavor is Pomegranate Berry, and this is a good one, too!
In the ingredients, it listed sugar and corn starch but not high fructose corn syrup, and along with the L. casei Immunitas™ it listed L. Bulgaricus, and S. Thermophilus. The label also stated it contained 1% fruit juice (carrot juice was listed along with blueberry puree in the ingredients list on the Blueberry flavor, and pomegranate juice concentrate is listed on the Pomegranate Berry list). Serving size = 1 bottle, 90 calories. 10% of your RDA of calcium, too.

No one paid me for this post, or sponsored me. Now, if Dannon wants to send me a year's supply of DanActive, I certainly would be happy.
But I figured I'd share with you what I learned. I drank a DanActive on each of the 4 days after my Zithromax regime was completed, along with one of the other drinkable yogurts each day. Within 48 hours of starting the DanActive, my bowels were back to "normal" - and that was a pretty quick bounce-back for my system.
So, just food for thought, the next time you go on some antibiotics, and find yourself with the "side effects", you might just want to try some yogurt drinks afterwards to help your internal immune system get back to normal operating procedures. For me, I'm going to try a DanActive every day to keep myself healthy.