I always knew my skepticism would prove valid...

A news report from CBC is lending credence to what I've long suspected to be valid suspicion concerning the benefits of vitamin-enhanced drinks. The brightly coloured "water" is just as chock full of sugar as pop, and even even more so than a Kit-Kat bar, according to a report from The Daily Mail that was released online in February of last year. This chart, from The Daily Mail shows, quite clearly, just how healthy that vitamin drink is, considering the amount refined sugars in the mix.

The article on CBC reports that The Quebec Coalition on Weight-Related Problems are the ones leading the charge against the manufacturers of these drinks. They are calling on Health Canada to force drink manufacturers to stop selling the products as "natural products", as they are currently classified for labeling and sale.

How on earth this stuff was convincingly argued and then approved for sale as "natural" is beyond me. It makes me wonder what sort of criteria they are using over at Health Canada. Is their purpose to support and promote the consumption of products with misleading claims to health benefits? How silly of me to think that my well being was being protected by the institution entrusted with ensuring my health. There has been a clear disregard for the health of Canadian consumers. Indeed, these products are marketed and sold just as flagrantly in the US and Britain.

It is my hope that the Government of Canada wakes up to the fact that prevention is a key element in reducing rates of childhood obesity. It is their job to protect Canadians. I hope that clearer labeling indicating that the source of calories is sugar and not power brain juice extract will dissuade consumers from grabbing the vitamin drink in the first place. But somehow, I remain skeptical.