I’ve recently been asked by several people about my opinion of the new Crystal Light Pure Fitness drink mix packets and thought this would be a perfect product to review. If you’ve followed me for a while you know my opinion of original Crystal Light drink mixes. The original product was nothing more than pure poison in my opinion because it contained aspartame.
Kraft Foods has finally wised up to public awareness regarding the harmful effects of aspartame and developed this “all natural” product as an alternative. I give them kudos for that, but you’ll have to read on to get the full story on my opinion of the new Pure Fitness drink mix.
Crystal Light Pure Fitness Drink
The first thing I recognized when I reviewed the product ingredients (and as I expected) was the replacement of aspartame with some other sweetener. In the new product they use “evaporated cane juice” and sugar. So basically sugar and some more sugar.
Now once again they list (2) servings per drink mix. I wish they’d stop this nonsense. Are you really going to use half the packet and then somehow fold it up and save it for later? I mean come on people! Anyways, since there are (2) servings per packet it contains approximately 6-7 grams of sugar per packet.
I can’t say that I’m that excited about recommending something that provides a dose of simple sugar even as little as 6-7 grams.
Sure, if the product was used in moderation this is a way better alternative than the old aspartame version but I’m wary about people going overboard since it’s cleverly labeled as an “all natural” product.
When you can show me the plant in nature that grows Crystal Light packets I guess we can talk about it really being “all natural.”
The product mixed up nicely and did have a decent taste (I tried the Lemon-Lime). The packet is much bigger than the older versions which does make pouring it into your water bottle much easier. It’s always fun dumping that micro-dust of a powder all over yourself when you’re trying to pour it into a bottle. Improvement noted.
Bottom Line:
My overall review of this product is that it’s much better than the previous version, which I mentioned earlier was nothing more than poison.
My recommendations will continue to be that I’d like you to stick with plain old water, coffee, or unsweetened tea for your drinks of choice, but I understand that many people simply want something sweet now and then.
If it’s “now and then” (we’re talking one packet per day max) you’ll get my blessing on this product. If used more frequently you have to remember sugar is sugar is sugar!
Sugar is the enemy in any weight loss program and you absolutely must take steps to minimize it in your diet to be successful.
My concern would be that using these drink packets with regularity could easily throw off your hormonal balances and keep you in a “fat storing” state. This would be a product I would put in the 20% category of my 80/20 rule.
For those of you who haven’t heard me talk about this before, the 80/20 rule is my philosophy of having 80% or more of your food and drink coming from natural sources and 20% or less coming from unnatural sources. Since this is still a processed and refined product it’s going in the 20% category.
Eat primal, train hard, live strong!
Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios. You can receive a free no-obligations trial of his Charleston personal training programs and experience the Shaping Concepts difference for yourself.
Tags: Crystal Light Pure Fitness
Posted:
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
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Category:
Nutrition.
I’ve been looking around for reviews on this product because I was interested to see what professionals had to say. I’ve been drinking Pure Fitness (strawberrykiwi) for close to a month now. I am a person that has the horrible tendency to go a whole day without really being thirsty so I decided to try this. It’s funny that you say, “Are you really going to use half the packet and then somehow fold it up and save it for later?…” because that is exactly what I do! I actually use the packet for 64 oz of water total – broken up through out the day. I really can’t imagine just using it in 32 oz., I think it would taste like kool-aid, but when using it as I do, it just gives it a little extra flavor and keeps me more hydrated than I have ever been!
I agree with Rachel,and I like this product a lot more than the reviewer.
I actually mix one packet in a two liter container and put it in fridge. That makes a very lightly flavored drink that is around 10 cal a glass. This product mixes sugar and stevia to make something tasty, natural and low in sugar. I think it is a great alternative to both sugary drinks and diet drinks. Yes, water and unsweetened iced teas are better, but for people who don’t drink enough H20 and don’t like iced tea or water I think it is a great option. I like the grape best, followed by the lemon-lime.
I wanted to look at some reviews on this product. I found the amazon.com reviews first, and just wanted to see what people were saying. I saw that people think that 2 servings means something that it doesn’t. The instructions says empty 1 packet into 16 ounces of water. A 1 cup serving of a beverage is always 8 ounces. So for the people who think its silly to empty half of the package and fold it back up or thin it out, how about just drink 8 ounces and save the rest for later. I dilute mine sometimes, but the maker made it convenient to use by having it emptied into a whole 16.9 ounce bottle of water. Anyhoo I do love this product I have never used artificial sweeteners, so I couldn’t get into the regular crystal light. As for the sugar and calories in this drink, imo its more sugar and calories in a apple. I am trying to get away from soda and I found that this a great stepping stone! READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CLEARLY PEOPLE! Nic