If you regularly guzzle health drinks that promise weight-loss and muscle miracles, as a healthy ‘quick fix’, you might be filling your body with fraudulent ingredients that do absolutely nothing to improve your wellbeing.
A recent report published by Which? has exposed a number of leading ‘functional drinks’ as being misleading, as they failed to live up to their claims that drinking their product improves health, ailments and weight-loss.
With Brits currently splashing out £700 million a year on health drinks, the report reveals that many of these high-priced beverages are a waste of money and have been forced to change their claims and marketing statements, due to lack of evidence. They don’t always do what they say on the tin.
In the hot seat of the report is Aspire, which is packed with stimulants and promises to ‘raise your body’s metabolism and suppresses your appetite’. When the drink was put to the test, volunteers burnt an average 209 calories in 3 hours, which sounds impressive.
Yes, it burnt 200 calories as promised on the can, however, it was only 27 calories more than those who drank non-calorie burning drinks.
Also in the spotlight was weight-loss aid, NeuroTrim. This bottled drink claims that its key ingredient LuraLean helps aid weight-loss. However, the Advertising Standard Authority disagreed and panned the drink for being misleading.
ActivJuice in Joints was another health drink to be highlighted as being misleading in the report. Although the drink boasts that it ‘helps maintain healthy joints, bones, muscles and tendons’, the European Food Safety Authority failed to find any solid evidence of this.
"Generally I'd take the claims with a pinch of salt because out of the ones that we looked at actually very few were backed up by proper science,” says Dietitian Shefalee Loth, from Which?
However, not all health drinks were exposed as frauds. Cholesterol busting drinks Benecol and ProAtiv did meet their health claims, as they contained enough cholesterol lowering substances, such as stanol esters and plant sterols, to have an impact.
Sirco fruits juices also made the grade as it contains tomato concentrate extract that helps prevent blood clotting.