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Antioxidant Frenzy –Much Ado About Nothing

Arizona Tea’s new pomegranate tea has ’em. Pom Wonderful has em. Tropicana Essentials has them too. Even Tully’s coffee shop (a large chain, for those who don’t know it) is promoting their new antioxidant fruit smoothies. Seems like nearly every new drink this side of the oasis is touting the presence and power of antioxidants.

Of course the truth is the actual presence of antioxidants in these drinks is as significant as the presence of intelligence in the White House. In other words folks there ain’t much there.

Yet these products sell like mad and people who think vitamins are a waste of cash continue to feel good about spending premium dollars for these products that taste great but don’t do much more than a can of Fresca. We know that this is the power of marketing and more marketing and more marketing but NBN also knows that the marketing of antioxidants ad nauseaum is indicative of another fact, one akin to America’s obesity problem.

You see in survey after survey Americans say that they are eating better, exercising more and very aware of the importance of diet, nutrition and fitness. Yet we’re getting fatter and fatter. Soon climbing a flight of stairs in the home will soon require an act of charity by the neighbors for many.

So in other words we’re full of it. We want our cake and our Tivo too. So when it comes to nutrition why should it surprise us that people don’t think about the power of nutritional medicine when it comes to solving the health care problem. After all Americans, we’re lazy and loving it.

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