Believe or not,  the start of the summer season — with the beach outings, picnics, pool parties and barbecues that launch the struggle to keep it all healthy — is upon us. Remember the New Years Resolution of not that long ago?

Besides all the tempting food, desserts and snacks, the warmer weather and increased outdoor activities bring the biggest challenge — the need to stay hydrated. So that means it’s more important than ever to stay away from sugary sodas and heavily-caffeinated drinks that may satisfy at first but will ultimately dehydrate you. Studies have shown that the sugar in beverages like energy and some sports drinks can remove water from your body.

Enter Syfo Original Seltzer and Naturally Flavored Sparkling Waters. They’re the perfect beverage choice for all the summer fun ahead. Made with 100% purified water, Syfo products help you stay hydrated because water is simply the best way to hydrate yourself during warm weather activities. And since our products contain no sugar, sodium, artificial sweeteners, preservatives or other additives, there’s nothing in them to cancel that effect, making Syfo the healthy summer choice.

But we didn’t want to give you the impression that staying healthy this summer can’t be tasty and fun. Enjoy those cookouts and parties with some of our favorite Syfo summer recipes. Click the photos below for the full recipe details:

Lemon Ginger Pear Spritzer

Minty Lemon Soda

Strawberry Lemonade Fizz

Aloha Sparkle

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Earlier this year we posted some tips to help you beat those sugar cravings in 2018. Now this article in the New York Times and its companion piece give you more ammunition for your fight to break the sugar habit.

One point that both pieces stress — Big Sugar has been actively pushing added sweeteners into our lives for decades, and has implemented an aggressive disinformation campaign to turn the focus on obesity and other health issues in our society toward fats and away from sugar. But the facts are that sugar is a primary culprit for a variety of health issues, including obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

But you don’t have to take it lying down (and we do recommend that you exercise). We encourage you to read the complete articles, but here are some important takeaways from both articles:

1) Cut out soda

Not just in these articles, but almost all subject matter experts on this topic say the same thing: cutting out sugar-laden soft drinks is key to both losing weight and improving your overall health. According to the federal government, sweetened beverages are the biggest source of added sugar in our diet — to the tune of a whopping 47 percent! Now for the shameless plug: the writer for the New York Times recommends swapping out soda for seltzer and sparkling water, saying: “…the shift to seltzer, club soda or sparkling water is life changing.” We can’t help but to agree and so do our Syfonatics. Read testimonials from our customers on how Syfo has improved their health, helped them to lose weight and changed their lives.

2) Change your breakfast

That glazed donut or muffin on the run with juice or a coffee sweetened with sugar may taste great on your morning commute, but breakfast is another big culprit in adding unneeded sugar in our diet. A breakfast with more protein (eggs, nuts, plain yogurt) fiber (fruits, unsweetened whole grain cereal) and vegetables (yes vegetables!) will stay with you longer, give you more energy and propel you into lunchtime.

3) Check your pantry

You know, it’s those items that beckon you at a certain hour of the evening when you’re bing-watching your favorite program. The problem is that many commercial snacks and crackers have plenty of hidden or added sugar. Fruit is a great alternative that can slash added sugar and up your intake of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. Nuts are also a good option. If you must crunch, then Triscuits and Saltines have no added sugar.

We invite you to explore the New York Times articles for more insights and to visit our Health Tips section for great information on weight loss, nutrition and more. 

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Last year we posted an article on natural flavor claims, citing the case of a lawsuit targeting Hint water, whose “natural flavors” were made using propylene glycol. The lawsuit stated that calling flavors that contained synthetic, highly processed solvents such as propylene glycol misleads the consumer.

A recent article in The New York Times revived the topic since the FDA has never issued a legal or regulatory definition of the term “natural.” Some of the all-natural claims seem to stretch the limits of believability. Take for example “All Natural” 7Up, Pop-Tarts “Baked With Real Fruit” and Crystal Light “Natural” lemonade. Some recent food products that have been the target of lawsuits include Breyer’s and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and Annie’s Homegrown salad dressings for using xanthan gum, a widely used thickener and food stabilizer. Another lawsuit brought against General Mills forced it to change the labels on its Nature Valley Granola Bars that contained some artificial ingredients, replacing labels that once read “100% Natural” to say they are “Made With 100% Natural Whole Grain Oats.”

Luckily, when it comes to beverages, Syfo makes it simple. Our flavors are as natural as can be and are derived from the oil that is selectively extracted from the peel of the fruit. As opposed to many other flavored products on the market, Syfo’s flavorings are made without using synthetic solvents such as propylene glycol. We only use premium, high quality and natural humectants such as vegetable based glycerin and ethyl alcohol. All of our Naturally Flavored Sparkling Waters and Original Seltzer are made with 100% purified water and contain no sugar, sodium, artificial sweeteners or preservatives. Just pure natural goodness.

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We’ve posted in the past on how diet beverages have been shown in research to actually increase belly fat and complications for diabetes. Now there’s new research that suggests that drinking diet soda can be linked to these effects and also to weight gain.

As more and more consumers move away from sugary soft drinks, they turn to diet drinks thinking that artificially-sweetened beverages would help them lead healthier lives by controlling their weight and reducing their risk for diabetes and heart disease. The latest research is showing that this assumption does not appear to be the case.

Meghan Azad, a researcher at the University of Manitoba, reviewed dozens of studies about the long-term health effects of sugar substitutes, trying to see whether there was a prevailing trend on the health effects of diet beverages. He found that not only were artificial sweeteners suspect when it came to weight management, but people who drank them routinely had an increased body mass index and risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

His studies of the available research concluded that “non-nutritive” (artificial) sweeteners (are) significantly associated with modest long-term increases in body weight, BMI and waist circumference.”

Belly fat, or visceral fat, has been linked to a greater chance of cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. High waist circumference is also one component of metabolic syndrome, a constellation of health risk factors that also includes high triglycerides, blood pressure and blood glucose.

Researchers have not yet agreed on why diet beverages cause these effects but one thing is clear. Syfo, made from purified water and naturally flavored with no sugar, artificial sweeteners, sodium, preservatives or other additives, is the sensible, tasty and healthy choice.

You can read more about Azad’s research in this Washington Post article.

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