My older son is particularly sensitive to a variety of chemicals, so he drinks other things. I gave my younger son some of the jello, and he immediately smiled. Yummy, yummy! But I wouldn't want to give him artificial things on a daily basis.

When I thought of the Crystal Light from my youth, it was a lighter color. (And some of the ads for the Challenge show transparent-pastel drinks, not the more opaque saturated color.) As I mentioned when I first tried the pomegranate lemonade, I didn't need the color to be so deep. The psychological thought of "this is a fruit juice" isn't something I necessarily want in a refreshing drink. Thankfully the drink itself is quite light (hence the name Crystal Light, I'm sure.) And so I wonder what is really added product-enhancement-wise in doing the artificial color.

I understand needing the artificial flavor - after all, the idea is to get the yummiest flavor possible to add to the water. The chemicals must be able to dissolve quickly and completely (which they do!) in the water to prevent globs. There is no doubt quite a science to coming up with the exact way to get the taste to match the texture (especially where the texture must be nil.) And perhaps those colors make the product look like not a color found in nature. And so yes, perhaps the artificial color is used to disguise what the chemicals really look like.

But if the color could be just a little less, I'd be glad. I'd prefer none at all - so that I'm only getting the artificial flavor - because I really would like to cut down on the chemicals in my diet. I noticed the pomegranate-lemonade did have a little orange tinge to it. If this is because of the marigold extract, I'd actually welcome that. There are some pretty vibrant colors in nature that can be used to both increase the healthfulness of the food and to create a pleasing appearance. But I understand these things would be significantly more expensive.

Here's the deal: I know people want cheaper food. The current financial climate is such that people will definitely make a choice as to whether they want a food that has some chemicals added to it to increase shelf-life or help with flavor versus something much more expensive. Similarly, people make choices as to the type of food they eat. Not many people I know eat straight spinach, but they might take it creamed. Or they hate brussel sprouts, but might eat it if paired with a pat of butter. Cream and butter aren't good for the bod, but the veggies are. (Oh, and yes, I realize some veggies these days have artificial color pumped in them to simulate the peak of freshness even when they aren't.)

I'd rather eat broccoli drenched in cheese than no broccoli at all, but of course broccoli without the cheese is the best. And so that is how I feel about some of these convenience foods - there is a trade-off, but the idea is that drinking water with an additive flavor is much yummier, so promotes more hydration, than an attempt to drink plain water alone (which makes me reach for my caffeine-and-chemical laden soda instead.) It is better to cut the caffeine in favor of flavored water. But I'd really be sold if there were a way to cut down on the "artificial" of that flavor powder.

I'm curious: Would you be willing to pay more if Crystal Light had a "natural" line of powdered drinks? Or, is the economic climate such that you would chose to spend your money elsewhere?

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* My introductory post to the Water Way Challenge - which links all the posts I've done while doing the Challenge, and includes my Challenge Widget to show how much water I've been drinking.
* Crystal Light Water Way Challenge official site
* Blogher's Water Way Challenge Group
* Crystal Light official site