This lemonade literally has no lemons

My number one motivation for eating healthy is always feeling and performing my best. Staying away from processed foods and sticking to homemade foods that make you feel good from the inside out is key to living your best life. That’s why it makes me sad to see products like Country Time Lemonade that are full of chemicals and fake ingredients.

First of all, “less sugar than soda” is not an accomplishment for anyone. For example, a small can of coke (8 fl oz) has 39g of sugar while the recommended daily sugar max by the American Heart Association is 37.5g per male and 25g per female – yikes! Let’s be real too – who’s drinking one can of coke. It’s more likely to be the 20oz bottle which has 65g of sugar!

And it’s not just about the sugar content. There’s plenty of sugar in fruit but the fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants found in nature’s candy is much more beneficial than factory made junk. Check out the ingredient label on this product:

A few key things here:

Sugar is the first listed ingredient – meaning added sugar is a main component of this product.
The use of Yellow 5 – banned in Austria and Norway, and other European countries have issued warnings about the possible side effects but still this dye is usable in the U.S.
The use of sucralose – sucralose has been shown to reduce good bacteria in your stomach, may alter body’s insulin and sugar regulation responses and continues to be a questioned ingredient by the food industry. (source)
Last but not least, there are no lemons – not even lemon concentrate! Seriously, if citric acid is the closet you can get to lemons; leave me out.

If you’re going to have lemonade, make sure it’s homemade. Be aware of the sugar you add and stick to natural sweeteners like honey. Ideally, tea with lemon and a little honey would be the healthiest alternative to all this fake crap with too much sugar.