Outside of the beverages that I drink for the review, my primary beverage of choice is usually just water. I drink a lot of water on a day-to-day basis, and I absolutely love the healthy feeling of staying well hydrated. However, while I do love water, it is not exactly the world's most exciting beverage, and I occasionally seek convenient methods of giving my water a bit of much needed flavor. Historically, these methods have usually been powder-oriented and have tended to leave me unsatisfied and wishing that I had just stuck with plain, unadulterated water.
I am glad to say that this is not the case with Kraft's newly introduced MiO liquid water enhancer. Kraft was kind enough to send me two samples of the product last week, and I have been using them rather frequently since they arrived. Let's go ahead and get it out there: I really like this product. I think that it is safe to say that my days of struggling with flavoring powders are over. Of the portable water enhancers that I have had, MiO's flavor is unsurpassed, and its convenience makes it a clear choice for those like myself who frequently travel with water.
First and foremost, MiO is an absolute breeze to use. You simply flip the lid of the small plastic container open and squeeze the desired serving of MiO into your water. The nozzle of the bottle is designed to only release liquid when pressurized, which works in conjunction with the firmness of the bottle itself to make accidental squeezes rather difficult. Also, seeing as how MiO is a concentrated liquid flavoring instead of a powder, the need for multiple packets is eliminated and one bottle of MiO can be carried around until it is exhausted. Transporting even a small collection of powder packets loose in your bag or pocket does not seem like a big deal at first, but the more that your bag is utilized and the more that things are moved around, the more that chasing those packets around the bottoms of their respective pockets turns into a hassle. In addition, MiO all but eliminates the relentless shaking usually required to activate these sorts of products. Watching the liquids mix together is an absolute joy in and of itself, but I've found that it really only takes one firm shake of the bottle (or a few good stirs, if used in an open glass) to fully mix the MiO in with the water. This is a huge improvement over having to furiously shake your beverage container to the point of muscular exhaustion and still occasionally encountering the microbial yet grainy cluster of undissolved flavoring during consumption.
One of the things that I really like about MiO is the ease with which you can customize how strong the flavoring is. Each capsule of MiO is said to offer approximately 24 individual 8 oz. servings, with a serving size being a "squeeze." As a side note, it is understood here that a typical water bottle is 16.9 fl. oz., and two servings per bottle must be used to obtain significant flavor, bringing the capacity down to somewhere around 12 servings per capsule if used with regular water bottles. The nutritional information lists a "squeeze" as 2 mL (about 1/2 tsp), but a 2 mL squeeze is, in all honesty, hard not to exceed. This is good and bad, as it makes the capacity of each capsule a bit ambiguous, but that ambiguity also allows for the drinker to more easily determine for his or her self how flavorful each serving will be. I typically prefer my flavored waters to be a bit more on the flavorful side, so I usually add about the equivalent of 2.5 squeezes to my 16 oz. bottle. However, on days where I only want a hint of flavor, it is very easy to adjust the serving to fit my current desire. This is much harder to gauge with powders, as it is universally more difficult to track the quantity of what is being added rather than simply tracking a duration of time (in this case how long the bottle has been squeezed).
Overall, I really like Kraft's MiO. The marketing regarding the capacity of each capsule is based on what feels to me like highly ideal situations, but most calculated serving size estimates are, and ultimately it does not really matter, anyway. From what I've experienced so far in sharing with friends, most people just add some MiO to their water and let that be that, a quality that I think speaks to the personalized appeal of the product. The customizable nature of the product, in conjunction with the convenience and great taste, make MiO a very easy recommendation for those looking for a high quality "on-the-go" water enhancer.
Verdict: Highly Recommended
Purchased: Can be purchased at most commercial retailers as of March 7, 2011
Size: 1.62 fl. oz. [48mL]
Price: $3.99
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36 comments:
I really like the "idea" of this product. The shame is that it has unnecessary sweeteners and food coloring. There should at least be a "MIO FREE" line of this product. If I wanted artificial sweeteners and food coloring, I'd drink a soda.
Everything else-concept, packaging, and functionality are PERFECT.
Just another fad to keep the user's sweeth tooth active. You think Kraft cares that after drinking this crap the user craves a donut, or a cookie, or ice cream? No wonder we keep getting fatter and fatter.
Artificial sweetners are crap sucralose included
Natural sweetners are the way to go
I would agree with all of you that natural sweeteners are, on the whole, better than artificials. Sugar and high fructose corn syrup are, in my opinion, the two best sweeteners to date and no artificial alternative that I've had so far has come close in taste.
However, I have always believed that it is the responsibility of the customer to moderate their consumption of such products. No, I don't think that Kraft really cares about what sorts of cravings you have after using their product, nor do I believe that it is their job to care. It is, however, their perogative to deliver quality, user-friendly products such as MiO. I, for one, have never had cravings for sweets after drinking a glass of MiO-enhanced water, and I think that were you to give it a try, you would probably enjoy it.
As my mother always said (and still does, for that matter), "Everything in moderation." Artificial sweeteners are fine as long as you regulate your usage of them. Overconsumption of any sweetener is detrimental to your health, regardless of whether it is natural or artificial. I think that it is ultimately the responsibility of the individual to avoid abusing sweeteners, and I feel that we as a society have fallen into the habit of scapegoating major corporations for our own dietary laziness.
I completely agree with this review, and as for someone mentioning this product making the drinker crave a cookie or other sweets afterward.... that wouldn't make sense to me even if I hadn't drunk this product. I find MiO satiates a sweet foods craving, making it easier to not reach for a donut, rather than as that person suggested.
One nice thing about this stuff is that no matter how much water I'm starting with, if I know the color intensity of the level of flavor I like, I can just squeeze the stuff in until it's the right shade of the color. I don't have to keep taste testing.
I have to say, I heard about MiO on the WW boards and I decided to pick it up (I missed out on the free sample, oh well). I absolutely love it! It's definitely making it easier for me to stomach my water checks.
I do not crave donuts or anything afterwards, I honestly feel like that is an ignorant comment... Because how is something like that true? There is no proof.
Mio is all artificial. Artificial coloring is a cancer causing agent. FD & C colors are made from coal tar. They are on the market because the FDA allows a small amount of cancer in a lot of products. Did they ever think of accumulative. I was toxic from FD&C yellow food coloring. I was in the emergency room 14 times in one month. It took years for me to become toxic. The doctors had no clue. The only reason way it is on the market is because it's not an allergin. Look it up for yourself.
symptoms: nasal stuffiness, anxiety, hives, welts, itching, and more! Three weeks after I stopped all artificial coloring in my diet all of the symptoms went away. Kids eat tons of this stuff everyday. I wish Kraft would remove artificial coloring from all of their foods. Why do we have so much cancer? Because we eat, drink and inhale toxic chemicals daily.
Artifical sweeteners are the cause of most cancers these days especially in young women who drink these beverages by the gallon.
Do we need fluorescent colored drinks and snacks? Do we need to eat food that leaves our hands and cups stained? Try picking up a carrot, apple, banana or some nuts.
It would Be nice if it did not have the artificial sweetner, for those of us who that type of sweetner triggers migraines, & i mean severe ones too, even when i dont know it is in the product. That is why i was infoing this new product, I am a water only drinker, due to health problems, but would love flavor without the artificial, maybe soon.
I'm sorry to hear that artificials tend to cause you problems, tdavis. Non-natural sweeteners have been known to cause migranes in some consumers, particularly aspartame. I respect and understand your aversion to them, but, unfortunaetly, natural sweeteners do not yet match the sweetness per unit volume of artificials. So, for now, things such as MiO and Crystal Light and other such water enhancers that pack considerable flavor into a small package are likely to continue using artificials. It's not really fair to those who suffer adverse effects from the artificials, and I really do hope that a more efficient natural sweetening solution is discovered soon. Stevia is the only real solution currently, but, frankly, Stevia is disgusting and I would not expect anyone to be okay with it as the only option.
Even so, I still only occasionally drink beverages containing artificials, and when I do I drink them in relatively small doses. Have you checked a local health foods store for natural drinks that don't contain any of the artificial stuff? Many of them offer a wide variety of beverages, both sweetened and non-sweetened. If you like mint, I personally recommend Metromint, if you can find it. The ingredients in, say, the lemonmint flavor are the epitome of simplicity: reverse osmosis water, spearmint, and lemon essence.
If you would ever like some other recommendations of natural beverages that I've had, feel free to email me at the link listed in the sidebar. Or simply click the "organic" tag in the tag cloud.
Thanks for your input and interest in the blog. I hope that Drinkable Review can help you find a beverage or two to call your own.
Anonymous 3 and 4:
Thanks for the feedback! I'm glad to see that you are both enjoying MiO.
Anonymous 5:
So it took you years to become toxic, but only three weeks to completely detoxify?That's...curious. Did the doctors link your health problems back to the colorings, or was this just an observation you made through your personal dietary changes? I'm trying to gather as much data about this stuff as I can right now and it sounds like you may have an interesting contribution.
Anonymous 6:
I don't know that I would agree with you that sweeteners are the leading cause of most cancers. Research into the coorelation between sweeteners and cancer have been inconclusive at best, and suggest no significant connection between the two. As far as young women who drink the stuff by the gallon, I defer you to my comment above regarding overconsumption.
Anonymous 7:
I think that, in general, my answer to your question would be no. I do prefer natural beverages, but I'm not necessarily opposed to artificiality as long as my intake of such things is monitored and kept to a minimum. I do agree with you, though. Artificial drinks and snacks have become too normalized in our society, and I always do what I can to encourage others (especially those of my seemingly "less concerned" generation) to seek balance in their diet.
research proving that ARTIFICIAL sweeteners cause cancerous tumors are concrete. even the FDA has published concern (and later revised their findings for diabolical reasons) over the toxicity of accumulative artificial sweeteners. you can find the original FDA statement in the cloud with very little effort. sucralose is reportedly 600 times sweeter than table sugar. even in minute doses, your palate is bombarded with sweetness and you develop a taste preference for sweetness over time. you do not have to be a scientist to figure this out. so the doughnut theory from above isn't too far-fetched a concept to grasp. when last i went shopping with my 9 year old, we went down one food isle and randomly picked up 20 items and read the ingredients. 19 of them had high fructose corn syrup or some artificial sweetener. yes, it is no wonder we are getting fatter. does BREAD really need high fructose corn syrup? do we really need to carry around a bottle of sweetener to further corrupt our water supply? i would guess the makers of Mio are just helping us practice carrying around our bottles of insulin when we are all diabetics in the future. thanks, Kraft.
Arificial colors, sweetners, and wtf is propylene glycol. if you really like this product than you must really like your doctor.
I don't have too much of a problem with the product, but what's with the name?
We used to call this "diet cordial".
Don't like the fact that it has preservative in it. Not for me....no no no and I absolutely stay away from artificial sweeteners, I don't need to feed my body those cancerous tumors. I alkalize my body back to it's natural balance....The Only way to go.
Kangen Water or pH drops to change the pH in water is the safe and sensible way to drink water.
Coming out of what I though was a 10 day cold, I noticed my nasal discharge was very dark in color while I consumed 4 or 5- 16 oz. glasses of water using Mio flavorings and within 2 days of switching to plain water or lightly colored Zero water the discharge cleared up. I am not too worried about the cancer problems but as a diabetic, I must control the Glucose. The dry cough and the stuffy head maybe related but doubt it. Will see because I am on straight water for a while.
In reference to (above) "anonymous", I, too, am dealing with after affects of Mio. I am an insulin dependent diabetic. I found Mio, tried it and LOVED the product. I can have as much sweetened, fruity drink, as I want, and it's so easy. Flip, squirt, drink. I drank it for about 2-3 weeks with no real concerns. I did notice that I was having trouble going to sleep. I finally had one troubling night, not sleeping at all until about 5 hrs. after my regular bedtime. I also took a melatonin to enhance falling asleep. It did no good. Usually it's about 1/2 hr. after using melatonin and I'm out for the night. I paid attention to my eating/drinking habits for the day (prior) and I remembered that I drank Mio almost up to bedtime. I guess I'm sensitive to the artificial additives and put it in the same catagory as caffeine.
I always have to pee about an hour after I drink a 16oz bottle of water with a squirt and a half of MiO in it. Like it goes right through me. This doesn't happen to me with other beverages. It tastes great, so I don't mind getting up from my desk at work to head to the restroom. Gets me away from my computer! Ha-ha. Just wondering if anyone else noticed that effect.
I was drinking TONS of MiO every day for like 2 weeks... then I started having really bad stomach aches and my tongue felt weird, like numb but kind of tingly like when your leg falls asleep and you try to move it. So I laid off the MiO for a while and the strange symptoms went away. Did I just suffer from MiO overdose or what? lol... I still really like MiO though, so now I just don't drink so much of it :P
Propolene Glycol is registered as 'safe' by the FDA for human consumption. It is however, toxic to cats and dogs, as is Xorbitol (another artificial sweetener). Propolene Glycol is also used as the 'smoking' additive in electronic cigarettes, an anti-freeze additive in certain vehicile fluids (like antifreeze windshield washer fluid), and is also used as a food preservative. As someone mentioned before, there is a connection with Propolene Glycol and the inability to sleep, or restless sleep. Also dry cough and nasal discharge are common symptoms of over-use as well.
Sucralose, has been acknowledged as the safest artificial sweetener in existence (that is Splenda brand), however, some people still do have reactions to these things. A friend of mine can't consume artificial sweeteners at all, or else she develops a type of narcolepsy. However, she is unsure of weather or not its the sweetener itself, or the Maltodextrin that is used for filler (which does have a caloric and glycemic factor, just... fyi to all of those people like my mother that drink gallons of the powdered fluff every day, thinking it's diabetic 'safe'.) The fact is, most artificial sweeteners out there, aspartame (equal) and saccharin (sweet-n-low) leading the line, are entirely chemical. They have had studies show that they can cause cancer in lab animals (the equivalent of a human drinking (6) 50 gallon barrels per day of undiluted sweetener, in time, will cause cancer), however, most people do not have reactions to these at all. ...Nor do I believe anyone would be willing to drink one 50 gallon barrel, let alone six per day.
Stevia, an entirely natural sweetener with a 'must get used to' taste and texture, has just recently been approved by the FDA for human consumption, even though it's been used all over the world in its natural state for hundreds of years. Sucralose (splenda), is the only fully artificial sweetener that has yet to been shown to cause cancer. Also, in its undiluted form, to sweeten a bottle of water, would be equivalent to a grain of sand in an Olympic sized swimming pool. If there is no maltodextrin to 'bulk' it up in this product, in all honesty, the amount of Sucralose in this product is very small. I would honestly be more worried about the propolyne glycol than the sucralose. I for one, as a diabetic am quite thankful for Sucralose, it has no aftertaste nor do I get the pleasure of growing a third arm because of my use of it.
I'm really sorry to hear about all the ignorance on this blog. I just checked in to read the review (nicely written by the way, I will check out mio myself now) but these comments seem to be filled with trolls and self declared doctors. They all hide behind anonymity for some reason, I mean what else can explain statements like "artificial? No cancer for me thanks". This is just a random review for a random product and everyone stands on their soapbox. What about everything else we consume? Everything has sweeteners and colorings, and no ones getting cancer from them. I'm sorry for those who are sensitive to certain sweeteners or colorings. But to assume that the general populous has the same problems as you is just dumb. Again, great review, but I really hope people will stop misleading others with their crazy conspiracy theories.
I LOVE MIO...i love every flavor they have and it has gotten me to drink more water, Sometimes water gets boring and you just want something with flavor that your not gonna regret drinking later (full of sugar and cals) If i do get a craving for something sweet, i just make my next drink a little stronger.
Put mio in beer. It is THE best.
Haha, wow. Really? I'll have to give that a try. Any recommendations on which flavor of MiO and what kind of beer?
I've been drinking MiO since it came out, and theres a new MiO energy out there with caffeine (60mg per serving, not as much as most coffee) Which is a good alternative for all the Mountain Dew I drank.
I started on a new years diet and started drinking more water with mio, as I did when it first came out. The fact that it's calorie free (or as calorie free as they can say per 8oz serving....) really helps. I could give a damn less about artificial sweetners, behavioral issues, and cancer causing agents, because little to none of that will ever effect me. I've grown up on artificial flavorings and colors all my life. I have no patterns of behavioral issues or mood swings, and *knock on wood* no cancer yet. The fact that people try to bring studies that show that diet/artificially sweetned beverages causes weight gain is rediculous. I couldnt believe the claims. So I read them myself. Their only point? People crave sugar more and causes them to eat more sugary things. They also mention eating worse because you know you aren't getting any calories from the drink. Well I don't know if anyone is familliar with an idea called WILLPOWER. It's that thing that keeps you from picking up the last doughnut from a box of a dozen, or makes you get off the couch and go for a run. I've been lax on it myself the last few months, and decided to do something about it. The entire time I had MiO I haven't had any abnormal cravings from it. I track my calories daily and I can go back each and every day as validation and prove to myself that this isnt true.
Regardless, great write up, Ignore all the blather and if you havent done so, do a review for MiO energy!
Thank you or being the only "somewhat knowledgeable" person on here.
I LOVE Mio! Shamelessly addicted! The flavors that I love the most are the pomegranate berry & the Mioenergy black cherry (until they tell me what green thunder tastes like, I'll probably pass on that one) - I can't stand the taste of water. Grew up on a farm where we had well water that was fantastic and clear tasting, but in the city it's chemical and leaves (to me) an aftertaste. I was drinking Crystal light and others like it and soda (Dr Pepper) fairly regularly. Also, coffee. Lots of it. Since starting to drink Mio, I haven't had the sweet cravings at all, have cut soda completely out with no regrets, have been drinking 8-10 glasses of water daily (very light on the flavoring - just enough to cut that aftertaste out) and am already feeling better! Yes, I pee a lot, too (commenter above asked about that, don't look at me like that LOL) but I attribute it to drinking more, not drinking Mio. I'm trying not to over-do it because of the whole "too much of anything..." thing, but anything that helps me drink more water is a GOOD thing! I'm not too worried about chemicals, etc because let's face it, they're everywhere in our world and if we live in fear of every chemical thing, we'll live in a bubble popping our vitamins.
I'm not a big fan of the strawberry watermelon flavor and haven't tried the peach tea one, but the fruit punch is alright. Sweet tea is as well. No aftertaste in those!
I'm partial to the mango peach. If you haven't had that one yet, I definitely recommend it.
Mio just arrived in Canada...well at least in my province. Love the berry pomegranate! Have to tell you that it cuts my cravings for food like no other beverage ever has! I'm really impressed & can't wait to try the other flavors! Now that I've discovered the "edge removal effect" it has, I'm going to have to work to moderate consumption!
I understand why people would avoid any type of artificial sweeteners... Though, in my case, I do drink plain water when I work out (usually because I can gulp it down, need to stay hydrated.) And on an extreme workout day, I'd go through two bottles of plain water.
Just found this in a store in Canada, so happy to have found it.. One small dose, I'm already enjoying water, and that's enough for me.
I don't care much for "cancer" and stuff. Truth is, life's short. Yes, some of you will live to be 100, some of you guys won't... You might end up in an accident tomorrow, you might just drop dead for some other strange reason. That's just me, I'd like to try live whenever I can, and cancer's sure as hell ain't going to scare me.
Great product, no weird aftertaste... And safe to say, I recommend a small dose, just a tiny one to get the hint of flavor. I don't put in a lot, and when I do, I don't like it much haha.
Tasjag, you have the right idea.
Just checked online to see what is being said about MiO since I just saw the ad. Everything in moderation could apply to this as well, I suppose. What I do to "enhance" my water drinking experience is add a slice of orange in a jug and swish it around - very fresh - no other additives. Just another suggestion.
Great product. My wife and I were away in St Lucia for vacation and took a few of these with us. Much better then drinking the juice from the bar. They taste awesome with a splash of vodka :)
Excellent alternative from drinking water at the office.
I just tried it for the first time...Now I'm driving around looking for a donut shop.
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