First up: Snapple Antioxidant Water

Available in several different flavors, this water uses cool descriptors such as “Defy”, “Awaken”, and “Protect” to clue you in to their superpowers. Chock full of antioxidants, vitamins and electrolytes, these beverages dare time to take its toll on you.

The drawback to these is that with the added enhancement bonuses comes added calories (and, unfortunately, carbs and sugar.) At around 50 cals and 12 grams of sugar per 1 cup serving, weight-conscious folks might balk at what these waters are packin’. Then again, if the benefits of the added extras outweigh the risk of the added calories and carbs for you, then all is well.

As for taste, the Raspberry Acerola is top notch. The other flavors will find their fans too, but don’t expect a huge punch of fruitiness with this brand. Overall, they taste, well, like water…with a little kick.

Their marketing is pretty fun, too. Take a look at the video. And if you give these waters a try for yourself, let us know what you think.

Enjoy!

Post from: Healthbolt

Okay, now that we got those formalities out of the way, I have a question I’d like to throw at you. As you have likely come to know, we here at The Bolt don’t often spout off about products, services and the like. We’ve pretty much been an information-only kind of gig.

But in the last several weeks, we have been inundated with opportunities to sample products and share our opinions on them with you. We’ve also been offered all kinds of giveaways. Now, I’ll come clean and say that in addition to the enzyme book contest we’re wrapping up this weekend, we have already committed to 3 other product reviews, two of which will result in sweet giveaways for some of you. But I can also see how this kind of thing could spiral quickly out of control, and we’d never want to jeopardize the integrity of HealthBolt. So my question to you is: Would you like to see product reviews and giveaways sprinkled into our regularly scheduled programming, or is this blog a “safe haven” for marketing and swag avoidance? Do you like when we do the legwork by researching/trying all those new amped-up waters, or do you come here just for the posts about farts, toilets, and weird bodily accomplishments?

Drop us a super quick comment and let us know your thoughts. Because it’s our goal to be the best Bolt we can be…for you.

Post from: Healthbolt

What this is:

Timex Ironman i-Control watch (for iPod)

You exercise. You use a sports watch during said exercise adventures. You like to bop around to music, too. Why not make this more geeky (and I mean that in a good way)? Lose the clips and cords – the Timex Ironman i-Control allows you to do all the things you do with a sports watch, with the added benefit of being able to control your iPod wirelessly.

Why it’s different from other sports watches:

Beyond managing music from your watch, the i-Control features a sleeker design than most chunkalunk sports watches. I personally like that, although it might not be to your taste.

How it works:

This watch is a quality sports watch with all the standard features (Indiglo, countdown timer, alarms, interval timers, workout log, water-resistant). It is a no-brainer to program and use. It’s also very flexible and light, much more so than many sports watches. The watch quickly syncs up with your iPod, so there’s no frustrating programming or customer-service-hell required to get started. A colleague and I picked blue and pink, respectively, but you can also get the watch in a black/gray combo, orange, or lime green. (We also reviewed the watches for another site.)

Where to get it:

Major retailers like Target.

Bottom line here:

If you have an iPod Shuffle, you’re out of luck (no port). The watch is durable and gives you a more convenient music-workout experience, but it will set you back $125. If you’re a Mac nerd and you’ve recently purchased the iPhone, there are some functional drawbacks to using the i-Control with your phone. But for regular iPods large and small, this is a handy watch. If you are in need of a sports watch anyway, or would like one that is lightweight, and also like the idea of keeping your iPod stowed away in a cargo pocket, it’s worth the purchase.

Post from: Healthbolt

MDVIP is kind of a health country club. It’s not an HMO or PPO. Their website reminds me more of Diner’s Club or something than a health care plan. Basically, they’re trying to save health care from the terrible mess of litigation-fueled red tape and bureaucracy it’s become for patients and physicians, for an (undisclosed, at least online) price. A noble and lucrative cause, to be sure.
It seems like a good plan. You sign-up and pay your yearly dues, and in exchange you receive personalized (MDVIP physicians have only 600 patients per practice), prevention-focused health care that works with insurance and Medicare. I really like their emphasis on preventive health care.

All MDVIP services are compatible with FSA’s (Flex Spending Accounts), which is a great tax dodge. It also comes with personalized service perks like a medical history mini-CD to carry in your wallet/purse, quick access to your MDVIP doctor in emergencies, your own “personal MDVIP website” and an “executive physical”, which includes, but is not limited to:

• an extensive risk factor assessment that incorporates family history, patient history and lifestyle analysis
• screenings related to mental status
• screenings related to exercise, nutrition and sleep
• screenings related to vision and hearing
• pulmonary function testing
• comprehensive laboratory testing
• EKG

I think programs like this are great for people that can afford them. It’s also good for Doctors who’ve been systematically locked into a system that has them spending more time navigating regulations and lawyers than honing their bedside manner and diagnostic skills.

I’m all for something like this, except… What’s it cost? I can’t even get a ball-park figure of their annual fee off their site. But I’ll bet it’s not cheap for the customer, er, patient, and I’m sure it’s a boon for the doctors who can find 600 MDVIP patients within their operating area.

MDVIP is an organization that charges a premium for premium health care. Not a bad idea if you’re the kind of mercenary doctor it’s perfectly within your rights to be. Or if you’re a patient with the kind of pockets to fund this thing. (Hey if I could afford it, I would consider it, except the closest MDVIP to me is in St. Louis, which is 5 hours away from Kansas City.)

I filled out their “we’ll get back to you” style contact form to save you guys the trouble of an unwanted sales call just to get pricing. They called me a few hours later. Their yearly fee ranges from $1500-$1800 and set by the doctor in their network you sign up with. Honestly, it’s not as much as I thought it would be, but it still would have been nice had they listed that range on the site.

If anyone has any sort of experience working with or paying for one of these programs, let us know about it.

Post from: Healthbolt