I love vitaminwater.  It’s yummy, and the fact that it’s loaded with vitamins makes me feel like I’m doing something good for my body whenever I drink it.  However, what I don’t love so much is that the sugar in it that makes it taste so good also makes it a little high in calories.  This is why I usually try to drink it only when I’m working out, but, to be perfectly honest, that isn’t too often.

That’s why I was super excited when I heard about vitaminwater’s newest creation, vitaminwater10, which has only 10 calories per serving -  that’s only 25 calories per 20-ounce bottle! Being able to enjoy my beloved vitaminwater without having to worry too much about the calories? Sounds perfect.

But could it be too good to be true? Would 10 calories also mean that nasty “diet” after-taste that comes from scary artificial sweeteners? I checked out the VitaminWater10 event in NYC to find out:

The new “water” comes in 4 of the original vitaminwater flavors: energy (tropical citrus), multi-v (lemonade), essential (orange), and xxx (triple antioxidants: acai-blueberry-pomegranate).  I tried all of them, and I’m happy to announce that my worries were unnecessary: the stuff tastes GREAT, just like regular vitaminwater!  This comes from the fact that vitaminwater10 is sweetened by a variety of fruit and vegetable derived sweeteners, which are balanced perfectly in order to make it both low-calorie AND taste delicious.

Seriously, this stuff is good. Most people just sampled each flavor, but I literally drank 4 full bottles. Good thing there were bathrooms nearby…

I can’t wait for them to come out with more flavors, but for now I’m officially a loyal convert to vitaminwater10. Maybe even loyal enough to get to the gym a little more to have an excuse to drink it. Maybe…

Bonus: if you live in NYC, you can head down to the “vitaminwater10 dest10ation store” located at 626 Broadway (between Houston & Bleeker) from April 3rd to the 12th to try the stuff for yourself (for free)!  If you don’t live in New York, a lot of stores are already carrying vitaminwater10, so be sure you grab some to try.  I’m sure you’ll fall in love with it too, like I did!

Ok, not really… but according to a new study, cancer might be brewing inside me as I sip my diet coke. (Why am I such a Debbie Downer today? Wah wahhhhhhhhhh.)

The study found that one of the most popular artificial sweeteners may cause cancer. And I don’t know about you, but that is practically a death sentence for me.

As artificiality has become a societal fundament, I’ve managed to resist plastic surgery and fake tanning. Hell, I don’t even have a fake id. But, because I’m such a lucky gal, the one faux treat that I’ve wildly indulged in is now linked to cancer.

The study claims that aspartame—often used in diet soda and also marketed as table condiments like Equal and Nutrisweet—caused leukemia, lymphoma and breast cancer in the rats tested.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest—a U.S. consumer group—urged the FDA to review the safety of aspartame after the findings were published last week.

The FDA has not yet reviewed the study but claims that previous studies evaluated by the FDA give it no reason to deem aspartame unsafe as a general purpose sweetener.

Who are we to believe? On one hand, I want to dismiss the claim because, let’s face it, there are studies claiming that just about everything causes cancer. On the other hand, I devour Equal like it’s my job… so I’m thinking if this turns out to be true, I’ll probably die unless I halt consumption immediately.

Til the FDA promises that Equal won’t kill me, I think I’m going to err on the side of caution and cut aspartame out of my diet. I’d advise my fellow artificial sweetener junkies to do the same.

A few alternatives:

• Splenda: While Splenda is still an artificial sweetener, it contains sucralose—not aspartame. I’m not saying it’s better, but it hasn’t been linked to cancer (yet).

• Stevia: Stevia’s a more natural alternative—extracted from South American herbs and shrubs. Although it’s banned by the FDA, hippies are obsessed with it, and hippies live forever, right?

• Agave nectar: A true hippie product. Plus it hasn’t been banned by the FDA (again, yet). It’s natural syrup that serves as a sugar-substitute. Sweet.

I’ll probably try them all out, though they’ll probably all be linked to some terminal illness within a few months.

Maybe the best bet is to use real sugar (gasp!). I know, I know… calories suck. But cancer—and keeping up with the incessant cancer claims—sucks more.