Tuesday, January 24, 2012

MiO THE LIQUID WATER "ENHANCER"


In the event that anyone else is creeped out by the proliferation of MiO Liquid Water Enhancer, I thought I would have a deeper look into this product to see if my instinctual concerns are unfounded.

It's advertised as a remote control of fruit flavors where you can decide how much you want your water "enhanced."


And to that end you have choices.  MiO comes in six different fruit flavors.  Berry Pomegranate, Sweet Tea, Peach Tea, Mango Peach, Strawberry Watermelon and Fruit Punch.  You are encouraged to experiment with these flavors by mixing them into unique concoctions of your own making.


I'll be honest.  It's all very unsettling to me.  Listen, I'm no health nut.  I love to drink soda -- and not the diet kind.  Soda is horrible, but at least I am not in control of the formula.  I don't want to know how the sausage is made.  This control option places far too much liability on the consumer.  We are idiots.  We have no common sense.

And if you don't believe me, go to the MiO website.  One of their FAQs is whether you can drink MiO straight out of the bottle!

When the side effects hit, and yes, there are side effects, the makers of MiO will simply say, you must have misused the product.  You squeezed too much.  You "over-enhanced" your water.  No, no -- this does not sit well with me at all.

So, what is it?  Besides, you know, food coloring...


The third most prominent ingredient next to water (1) and malic acid (2) is propylene glycol.  The actual fruit flavoring part doesn't kick in until the fifth ingredient, but let's stick with propylene glycol.

What is propylene glycol?

In short, it's a form of alcohol.  It's a colorless, flammable liquid produced by the fermentation of yeast and carbohydrates.  This particular form of alcohol is used mainly as a solvent.  A solvent.

It's known health effects include:  eye irritation, skin drying and something called "defatting."  And that's only if you get it on your skin.  If you ingest it you may suffer throat irritation, headache, backache, kidney problems, edema and necrosis.  Some studies site slurred speech, stupor, vomiting, respiratory failure, coma and death.

Now, I know what you're saying.  Propylene glycol ingested in such small amounts surely couldn't cause the kind of harm I'm suggesting and you'd probably be right.  It's just that the lion share of products that use this ingredient are not for internal consumption.

Mostly, it's used in hydraulic fluid, brake fluid and anti-freeze.  It's cosmetics, shampoos, deodorants.  It's aftershaves and baby wipes.  This is what the third ingredient in MiO is usually used for.


This is beyond the carnuba wax found on the candy coated shells of Boston Baked Beans or Lemonheads.  No, this is way beyond that. My instincts tell me to stay the hell away from this stuff so that's what I'll do.  

In any case, the rest of the world seems to like it.  My personal poll of MiO users came back positively or flavor and ease of use.  The MiO website even asks its customers to suggest new flavors for them to produce.

MiO, right?  No, hydraulic fluid!

As for me, I'll stick with the devil I know...  






45 comments:

  1. The bottle of Mio I am holding DOES NOT contain the ingredients you mentioned above. Compared to other crap we all put into our bodies, this is not so bad. I have even asked my Doctor, who said it is fine and she even suggests it as a way for people to get off soda by putting it in sparkling water. Thanks for your OPINION, but I will enjoy my Mio with no worries.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What bottle were you reading? It's the #2 ingredient on the generic kinds, so yep, it's in there.

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    2. What??? Do you work for the folks that make Mio? Polypropylene Glycol is one of the first ingredients on the label which indicates there is more of it in there than any ingredient listed after it.

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    3. It depends on the flavor of MIO you have...
      I have the following two bottles on my desk at work.

      MIO – regular - Strawberry Watermelon’s first 5 ingredients:
      Water, Malic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Citric Acid, natural flavor

      MIO – with vitamins – Orange Tangerine
      Water, citric acid, sodium citrate, gum Arabic, sucralose

      Delete
  2. Found this blog under a google search for "side effects of Mio"

    I would like to say that, yes, Propylene Glycol is used sometimes in antifreeze, but the one that's dangerous is Ethylene Glycol.

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  3. First off, it's "cite", not "site".
    Now that I got past my spell- and grammar-check...

    What purpose does Propylene glycol have in a food?
    "Propylene glycol (PG) is a clear, colorless liquid with the consistency of syrup. It is practically odorless and tasteless. It is hygroscopic (attracts water), has low toxicity and outstanding stability, as well as high flash and boiling points, low vapor pressure and broad solvency. These properties make PG ideal for a wide array of applications."

    So it raises the boiling point, lowers the freezing point, attracts water and doesn't let things dry out as fast, and - according to one site I came across - allows things to mix that wouldn't normally, such as oil and water.

    So what does this do in the body? Keeps it moist, apparently.... long term use, I can see it making you retain water. Another site says it's an inactive ingredient. I don't believe such a thing exists... Everything does SOMETHING when broken down by the body.

    So no - I don't trust this either... I'll stay away from Mio, thank you very much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have been wanting to try Mio for quite awhile. My son has never been one to drink a lot of sodas, thanks to me. I prefer him to drink flavored waters, i.e vitamin water, green teas, V8 veg-fruit juices, and ocassionally Coke Zero.

      I bought the Mio Peach Tea, thought I'd try it before giving it to my son. I will be tossing it in the trash. I got an instant headache from drinking approximately 4oz. My son already has eczema which Mio may contribute, due to one of its ingredients, propylene glycol. Propylene glycol is also use in toothpaste and makeup. People don't consume toothpaste nor makeup, at least I hope we don't. Just check out the ingredients for yourself and you decide if you want to consume this product or not.

      The flavor is is not bad but, for me, there is somewhat of an after taste. It was similar to the smell of gasoline, if that is at all possible to have the sense of taste from an ordor/smell. I proceeded to check out the ingredients in Mio. I was not happy at all.

      Don't worry what psycho person(s) may be trying to do to us, our FDA is doing that for us and we are buying in to these products. Read, and inform yourself!

      Delete
  4. Tried this despite list of laboratory created ingredients. Starting having bad insomnia. B vitamins should not be consumed at night. Thanks for no warning, Kraft! But then again, this is same company that still uses partially hydrogenated oils and just lists the serving size as ridiculously small so as to avoid having to list transfat on the label. Bye bye Mio.
    Good thing i bought it at dollar store. Only losing $.99.

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  5. I work night shift at a hospital.. and i always in need for a boost up.. for long time i have been buying starbox frapichino.. the premade ones in a glass bottles..thry taste great but they have calories and i feel its not green, and kinda wastful to use all that glass.. so i switched to mio eneargy..its been 4 days.. i feel good and full of energy til the end of my shift.. before making it a regular habbit i wanted to check if its good and has no side effects.

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  6. oh my gosh i drank at least 4 glasses of this stuff last night, and woke up with a terrible stomach ache. This worst i've had since the flu. A few seconds after I woke up, I had almost vomited twice.

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    Replies
    1. Oh my gosh, me too! It started with a stomach ache and I didn't know what was wrong with me...then I thought, maybe I had parasites because it felt like when I got sick from visiting Mexico. I was in so much pain and it would come and go all day. But after treatment for parasites, the stomach ache still continued and then I developed an aweful rash around my mouth,and pimples around my mouth and nose everyday (which I never get. After about 2 weeks of this, I finally began looking at the MIO. It's been 2 days now since I stopped using it and my stomach doesn't hurt any more and the terrible rash is almost completely gone too!

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  7. I have been drinking this stuff all day because I just got it yesterday, and I am bow feeling so sick to my stomach it's unreal. I got the vomiting, blurred vision, and a massive headache. I couldn't think of anything else it could be, but the Mio. I will never get this stuff again!

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    Replies
    1. I NEVER go online and comment on blogs but I ran across this looking for what you were describing and had to comment....I have been having horrible stomach pains seemingly unrelated to anything else (I went to the doctor, did blood tests, etc.) and nothing came up abnormal. I eat EXTREAMLY healthy, and started taking antacids and such to deal with the nausea, stomach pains, and vomiting with no success. Pepto-Bismo helped a bit but I wasn't to keen on taking that regularly per the aluminum content in it. I finally started to feel better lately (being Mio-free) and had some this morning and all the symptoms came back. After reading these posts I am sure it's the Mio. I would stop drinking Mio and cut out Crystal Lite, pop's, all that stuff and stick to water (with lemon, cucumbers, etc.) for flavor.

      Delete
  8. Havent had any problem

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here! I recieved a Mio Energy free and tried it. It really works for me. Kept me from feeling sleepy around the 2-3ish time of the day. Before I would drink 2 cups of coffee followed by 4-6 sodas a day. Yester, not one soda. No stomach or head aches. No vomiting. But I just put the smallest amount in a 16oz bottled water. I see others squeeze a third of Mio into there's.

      Delete
    2. Same goes for me. I drink Mio on a daily basis. I have been since it first came out, and have had no issues with it. I’ve never felt sick, gotten headaches, blurred vision etc. that people say they get from this stuff. I’ll continue to drink it as it has definitely gotten me to drink more water each day than I would otherwise.

      Delete
  9. ok, well, im not entirely sure if it's the MIO drink (i'm currently using the fruit punch), but i'll explain what exactly is happening to me. it concerns my bowel movements. since i'm on a diet, i'm drinking A LOT of MIO. I recently noticed dark red "blood" in the toilet, and chalked it up to having hemmorhoids. however, i'm beginning to believe it's the dye in the MIO that is being excreted. i'm not knocking MIO, I love, love, love it! however, if this is the case, i'm going to have to cut it out of my diet.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had the same effect, except green, from the Green Thunder Mio Energy, LOL. It was like a colored cloud forming around the turds. Freaked me out a bit, but once I figured it out, not as much.
      I love it too and knowing that it may not be good or safe, well, that concerns me.

      Delete
    2. Fruit Punch is the worst. I suggest you to stop MIO and use natural ways to flavor your water. My cousin started to flavor the water for his kids with strawberry pieces, mint, lemon or lime and the best i found is cinnamon (not grounded) . So it tastes awesomely good and much more healthier than these chemicals. Please do no hurt yourself and don't get caught on more serious problems while trying to get rid of one.

      Delete
  10. TMI^ YOUR ALL A BUNCH OF FREAKS THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH MIO TASTES GREAT AND GOOD FOR YOU ;)

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    Replies
    1. Go and kill yourself before MIO does. You will do good once in your life

      Delete
  11. There's not a product on the market, including foods that haven't been processed other than being washed off, that won't affect somebody negatively.

    I've been using Mio daily for a year or so without any problems.

    I also use e-cigarettes which contain polypropylene glycol so I've already done the research on that. It's not the toxic form of glycol used in most antifreeze. It has been tested extensively. It hasn't been shown to be harmful but like many other substances...including milk and gluten and peanuts and a host of other things...it may be harmful to some people.

    Just don't assume that it's going to affect everybody the way it affects you, good or bad.

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  12. Water is a solvent also...too many people afraid of words because of a lack of knowledge.

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  13. Wake up!!! Mio and the like of energy drinks are bad for you!! Yes, everyone is different and may or may not have negative
    effects cosuming these overly marketed chemical sludge liquids. The FDA does not care about citizens ... just money. They will keep pumping out these kinds of products. People
    who dont care, go ahead and drink up. We all have choices, but we all have the right to know whats in our food products.
    Look up the "wonderful" company Monsanto, who is behind Kraft foods and designs and engineers genetically modified products and hormones. We are all at their mercy....
    But with Mio, that drink can go to hell. Sticking with water.

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  14. Been drinking MIO for a year and had no side effects of any kind , Its kept me off soft drinks of all kinds,

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  15. I have an employee who was at the emergency room all nite last nite having very bloody stools...they linked it to Dye Poisoning from MIO.

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  16. I agree with the negative AND positive sides. I agree that it DOES help you drink more water and it taste Great, but also has side affects.
    I drank it for 2 weeks max and wound up with a horrible yeast infection! Hense the Propolene Glycol (carbohydrates and yeast) That's what made me do further investigation. Then reading all the testimonials I truly believe that people can have sensitivity to serious reations to this product.
    With that I decided to try Dasani instead and so far have had no reaction to it.
    Honestly, I'm going to take the recommendations of some of the testimonials and go natural with lemon, lime, mint or basil. Sounds yummy, refreshing and organic.
    Also agree with the Himalayan salt. It is very pure, with no toxins, and people who usually can't have salt can have Himalayan salt because it has alot of health benefits where regular salt does'nt.Look it up!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I checked the ingredients on the generic versions and propylene glycol is the second or third ingredient in all of them. What it comes down to is a "so far, so good" scenario. There's no concrete evidence that it causes problems in "low doses" but we don't know what a low dose is or what problems might be caused. Brain damage doesn't appear until roughly 80% of the brain cells that control a function are damaged.

    All glycols are basically alcohol and propylene is a substance that Dow Chemical says that does not cause damage in normal doses. With the number of problems like diabetes. autism, and depression on the rise, it's hard to tell what a "normal" dose is.

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  18. When I first saw a bottle of Mio on our grocers shelf, I first looked at the label and immediately put it back on the shelf. Polypropylene Glycol is a major ingredient in automobile antifreeze. Reports say it' s safe in small doses, however nothing is known about the long term accumulative effect on the human body. I for one don't want to find out the hard way, six months down the line that it causes cancer over time.

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  21. I noticed recently when I used 1/2 a bottle of MiO Liquid Berry Pomegranate over the course of a day that my ear wax took on the same color as the MiO Liquid, purple.

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  22. Threw up, now cigarette s taste like burning plastic.

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  23. Just got out of hospital, suffering from five days of vomiting, dizziness, severe abdominal pain . Thought I had a gallbladder problem, but all test, multiple ultrasounds and ct's with contrast, nothing showed up. I have been drinking 8-12 bottles of water daily w Mio for about 5 weeks. Have suffered lately from some heartburn and extra gas, but did not associate with MIO thought I was doing something good for my body. The only think I have done in the last month different is stop drinking soda and start drinking water w MIO. Has anyone else had severe stomach pain or severe pain under the rib cage?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I NEVER go online and comment on blogs but I ran across this looking for what you were describing and had to comment....I have been having horrible stomach pains seemingly unrelated to anything else (I went to the doctor, did blood tests, etc.) and nothing came up abnormal. I eat EXTREAMLY healthy, and started taking antacids and such to deal with the nausea, stomach pains, and vomiting with no success. Pepto-Bismo helped a bit but I wasn't to keen on taking that regularly per the aluminum content in it. I finally started to feel better lately (being Mio-free) and had some this morning and all the symptoms came back. After reading these posts I am sure it's the Mio. I would stop drinking Mio and cut out Crystal Lite, pop's, all that stuff and stick to water (with lemon, cucumbers, etc.) for flavor.

      Delete
  24. Here is why you should throw away this product immediately according to my experience;

    I just purchased MIO 4 days ago which were two small bottles of water enhancers Fruit Punch and Orange Tangerine flavors. I was so excited because i am a soda and juice addict like most of you trying to get rid of sugary products. First time i tried Fruit Punch which contains the ingredients that you have mentioned. And next day i started to experience a painful soar throat and throat irritation. First i thought i am getting sick because of the ice cream i had a day before but was suspicious because i didn't have too much ice cream to get sick. And next day i tried the tangerine-orange which contains different ingredients interestingly. I can say that Orange flavor did not made my throat as bad as Furit punch that i am still not aware of. And the next day dinner time i used Fruit Punch again with a bottled water this time much lower dosage (not even a squeeze in a bottled water which contains twice much water 16fl oz than instructed 1 squeeze for 8 fl oz) and next day i had much worse sore throat than before. It is so painful and unbearable. Then i suspected MIO and start searching any side effects online and came across this article. And i confirm this product is really harmful and has to be discarded asap. I am not a guy that leaves comments but i see that many people denies the side effects of this product and i wanted to share my experience with you. In my opinion this product has to be banned from the market and the company has to be sued for this. This is that serious.

    ReplyDelete
  25. i started with the mio energy thinking it was better then sodas,then i noticed that the more i drank the thirstier i got so i was drinking more and more,then my kidneys started hurting really bad and i knew something was up,so i stopped drinking it and about 3 weeks later i was in the hospital with a blocked kidney by a kidney stone.i thought i was dying with the pain and sickness.i know my problems did not start until the mio started but the doctors just kind of laughed when i told them.i had 2 cases of mio left and was going to throw them out but a friend just laughed at me and said he would take them, and after about a month he was at the hospital with same problem as me!

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  26. I've noticed myself feeling sick after I drank my water with this stuff in it (Strawberry Watermelon, and the Sweet Tea.) I decided to Google to see if anyone had any side effects from it, I came across this page. I will now be staying away from this stuff, I'd rather drink my Dr. Pepper and get fat than put antifreeze chemicals in my body. I've noticed it starts to taste like gasoline or hair dye depending on which one I'm drinking. I would not buy this stuff again just based on how it tastes and the side effects I've noticed.

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  27. Can't help but wonder...I've been using Mio daily for probably almost 5 years now with no problems until about 2 weeks ago. All of a sudden now I have constant heartburn all day, every day. After reading some of these posts I'm thinking about throwing mine out too...did somebody mention retaining water? I've been curious as to why I've been steadily gaining weight over the last 3 years with no change in diet or exercise...might be related.

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    Replies
    1. OMG! I have edema in my ankles to my knees. And have had blurred vision and some unexplained indigestion. Going back to plain water! Have ace wrapped my legs and elevating them!

      Delete
  28. I drink way too much sugar so I decided to use Mio to replace my urges. My skin dried and scaled. I thought it was just a coincidence but after I stop using it, my skin went back to normal then when I started to drink again it did the same thing. So, I knew that drinking Mio made my skin dry.

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