What danger may be lurking in your sports drink!

Brominated vegetable oil is an ingredient added to citrus drinks to keep the fruity flavor from separating. About 10% of drinks sold in the US contain Brominated Vegetable Oil. These drinks include some Pepsi products, Gatorade, Coca-Cola products, Fanta, Sunkist, squirt, Dr. Pepper products and many others.

Brominated vegetable oil contains bromine, the element found in brominated flame retardants, used in things like upholstered furniture and children’s products. Research has found brominate flame retardants building up in the body and breast milk and have linked them to neurological impairment, reduced fertility, changes in thyroid hormones and puberty at an earlier age. While most people have limited exposure to brominated vegetable oil, an extensive article about it by Environmental Health News that ran in Scientific American last year found that video gamers and others who binge on sodas and other drinks containing the ingredient experience skin lesions, nerve disorders and memory loss.The European Union and Japan has banned this product from use. Hmmmmm, plain water is sounding tasty right now or maybe some coconut water. Be careful what you put in your body, always check labels!! Though this chemical has not been fully tested long term to know its complete effects on our bodies there are definitely healthier options just in case!