Every soft drink drank shortens lifespan by 12.5 minutes

New research from the University of Michigan has developed the Health Nutritional Index looking at the foods and drinks we consume and how much time they either add or take away from our lifespans. The index has shown that eating foods like salmon increases our lifespans by 16 minutes. In contrast, every fructose-filled soft drink we consume takes off 12.5 minutes from our life expectancy.

To tackle this, air up have launched with a new smart water bottle that emulates the flavours in our favourite soft drinks using scent alone, giving Brits soft drink flavours with none of the chemical nasties that are shortening their lives.

The soft drinks market in the UK is worth £3.8 billion dominated by these sugary drinks and those labelled as ‘zero-calorie’ are still filled with a variety of additives and sweeteners. However, as Brits slowly become more conscious of the impact of their consumption through research such as this, they are seeking alternatives.

Research from hydration experts, air up, shows that 37% of Brits are attempting to reduce their intake of soft drinks filled with sugars and additives but struggle due to a lack of alternatives available to them.

air up’s landmark research analyses the complexities behind Brits’ fraught relationship with sugary drinks revealing the alarming number of Brits (36%) who have no idea what is in their soft drinks labelled as ‘zero sugar’ as an alternative sweetener and the 42% of Brits drinking low to zero calorie drinks in attempts to reduce their sugar intake:

Key stats:

37% (16,093,000) are trying to reduce their sugar intake but are struggling to do so due to the alternatives available to them
42% (21,297,000) drink low to zero calorie sugary drinks in an attempt to reduce their sugar intake
36% (17,319,000) agree that in the absence of sugar, they are not entirely sure what is in no added sugar drinks to maintain their sweetness
45% (23,152,000) of Brits only drink around one glass of water a day
30% (15,701,000) of Brits find water boring so they don’t often drink it
29% (14,814,000) of Brits have tried, without success, to drink more water

With 80% of flavour coming from our sense of smell, instead of taste, air up harnesses this clever bit of science, infusing every sip of water from your bottle with flavoured air, offering Brits a healthy alternative to flavoured drinks while still drinking 100% pure water. Each pod contains natural flavourings and scents that infuse with ambient air to be added to the pure water. These flavours range from Lime and Orange-Passionfruit to Cola and Iced Coffee with ten others in between, improving our sense of health and wellness without sacrificing flavour, truly disrupting the soft drinks sector and our consumption habits forever.

Lena Jüngst – co-founder of air up comments:

“air up is a new and fascinating way to taste. What I love most about our product, as a designer, is that it shows that a more healthy and sustainable lifestyle can still be fun and appealing. For me that is a very promising sign for our future, and something that we have worked hard to achieve. air up is the world’s first drinking bottle that flavours water only by scent with the help of retronasal smelling. Compared to other drinks with flavour, we do not put any ingredients into the water, but only add small fragrance bubbles that are not absorbed by the body. So the water remains water – just with flavour. This is not only good for your health, but also a much more sustainable alternative. As far as we know, no one has ever used retronasal smell like we do, to create flavour. We are a true “world’s first” and that’s pretty rare nowadays.”