Low sugar, low carb diets aren’t easy, but people report feeling better with more energy. Why is this? Our body converts carbs to sugars, and we knowingly or unknowingly consume copious amounts of daily sugar, even if we don’t feel like we’re over-indulging on sweets. Sugar can make us feel sluggish, plus lead to a host of serious health problems, weight gain, and dangerous low-grade body and skin inflammation. But the sugar habit, whether in the form of coffeehouse beverages, dessert, french fries or white bread, is difficult to break, especially over a rushed lunch break. At times, carb-laden meals are unavoidable. How can one avoid going into sugar overdrive?

Good Idea is a Swedish Sugar Buster. It’s a scientifically proven dietary supplement designed to be consumed with any meal to help a healthy person regulate the blood sugar rise and eventual energy slump from a fast carb, sugary meal.

WHAT IS GOOD IDEA?

Good Idea is a flavored sparkling water that contains a small amount of five amino acids and a mineral that helps the body’s blood sugar level regulate the impact of the sugar spike following a meal. It works with any meal containing fast carbs (fries, loaded potatoes, white bread, pizza, pasta) or sugar (sugary breakfast cereal, muffins, desserts, snacks, etc). It can also be consumed directly after a meal and still be effective.

HOW GOOD IDEA WORKS

Clinical studies done on healthy people with normal blood sugar levels show the combination of amino acids and the mineral chromium contained in Good Idea reduce post-meal blood sugar levels by 20-30%. This greatly reduces the load on the body to process these sugar and carbs and helps eliminate the inevitable post-meal sugar crash or energy slump.

WHAT ARE THE INGREDIENTS IN GOOD IDEA?

This sounds like a great idea, but what exactly are we drinking?

A serving (12 fl oz) of Good Idea contains 2.6 g of five amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, valine, threonine, and lysine, plus 250mg of Chromium Picolinate. Many of these are found in common foods you likely eat regularly, but the timing of when they are ingested is important. You may have seen some of these sold as vitamins or minerals. Here are the specifics:

• Isoleucine appears to promote glucose consumption and uptake, especially during exercise.
• Leucine beneficially influences the muscles and is beneficial when taken at specific times as related to a meal. Typically contained in any food containing protein, and more powerful than Isoleucine.
• Valine is one of the three branched chain amino acids that work in tandem with the other acids
• Threonine is necessary for protein synthesis.
• Lysine is found in many foods (fish, chicken, soybean, garbanzo beans, milk, eggs) and is used in the biosynthesis of proteins and repair of muscles.
• Chromium Picolinate is well known for maintaining normal blood glucose levels in both healthy and diabetic persons. Combined with the five amino acids above, results in less insulin needing to be released into the body to manage a high carb or high sugar meal.

HOW ARE THESE AMINO ACIDS SOURCED?

The amino acids are produced by controlled fermentation of non-GMO vegetable sources only (sunflower seeds, corn or pure glucose).

HOW DOES IT TASTE?

It is a sparkling water that comes in two flavors: Sparkling Orange Mango and Sparkling Lemon Lime.

Both have no sugar or artificial sweeteners and contain ten calories a serving.

 

 

MY EXPERIENCE: PUTTING GOOD IDEA TO THE TEST

I typically require plenty of caffeine during the day and often drink an ice-cold Diet Soda at lunch. The problem with this is I have read some studies that indicate you may be saving calories with some Diet Sodas, but your body still thinks it is processing sugar. If you drink a diet drink at mealtime to save calories, then at ten calories, Good Idea is a tasty alternative.

Good Idea comes in single-serve cans so it can be chilled just like a can of soda, so I don’t miss the cold fizzy taste of a carbonated drink.

I like the Mango Orange which is lightly sweet with a smoother mango taste, but really like the Lemon-lime, which is tart, lightly tangy and less sweet. There is no artificial, acidic or chemical taste or weird aftertaste. It is refreshingly flavorful for a sparkling water, especially when chilled, so I don’t miss having a soda when I drink a Good Idea.

THE PIZZA TEST

With a pizza or with a burger and fries, I almost always make it worse and have a soda. I know it’s bad for me.

As these are both high carb meals, they tend to lead to an afternoon energy crash that often makes me need another soda or coffeehouse coffee and snack to stay energized, and these often contain even more carbs and sugar. So for my weekly pizza lunch treat, I tried a well-chilled Good Idea Sparkling Lemon Lime instead of a diet soda. I didn’t miss the soda and did notice that with the Good Idea I didn’t feel as tired after I ate and didn’t feel an afternoon energy slump that required repeated carb loading to get through the day. My energy felt more even and constant without the need to re-binge on carbs.

UNEXPECTED SUGAR & CARB FILLED EVENTS

Going to a party with too many tempting treats? Don’t miss out on all the fun when you can just drink Good Idea. The can itself is thin, so it can fit into your bag and as it just looks like regular sparkling water, you can enjoy yourself without the guilt. Good Idea also works when consumed after a meal, and it can be consumed alone just as a refreshing beverage.

I sometimes go to the vending machine, coffeehouse, cafeteria, restaurant or food court with the full intent of making healthy choices, and somehow things derail. Or maybe there is an unexpected celebration with cake that you feel compelled to eat not to hurt someone’s feelings. Keeping a spare Good Idea on hand at work helps me keep my carb and sugar load in check even when I have an unexpected high-carb day.

This is not to say that Good Idea is a free pass to eat whatever you want with no consequences. But realistically, the best of us flub up sometimes when it comes to healthy eating. Often we don’t always have the time or energy to make the healthiest meal choice.  You may often opt for low carb zoodles over high-carb pasta, but it requires planning to shop and prep to make zoodles verses the fast and easy pasta night.  It happens sometimes, and Good Idea can help reduce the impact of less-than-ideal menu choices or fast and easy food. If a high carb meal like pasta or pizza or fries is your favorite, it’s tough to stick to a healthier way of eating when you feel you must give your favorite food up forever. Good Idea allows for a planned or unexpected indulgence, which makes a diet or healthy lifestyle change more workable.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH BEHIND GOOD IDEA

Good Idea is based on years of research at Lund University, a leading Nordic university and a center for healthy food inventions. They initially discovered that a certain combination of amino acids beneficially influenced the blood sugar rise following a meal. Backed by repeated clinical studies, Good Idea™ – the Swedish Sugar Buster was created.

CONCLUSION

Many of us enjoy a flavored Sparkling Water with a meal, Good Idea saves a carb-laden meal or sugary snack from being a dietary disaster. Drink one with a meal, or if you go to a restaurant or a friends house for dinner, you can drink it afterward and still get the blood sugar regulating effects. Both flavors provide safe and tasty health benefits to save the body from undue stress due to high sugar or fast carbs, including weight gain and inflammation. It also keeps a sugar rush or carb energy boost from causing a energy crash, which is ideal for regulating energy during a work day when one is often forced into a fast food meal or a sandwich lunch. Tasty and flavorful, with only ten calories per serving, you won’t miss soda or sugary sparkling waters while helping your body naturally support healthy blood sugar levels.

WHERE TO FIND GOOD IDEA

Find Good Idea the Swedish Sugar Buster in Mango Orange and Lemon Lime Flavors at http://goodideadrinks.com

Style Chicks received the Good Idea the Swedish Sugar Buster in exchange for our unbiased review and received compensation for our time and effort. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.