Interview: Ayala’s Herbal Water
To help you get a little better aquainted with one of my favorite products in my OpenSky shop I did a short interview with Dr. Ayala:
What is the inspiration behind HerbalWater?
I am a pediatrician and one of my main interests in pediatrics was preventive medicine, especially the role good nutrition has on overall health.
Well before everyone became concerned with the obesity epidemic, I started advising parents to stay away from sweet drinks, because there are so many calories and so much junk in most sweet drinks and drinking sweet is so habit forming.
You see, the average American consumes about 300cal/day in sweet beverages, mostly empty calories from sugar. There’s pretty good evidence that these calories don’t register the way solid food does, and therefore they’re not compensated for. Just attacking this habit is a going to make a huge impact on our waistlines.
And since I try very hard to practice what I preach, and I believe that anything you put in your mouth should taste good, and not just be good for you, I started exploring calorie free beverages for my home
I grow an organic herb garden, and have an abundance of herbs in the warm months. I love cooking with herbs: Culinary herbs are the natural way to flavor anything, while adding health benefits. Herbs are also, to me one of the most sensual foods, and really connect you to nature and memories. I would make herbal beverages to pair with meals, and our guests were offered this herbal water as an alternative to regular water or wine. They came to expect it, and asked for it whenever they came. But I couldn’t make it in the winter, since I didn’t have the fresh herbs growing then.
The enthusiasm for this healthy alternative led my husband to believe that this beverage answers a need in the market, and we should make it commercially available. My enthusiasm for making this drink widely available is so great because there just aren’t many truly healthy alternative drinks out there.
What is your favorite flavor and why?
I love all my kids the same, really. I find that I’ll tend to drink the Cloves Cardamom Cinnamon Herbal Water with a meal, the Verbena Geranium with dessert, the Lavender Mint when I want to relax and the Lemongrass Mint Vanilla on a warm day after exercise. The Ginger Lemon Peel and Cinnamon Orange Peel are my “anytime, anyplace” drinks. Each of the Herbal Water flavors has a place in my own routine, and a lot of it also depends on the mood I’m after.
What makes Herbal Water a better choice than other flavored waters and functional drinks?
Ayala’s herbal water is a delicious flavored water that is 100% good for you. It is made by infusing pure water with organic herbs, adding nothing else. It has no calories, no preservatives and no additives and it delivers the wonderful taste and aroma of herbs. Herbs are the natural way to flavor water without adding calories. We achieved a full flavored plant based drink, without manipulating the ingredients, or using any additives and preservatives.
Unlike some of the other functional offerings, Ayala’s Herbal Water doesn’t throw in the new hot nutrient, thinking you can get away from eating well by drinking nutrients, many times mixed in lots of sugar and artificial ingredients. What we offer is a centuries old traditional food that was always known for both its benefits and wonderful taste.
