To those who are in the IT industry, Smart C+ may sound like a programming language, 🙂 but seriously, it is one of the few new products in the market that got my attention.  Here’s why:

At first I thought it was just “one of those” products in the market trying to make a niche in the “juice wars” so I didn’t really pay much attention to it.  Then there was this one time I was on my way to Bonifacio Global City when I felt my throat was feeling dry—a sign of an impending cold!  My instincts told me to take some vitamin C, so I went to that trusty convenience store to find some juice to drink.  Sure I could easily just buy a vitamin C tablet from the pharmacy but drinking juice was more to my liking that time.  And as fate would have it, I found Smart C+.

Do you read labels? If you don’t, you’d be surprised that most “juice” drinks out there are so synthetic that they practically don’t have any vitamins, and is mostly sugar and flavoring!  Even those pulpy juice drinks only have 5% RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) of vitamin C (some much cheaper flavored drinks actually have more vitamin C).  And that was when I found Smart C+—I was shocked (but glad) to see it has 320% RDA of vitamin C per serving!  That’s 500mg per 500mL bottle.  Now that’s some serious vitamin C!

Some Geeky Stuff

According to Smart C+’s website, vitamin C is an antioxidant, supporting your body’s immune system and promotes its natural resistance.  Antioxidants neutralize the free radicals formed in your body during day-to-day activity and environmental exposure, protecting your cells and keeping them healthy.  Vitamin C is also needed for the production of collagen in your body, which is a basic building block of your body providing strength to each individual body cell.  Simply put, vitamin C is like spinach for Popeye!

Overdose

While Smart C+’s 320% RDA of vitamin C may sound high, it can’t be considered an overdose.  According to Wikipedia: The LD₅₀ (the dose that will kill 50% of a population) is generally accepted to be 11,900 milligrams (11.9 grams) per kilogram in rat populations.^[1] This is equivalent to a 70 kilogram human ingesting 850 grams of Vitamin C (about 9,444% US RDA for men 19 years old and above^[2]).

The Ultimate Test: The Taste

Of course being a juice drink, Smart C+ must pass through the ultimate test: the taste test.  If it tastes bad then why not just take some vitamin C tablets, right?  For my first try I got the stereotypical choice: Lemon Squeeze flavor.  The taste: great!  I have a bit lower tolerance to sweet (despite my sweet tooth) so I find it a tad too sweet for my taste, but it’s really good!  It won’t even need to have that much vitamin C for me to buy it as the taste alone is something to look for.

Choices, choices, choices

Smart C+ comes in three equally delicious flavors: Orange Crush, Pomelo Grapefruit, and Lemon Squeeze—all of which contains 320% RDA of vitamin C—so there’s one bound to suit your taste.  I was actually reluctant to try the Pomelo Grapefruit flavor at first but it was actually good.

Candid Survey

To have a bit more “balanced” assessment I allowed some officemates to try a variety of Smart C+’s flavors, and the results were unanimous—they liked it!  And with some casual conversations I actually learned that some of them had already tried the product as well.

Contents

If you’re one who’s picky on the products they consume (and constantly reads labels), chances are Smart C+ may have fallen on your shopping carts.  Why?  For starters it only has 100kcal per 240mL serving (110kcal for Orange Crush), which is less than in some commercially available iced tea drinks; has 50% RDA of vitamins B5 and B6; no preservatives; zero artificial flavoring; and the parts I liked most: zero artificial sweeteners (uses cane sugar for taste) and no high fructose corn syrup.

Well, Smart C+ may not be the cure for the common cold, but personally, the vitamin C boost I got from my first try of the product really helped.  We may be able to run with colds, but of course we’d rather not.  You may not want it as you run, but it sure is nice after, especially if your nose is also running (running nose, get it? :D).  It sure beats taking some sour vitamin C tablets.

Smart C+ is a product of Oishi.  For more information on Smart C+ visit their website at www.keepupwithsmartc.com or www.facebook.com/oishi.smartc.

This is a paid review brought to you by Oishi.