They’re everywhere. In the local pharmacy, the gas station and maybe even in your own fridge. Nutrient packed waters are now a $1.5 billion dollar industry-and rapidly growing. The makers of the “enhanced waters”, as they are called by those in the industry, claim that their products have a multitude of health benefits that make it superior to plain old water . Some enhanced waters claim to reduce appetite. Others promise sharper memory, faster recovery from hangovers, and another even claims to increase sexual performance.
The $1.5 billion dollar question is: do these drinks do what they claim?
Although there are over 150 enhanced waters on the market today, let’s take a look at two of the most popular brands to evaluate their potential health benefits.
Vitamin Water
The most popular drink in this category may also be the least beneficial. As a dietitian, when I look at the nutrition facts label for Vitamin Water, one thing jumps out at me. It’s not the Vitamin C, B12 or Thiamine. It’s the sugar. Vitamin Water is loaded with sugar (33 grams to be exact). That’s only a few grams less than a can of Coke and infinitely more than plain water.
What about the vitamins? Don’t they balance it out? Not quite. The vitamins found in Vitamin Water are those that most Americans get plenty of. Also, Vitamin E is fat soluble and won’t likely be absorbed very much. If you really want the extra vitamins, taking a multivitamin will actually provide twice as much as a bottle of Vitamin Water and will give you a few nutrients that you may not be getting enough of (namely vitamin D and calcium).
Special K20
Special K, a longtime favorite cereal of dieters everywhere can now be found in beverage form. Special K water claims to be able to help curb appetite and aid in weight loss. How? By adding protein to it’s water.
Admittedly, there has been quite a bit of quality research that shows eating protein at every meal helps increase satiety. For many people, adding protein to meals and snacks has helped them take the edge off their appetite and lose weight.
The problem with Special K water is that the amount of protein in each bottle, 5 grams, is not nearly enough to have an effect on appetite. Most of the protein-appetite research has shown a significant effect with a protein intake of at least 20 grams. You’d have to drink four bottles of Special K to reach that. This may curb your appetite because you will be running to the bathroom every 10 minutes, but it won’t be because of the protein.
On the whole, there is very little research supporting the claims that the enhanced waters make on their bottles. In fact, because of the sugar that many of them contain, they may actually be hurting your health more than helping it. No matter what the enhanced water marketers will have you believe, good ol’ H2O isn’t obsolete quite yet.
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