Value of ‘Fitness Waters’ is Debated

(KRT)— Drinking enough water is essential for anyone who is physically active.

But plain old water is getting a lot of competition from new enhanced bottled waters and sports drinks.

Enhanced waters are at one end of the spectrum in fitness/sports beverages. In some cases, the name “fitness water” is a marketing tactic that could refer to flavored and vitamin-enhanced water or a sports drink with electrolytes.

Supplement-laden sports drinks are on the other end of the spectrum. They go beyond the usual bevy of sports drinks that have electrolytes for endurance activities. Supplements are added to improve performance.

Gatorade introduced a new category of enhanced waters when it launched Propel in 2000.

“This is nothing more than flavored water,” said Susan Kleiner, author of “Power Eating” (Human Kinetics, $16.95) and sports nutritionist for the Seattle Supersonics. “It’s marketed to people who don’t want the calories or sweetness of sports drinks and don’t like the taste of plain water,” she said.

These lightly sweetened fitness waters with fruit flavors usually are designed not for endurance athletes, but for people who exercise for an hour or less, Kleiner said.

The amount of vitamins and minerals is a small percentage of the recommended daily allowances. You should not rely on this drink to help meet vitamin and mineral needs, Kleiner said.

But you can enjoy this water for its most basic benefit—hydrating. If its flavor and formulation help you drink more water before, during and after exercise, then that’s OK.

Kleiner expects more vitamin-enhanced, lightly flavored bottled water brands to join Propel.

The trend of less sweet formulations, vitamin enhancement and fewer calories is trickling into sports drinks such as Reebok Fitness Water. Like other sports drinks, it contains electrolytes and small amounts of vitamins.

Electrolytes are substances your body needs to function normally. These include potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium.

They give you energy if you’re participating in intense stop-and-go activities, such as soccer and basketball, or in a sport that lasts more than an hour.

But don’t automatically assume that these drinks are good for you or safe, just because they’re sold at health-food stores and gyms.

Certain supplements can be harmful if taken in too-large quantities.

And some products contain stimulants such as caffeine, ephedra or ma huang. Too much of these may raise your blood pressure or cause health problems if you have heart disease.

“You shouldn’t get panicked about the availability of these sports drinks with supplements,” Kleiner said. “But you must be an informed consumer. Read the labels and do your research on these supplements before you take any sports drink.”

Kleiner suggests sites such as http://www.supplementwatch.com/