Are Enhanced Waters Beneficial?

Experts disagree on health benefits of fortified liquids

If you’re on some type of diet kick, or looking for a healthy alternative to your usual sugar-filled, carbohydrate-high soda, you may find yourself reaching for a healthy enhanced water. As most nutritionists will tell you, many of these self-proclaimed “healthy” beverages are no better for you than Kool-Aid.

It seems like nobody can agree on what’s healthy for you and what’s not anymore. It doesn’t matter what one health expert says, because another is waving the fraudulent flag in your face. Enhanced water is no different. The ball of confusion is just getting larger and rounder with each new product introduced. One side is arguing that enhanced water is beneficial; while the other is dubbing it tap water packaged in a fancy bottle at double the price.

In order to understand enhanced waters better, we had to do a bit of research. It would seem that most of these products are fortified with at least one vitamin or nutrient. Not all waters contain all the essential nutrients that the body needs, however some include some pretty fancy-sounding combinations. Most brands contain added oxygen, called oxygenated water, which simply implies that it will improve your physical performance and fitness. However, many health experts, of course, don’t agree.

A research letter that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in November 2003 compared 5 different types of enhanced water with well-stirred tap water. The conclusion was this: drinking oxygenated water before exercise doesn’t improve your performance in the least. Further studies solidified this claim and revealed that the amount of extra oxygen that can be put into a 500-milliliter bottle of water is approximately equal to one breath of air. Adding further insult to injury, the studies concluded that most of the oxygen escapes as soon as you open the bottle anyway.

Despite the smeared reputation of oxygenated waters, clustered waters have been shown to be beneficial. Clustered water is molecularly restructured, so it forms clusters of smaller molecules for quicker absorption. This water has actually been proven to promote faster and more effective hydration. This would be most beneficial to athletes who can burn up to 1-liter of water during an intense hour of exercise. It’s important to stay hydrated for many reasons. Unfortunately, more than half of the North American population is dehydrated – and that has nothing to do with a water shortage.

Dehydration can lead to health problems such as energy loss, fatigue, weight gain, depression, toxicity, asthma, allergies, body pains, high blood pressure, high blood sugar and more. Chronic dehydration directly reduces your energy level because water is the number one driving force of energy within the body.

Improved hydration leads to increased oxygen to the cells, increased absorption and utilization of nutrients and better cell replication – which in turn can mean higher energy levels, reduced fatigue, improved performance and increased feeling of well-being and quality of life. Pretty good gains if you’re a competitive athlete and if you have trouble getting an average of 8 cups of water per day.