Off Duty, Military Health and Fitness - Marine Corps Times

The new wave of mega-waters

First they bottled it.

Then they flavored it, sweetened it and stuffed it to the cap with vitamins X, Y and Z.

Now, your next bottle of water might have pork chops in it. Or stem cells. Anything to make it stand out from the pack.

Selecting a bottle of water these days practically requires a registered dietitian and a doctorate in chemistry. There’s fitness water and energy water, vitamin water and water-water.

Clearly Canadian — among the first to alter the waterscape nearly 20 years ago, with its line of flavored carbonated water — recently announced plans to launch a noncarbonated line of enhanced waters. Coca-Cola is rumored to be working on something similar for its Dasani line, which already comes in a variety of Splenda-sweetened flavors.

Other companies are in high gear already, launching new products and tuning up old favorites in an effort to win more of those water dollars. Kellogg’s made a media splash earlier this year with its new line of trendy Special K2O Protein Water, a concept lifted from the hard-core fitness world and packaged for mainstream consumers.

Here’s a sampling of some of the trendiest enhanced waters on the market, and what you need to know before you buy.

1. Amino Vital

Bodybuilders have long used amino acid supplements to help their bodies recover from strenuous workouts, and Amino Vital is among the beverages leading the charge since arriving in the U.S. from Japan in 2004. What’s so special about amino acids? Research suggests that the compounds help combat fatigue during exercise and aid muscle recovery afterward.

The beverages come in a variety of ready-to-drink blends, including “standard” (1,850 milligrams of amino acids per bottle) and “professional” (3,600 mg per bottle) varieties. Sweetened with fructose and aspartame (an artificial sweetener; think NutraSweet or Equal), a bottle of the pro formula has 100 calories and 17 grams of carbohydrates.

The company’s product line continues to evolve, with an amino acid-enhanced gel pack among the newest items. Distribution is limited, but the product is available at most GNC health and fitness stores nationwide.

2. Glaceau’s Vitamin Water

Glaceau’s Vitamin Water helped launch the “enhanced water” craze when it debuted seven years ago and now boasts a dozen flavors and mixtures claiming to energize, replenish lost nutrients and even boost the immune system. The consumer response was staggering, and now Glaceau claims to sell more than 5 million bottles of its various drinks each day.

Last fall, the company went so far as to develop a 12-ounce version of several Vitamin Water flavors, marketing the beverages as “kid friendly” alternative drinks for schools.

Many flavors bear little resemblance to actual water, including the popular Energy blend — sweetened with crystalline fructose and containing 125 calories, 32 g of carbohydrates, 50 mg of caffeine and 25 mg of guarana (a fruit derivative common in energy drinks). Imagine mixing Gatorade with a can of Red Bull and you get the point.

3. Sobe’s Life Water

When SoBe, a division of Pepsi, launched its Life Water line a year ago, critics quickly labeled it as a copycat of Glaceau’s Vitamin Water. Glaceau agreed, filing a lawsuit a month later accusing SoBe of trying to copy the Vitamin Water look and feel, which Pepsi quickly settled under a confidential agreement that included changing its Life Water packaging.

Indeed, the two are quite similar, down to the odd flavor pairings, similar additives and wannabe-hip marketing. Sweetened with crystalline fructose (like Vitamin Water) and packed with various blends of vitamins (like Vitamin Water), SoBe’s version shakes out at about 120 calories and 32 g of carbohydrates (like Vitamin Water). Weren’t the cola wars enough for them?

4. Special K2O Protein Water

Once found only in health food and fitness stores, protein water has hit the mainstream (and generated some media buzz) thanks to Kellogg’s Special K2O Protein Water. First announced in June, the drinks are available in many supermarket chains, including Sam’s Club, Wal-Mart and Food Lion.

What makes them different from the protein shakes you mix for your daily workouts? Nothing much — the protein is derived from the same whey protein isolate many gym rats already buy by the bucket. Sweetened with a mix of sucralose (the generic name for the artificial sweetener Splenda), acesulfame potassium (another artificial sweetener) and real sugar (8 g per bottle), the drinks are light and fruity but weigh in at only 50 calories and 8 g of carbs per bottle.

But with only 5 g of protein per bottle (versus 40 or more in a serious protein drink), the protein effects are negligible for the weightlifting crowd. Still, something is better than nothing, and it tastes good, especially served cold.

5. Stacker 2 Protein Water

Another readily available protein water (you can find it at most GNC stores), this whey-enhanced beverage offers 20 g of protein and 80 calories per bottle. Sweetened with sucralose, the drink has zero calories and zero carbohydrates. Falling somewhere between Nature’s Best Isopure sports drink (40 g of protein) and Kellogg’s new Special K2O Protein Water (5 g of protein), the drink balances bulk with taste to avoid the chalky texture of other protein drinks.

6. Stacker 2 Dieter’s Water

And you thought all water was technically “dieter’s water.” Stacker 2’s blend promises to “help optimize slower metabolisms by helping deliver a thermogenic response,” while containing zero calories, zero carbs and zero sugar. In fact, the active ingredients are undisclosed amounts of sucralose, caffeine and yohimbe alkaloids, an herbal supplement derived from the bark of a West African tree. Yohimbe supporters credit the substance with aiding everything from weight loss to erectile dysfunction and increased sex drive. Each bottle comes complete with a usage warning, not to exceed more than one bottle in a six-hour period and a maximum of three bottles in 24 hours.

7. Vitamin Enhanced Fruit2O

Kraft hasn’t said much about its new line of nutrient-enhanced flavored waters, which taste much like other Fruit2O offerings but now pack in a variety of additives and vitamins across four varieties — “energy,” “immunity,” “hydration” and “relax.” More closely resembling plain old water than most of the new breed, the enhanced Fruit2O relies on a mix of sucralose and acesulfame potassium for sweetness. Containing zero everything (except sodium, still super-low at 20 mg per bottle), the new drink manages to hide these additives extremely well. Our favorite? “Energy,” which adds B vitamins plus 120 mg of caffeine — equal to 1½ cans of Red Bull or more than three cans of Coke.