Alkaline water is a current fad that seems to still be growing. Mike asked about it back on this post in the comments and I gave him a link that shows how the whole thing is debunked from a scientific standpoint. Most of these companies count on the consumer being dazzled by buzzwords without really taking a close eye to the claims being made. I’ve encouraged you to think critically when presented with information that can affect your health — or your pocketbook. With that in mind, today’s question concerns a new product on the market which I saw marketed at the NLP Invitational we attended back in August. This product, called AquaHydrate is endorsed by a handful of celebrities and athletes, so the consumer draw can be strong.

(slightly paraphrased) What are your thoughts on AquaHydrate? I hear it’s so good for you! And it’s not loaded with sugar and it cuts recovery time for athletes and rehydrates ASAP. I’m sure you’ve heard about it…so thoughts?

First, I will give the company kudos for offering a “sports drink” that doesn’t have a bucket of HFCS in each serving. That much is a nice thing to see, but is it really worth your hard-earned money?

Aquahydrate says their water is different for offering three things: higher alkalinity (pH of 9+), minerals and purity. So let’s look at those three things:

As I mentioned, the benefits of alkaline water have been debunked in the scientific community. This company wisely avoids saying that the alkalinity is improving anything other than the taste. (Most alkaline waters claim all sorts of magical attributes.) They claim that you will be better hydrated because the water will taste better, therefore you’ll drink more. That’s great thinking for a 5 year old, but I would hope an adult could make better conscious decisions.

As far as purity and minerals, it’s a little akin to “enriched” bread where they so highly process the flour and strip all the nutrients out of it, then add some vitamins and minerals back in and call it “enriched”. In this case, they so highly filter and “purify” the water, then add some minerals that Trace Minerals Research (another supplement company http://www.traceminerals.com/) claims are necessary. That’s like Pfizer telling you that you have a Viagra deficiency. Mind you, water from an actual mountain spring is full of minerals… and likely the ones you’d actually “need”, provided you don’t filter everything out ahead of time.

This all sounds to me like a bunch of pseudo-scientific fluff to sell you an expensive bottle of water. I didn’t see a single study demonstrating any greater hydration or recovery on their site. They do a bunch of anecdotal testimonials that are likely just hype and probably not much more than a placebo effect. I think you should put your money towards better quality foods than overpaying for water. Go to your local Glacier Water dispenser, be eco-friendly and reuse a gallon water container and fill up for a quarter.

Really people, whether it’s Vitamin Water, Gatorade or whatever the latest offering is, nothing beats plain ol’ water for hydration. Like Public Enemy said — don’t believe the hype.

WOD 11.4.10

Make Up Day