BERGEN HEALTH & LIFE July-August 2005 Chugging down the vitamins? - Laura Cipullo, RD, CDE What are the health benefits, if any, of those popular vitamin-fortified bottles waters? Other than hydrating your body, which is an important component of a healthy lifestyle, these trendy "fitness drinks" are not exactly a foundation of nutrition. While they do contain several B vitamins—sometimes as much as 25 percent of the daily recommended value for niacin, B-6, and pantothenic acid—focusing on a balanced diet will give you much more nutritional bang for the buck. Wholesome foods provide a host of other beneficial substances—fiber, antioxidants and phytochemicals—that you simply don't get in these supplemented waters. What's more, it is not always crystal clear to consumers that some of theses so-called "health water" also contain calories. Read the ingredients list to see if the product has calorie-laden sugar, dextrose or fruit-juice concentrates added. In addition, some of these drinks contain herbal ingredients like ginseng, which may adversely react with heart medications. Getting vitamins and minerals from your diet rather that drinks will also save money. Spending $1 to $3 for a bottle of vitamin-fortified water is a high price to pay for a handful of B vitamins. If you insist on drinking bottled water, look for a brand that is reasonably priced and consume six to eight glasses a day to keep hydrated, rather than relying on it as a source of vitamins.

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