Disease Proof

I’m not a sports drink guy, so all this hype surrounding vitamin waters is lost on me. The CBS Early Show explains why these designer waters come with a price. Check it out:

Registered dietician Keri Glassman cautioned Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Friday that, "You see all these waters out there loaded with vitamins and minerals. The problem is, they're also loaded with lots of sugar. A lot of these bottles of water have about 150 calories. We're over-consuming calories as a nation…


…As for the vitamins in the designer waters, many aren't water-soluble, Glassman points out, meaning the body won't retain them, anyhow. And it's not worth the added calories just to get the ones the body does retain.

Now, since we’re talking about sports drinks. Here’s my latest gripe, the brainlessness that is protein water. These "fitness experts" are rambling about it:


These protein-based magic potions make my eyes roll. Dr. Fuhrman thinks they’re a bunch of mumbo-jumbo too. His thoughts:

The average American consumes about fifty percent more protein than the recommended daily amount. Yet we often see—in addition to misinformed athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and bodybuilders—businessmen and women, homemakers, and those seeking to lose weight turning to protein powders, drinks, and nutritional bars in their quest for even more protein.


It is true that resistance training and endurance workouts can break down muscle protein and increase our need for protein to fuel repair and growth. But the increased need of protein is proportional to the increased need for calories burned with the exercise. As your appetite increases, you increase your caloric intake accordingly, and your protein intake increases proportionally. If you meet those increased caloric demands from heavy exercise with an ordinary assortment of natural plant foods—vegetables, whole grains, beans, and nuts, which contain more than 50 grams of protein per 1000 calories—you will get the precise amount of extra protein you need.

The worst is watching people finish up a grueling run and then stop to choke down some goopy gritty brownish mixture—YUCK!