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Are health claims of new beverages hard to swallow?
Are health claims of new beverages hard to swallow?

By Penny Cockerell and Heather Warlick

Published: July 23, 2007

These days, a stroll down the beverage aisle at the grocery store can be as fascinating and confusing as trying to follow all the studies and claims behind this beverage bonanza.

All these choices make it hard to know what to drink.

So let's start with the basics.

Most have heard they should drink eight glasses, or 64 ounces, of water per day. Another way to measure it is to divide body weight in half and consume that amount in ounces — a 150-pound person should drink 75 ounces of water per day.

But do other things count as hydration as well?

The answer is yes. And no.

Store shelves today are packed with mind-boggling water choices and teas in every flavor. In between are some truly innovative selections — and some old ones, as well.

For instance, nonalcoholic ginger beer is a rediscovered twist on ginger ale. The beer version has more of a ginger kick than its ale cousin. Nutritionists agree, ginger is rich in antioxidants and can soothe motion sickness or settle an upset tummy.

But while a 12-ounce bottle averages 26 grams of ginger, it also has as many calories as a regular soft drink and just as much sugar and carbohydrates. So while ginger has benefits, the sugar works against hydration.

The trend now is toward so-called "functional” drinks, or drinks that do more than hydrate. Entering the market are such beverages as DanActive, a new probiotic dairy drink that has been clinically proven to help strengthen the body's immune system.

Probiotics refers to living microorganisms — so-called "good” bacteria. Studies have shown that the "good” bacteria contained in probiotic dairy drinks can regulate digestion when consumed consistently for two weeks.

Some smoothies — long loaded with protein and calcium — now come with a new twist — fiber. This month, Prevention magazine named the fiber-rich smoothie Lightfull one of the 25 best new foods of 2007.

Roger Clemens, an Institutional Food Technologist and University of Southern California professor, said part of the functional drink trend is driven by a desire to introduce healthy alternatives into lifestyles rather than the other way around.

In other words, if folks aren't willing to change their diets, maybe what they consume needs to be changed. That theory is behind the push for such things as Vitaminwater and the vitamin-fortified Diet Coke Plus.

"They may in fact, at the end of the day, be providing some health benefit,” Clemens said. "On the other hand, you have a number of products out there making inappropriate claims.”

This trend shouldn't discount the benefits of tried-and-true beverages, such as milk, water and tea, Clemens said.

Indeed, key milk nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D, may do more than just help keep bones strong. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition said that consuming milk and other calcium-rich products could reduce the risk for cancer in women by at least 60 percent.

Here is the bottom line on some other familiar liquids:

Tea: Second only to water as a source of hydration, teas are a great and flavorful liquid replenisher, said Clemens and Sharon Stroud, a nutritionist at Wild Oats supermarket in Tulsa.

Coffee: Coffee contains healthy antioxidants. Be careful with latte, sugar and other additives that add calories.

Sodas: Clemens admits to indulging in a Diet Pepsi on weekends, and said that as long as you're getting proper hydration throughout the day, an occasional soda is OK.

Yet Keith Ayoob, associate professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y., said that people are drinking way too much soda — diet and regular — and that they should be drinking no more than one per day.

"What happens is that it pushes out things that we really should be drinking. Low-fat and fat-free dairy foods, water, even sweetened water is fine,” he said.

What about sodas with vitamins?

"If you have a bad diet and you supplement it with lots of vitamins and minerals, you've got a well-supplemented bad diet.”

Americans need to drink healthier. Seventy percent of children and even more adults do not get enough calcium. Human bodies only build calcium in their bones until their mid-20s. After that, if you don't ingest enough calcium, your body takes it directly from the bones, causing osteoporosis.

Ayoob's advice? Drink calcium-rich, low-fat milk daily and cut down on sodas.

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