Enhanced waters

Have you seen the special waters and energy drinks on the market? They have ingredients like vitamins, minerals, herbs, weight-loss supplements, caffeine and antioxidants. For the most part, these drinks are sweetened, flavored water. The sweeteners range from sugar to artificial sweeteners to high fructose corn syrup. Many of these drinks have a significant number of calories, some comparable to soda.

I guess the questions we have to ask ourselves are: 1) How much money am I willing to spend on sweetened water? 2) How many calories am I willing to drink?

For athletes, the electrolyte drinks (without caffeine) can serve the purpose of quickly replacing what is lost through heavy perspiration. At least one brand comes in powder, which is cheaper than the ready-made, so you can save money by mixing it yourself.

Personally, I like saving money and calories. I prefer to drink plain water and tea and take a daily multivitamin instead.