March 24, 2008

You Ask, I Answer: Sports & Fitness Beer (!)

I’ve stumbled onto a Bavarian non-alcoholic beer that the brewer calls “The Sports and Fitness Drink “

I’d be very interested to hear what you think about their claims.

Is it all a crock or might they truly be onto something?


-- Kevin L. Mickle
Las Cruces, NM

PS: Over the last 2 1⁄2 months, I’ve lost over 15 lbs fat, 4.5% body fat, 3” off my waist, and gained about 6 lbs muscle (a guess) all from daily exercise and eating right.

A good portion of “eating right” comes from following your recommendations. Thank you again!


First of all -- congratulations on achieving your health and nutrition goals.

I know it takes a lot of effort, commitment, and hard work -- especially achieving it in a healthy way.

Onto your question.

Wow, what a bizarre -- and funny -- product.

Erdinger's "lively, tasty, healthy fitness drink" is a 125 calorie alcohol-free beer that “contains all B-group vitamins and offers high levels of potassium, magnesium, phosphorus” along with all nine essential amino acids and soluble fiber.

Hmmmm...

The manufacturer is very skimpy on details.

The only numbers the website mentions are the 2 grams of protein and 25 percent of the daily folic acid requirement.in each half liter bottle.

The fiber claim strikes me as particularly odd for two reasons. Firstly, I doubt the fiber content in this beverage is high; wheat beers -- regardless of their alcohol content -- are not good sources.

Besides, whatever amount is present is most definitely not in the form soluble fiber. Remember, wheat fiber is exclusively insoluble.

Lastly, fiber is not something that needs to be replenished after strenuous exercise. It is irrelevant to muscle recovery.

Verdict? This drink has nothing to do with sports or fitness.

It’s just a regular non-alcoholic beer with a few vitamins and minerals sprinkled on top for gimmick purposes.

Feel free to drink it with a meal if you enjoy the taste and can afford the calories, but consider it just another alcohol-free beer.

No comments: