A Mighty Tiger's Weak Roar

You can't accuse the folks at Gatorade of resting on their laurels.

However, their new products often leave me furrowing my brow and asking, "Why?".

No, I take that back. I shake my head, grunt, and THEN ask "Why?"

Case in point -- the new Gatorade Tiger, inspired by hotshot golfer Tiger Woods.

According to the beverage's press release, Tiger embodies "mental strength, physical power, and technical perfection."

What these three qualities have to do with drinking a sports drink beats me. I think Tiger's success is better attributed to a unique mixture of hard work, genetics, ambition, and practice?

Anyhow, Gatorade executives heart Tiger so much that they formulated this drink especially for him. Tiger even underwent sweat analysis testing at the Gatorade laboratory facilities.

I would also spend countless hours sweating profusely for a bunch of scientists if I was pocketing a cool $100 million for this five-year development deal like Tiger did.

In any case, this is the same mostly unnecessary product repackaged for a new campaign.

Oh, I'm sorry, Gatorade Tiger has 25 percent more electrolytes. Wow, then it MUST be better, right?

Not quite.

This simply means that a 16 ounce, 100-calorie bottle contains 270 milligrams of sodium (more than a one-ounce serving of Lay's potato chips) and a negligent 80 milligrams of potassium (remember, the daily requirement is set at 4,000).

Let's not forget the 28 grams (7 teaspoons) of added sugar.

Sugar water with salt -- Tiger Woods' secret!

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.

You Ask, I Answer: Water/Dehydration

Sometimes I'm really thirsty in the summer and feel weak from the heat. What's the story on fitness waters and flavored sports drinks?

-- Antoinette Moore
Austin, TX

Good, plain old water is undoubtedly the most important nutrient. Not only is 65% of our body made up of it, we also need it to regulate bloodflow and keep all systems and internal organs running smoothly.

Dehydration is the direct result of fluid loss, which mainly occurs through urination and sweat (which is why our dehydration risk increases as temperatures rise).

One good way to tell if you are dehydrated is by looking at your urine. If it is a very dark, yellow color – and if your urine output is very low – you may be at risk for dehydration.

As far as fitness waters and flavored sports drinks go, please read the following posts to see what I think of Gatorade and Propel Fitness Water.

Vitamin Water, as healthy as it sounds, has as much sugar as soda. In my mind, it should be viewed as popping a vitamin and downing it with a soft drink.

In short, nothing beats water for combating thirst.

That being said, you should only drink water when you feel thirsty. Chugging down bottle upon bottle of water because “you have to” will do nothing but place unnecessary stress on your kidneys and bladder.

The often-quoted recommendation of eight glasses of water a day is the misinterpretation of a report that recommended said amount of total liquid (including that found in our foods as well as drinks other than water) daily.

If, however, your only sources of fluids are coffee and soda, I would encourage you to add in a two or three glasses of water to your day.