Vitamin drinks 'a waste of money'

That energy or vitamin drink you glug on the way to the gym is doing you no good at all.

That's the conclusion of Canadian scientists who have examined 46 different brands. And, they conclude, the drinks do nothing to improve physical or mental health - despite their extravagant claims.

On their packaging, drinks claimed to provide benefits ranging from immune support to antioxidant properties, with some highlighting specific nutrients. Alongside this, many carried claims about performance and emotional well-being - "benefits that go beyond conventional nutritional science", says the team.

The most commonly found nutrients were vitamins B6, B12, C and niacin. However, apart possibly from vitamin C, these are plentiful in most people's diet. This means that most people already get plenty, and the drinks add nothing at all.

"While our findings suggest that consumers stand to reap little or no benefit from the nutrient additions in novel beverages, most products were being marketed as if they provided a unique benefit to the consumer through the nutrient additions," says Naomi Dachner, a researcher in nutritional science at the University of Toronto.

The researchers found that more than eight out of ten drinks contained completely unnecessary nutrients. However, others which are often lacking in young people - such as vitamin D, folate, magnesium, potassium and zinc - were hardly ever added.

"With the sole exception of vitamin C, most beverages contained few nutrients for which a prevalence of inadequacy had been charted among young adults, and where such nutrients were found, they were often in very small amounts," concluded the team.

Sports drinks have become big business over the last few years, with six out of ten Brits telling market researchers Mintel that they drank one last year. We're now spending £1.5 billion a year on them, drinking more than 550 million litres between us.

The Advertising Standards Authority takes a dim view of some drinks' implausible claims. Last year, it ruled against the makers of Lucozade Sport for claiming the drink "gives you the electrolytes and carbohydrates you need, hydrating you, fuelling you better than water".

More recently, it banned Ribena from making certain claims about its Ribena Plus vitamin drink. The company had claimed that the added vitamin A "helps keep your vision in tip-top condition".

The NHS says that sports drinks can be useful for those taking part in high-level endurance sports who need an energy boost.

"However, they are no different to any other sugary soft drinks, which means they are high in calories and contribute to tooth decay," it says.

"Unless you're taking part in high-level endurance sports, water is the healthier choice and the best way to replace fluids lost through exercise."

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