Water works.

Mining the wealth in water.

While many consumers start off the new year with a pledge to lose weight, for some people (like me) the beginning of 2001 marks the start of a personal campaign to be better hydrated. Don't laugh! I know it seems silly, but according to a survey conducted

by the International Bottled Water Association, Alexandria, Va., nearly three-fourths of Americans know they should drink eight or more eight-ounce servings of water per day, but about half simply don't do it. As usual, knowledge doesn't always translate to action, and I count myself among the guilty in this case.

Now that bottled water has become a staple for many people, what's next? Augmenting bottled water with nutraceutical ingredients seems like a natural progression for the beverage processors. A number of new brands of nutraceutical waters are available or in the works--here's a sampling.

Peace Mountain Mineral Water, which rolled out in June 1999, contains a high amount of bio-available magnesium. The magnesium content of the water may be beneficial for heart health, since magnesium is recognized as being protective against heart attacks and erratic heartbeat. Recent research indicates that drinking magnesium-containing water may help prevent migraine headaches, as well. According to John David Alden, vice president of Peace Mountain Natural Beverage Corp. in Springfield, Mass., "Aside from the health benefits of Peace Mountain Mineral Water, our product is unique because it's very smooth tasting--not harsh like some mineral waters."

The company's newest product, Skinny Water, delivers the same mineral water with the addition of Super Citrimax, a trademarked appetite suppressant made from the fruit of the garcinia cambogia plant, as well as L-carnitine, D-ribose and a chromium compound. Not surprisingly, Skinny Water is targeted at consumers looking to lose weight or maintain weight loss. Peace Mountain will take Skinny Water to the Fancy Food show in San Francisco this spring, and the product will be available early in 2001.

Peace Mountain plans additional product launches in the next year or so, but so far the details are under wraps.

The Chicago-based Gatorade Co.'s (now part of Quaker Oats) entry into the nutraceutical water market is called Propel Fitness Water. Propel is lightly flavored and contains four B vitamins (niacin, B6, B12 and pantothenic acid), as well as vitamins C and E. Propel is meant to be a substitute for water--not for Gatorade, of course. In fact, the product isn't even aimed at athletes but is simply targeted to those consumers who live an active life and want a calorie-free flavored beverage. Propel is available in only a few states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida and parts of California and Nevada.

Energy Brands of Whitestone, N.Y., produces a few brands of augmented waters, including Smart Water--which is distilled for purity in order to remove minerals and metals that may not be good for the body--Fruit Water, Vitamin Water, and Soy Water. The most recent product is Soy Water, which is meant to deliver the hydration benefits of water along with the health benefits of soy. Soy Water comes in three flavors: Pina Colada, Orange Cream, and Strawberry Banana.

Healthy California, Solana Beach, Calif., recently introduced four waters that contain a range of added ingredients, including botanicals. The Healthy California line features added vitamins and minerals and natural fruit flavors.