Have you seen ads for oxygenated water, claiming to cure tiredness, improve memory, and help you to exercise longer and make you a better athlete? A study from Austria shows that oxygenated water offers none of these benefits for humans (International Journal of Sports Medicine, Volume 27, 2006).

When you exercise as hard as you can, you gasp for breath because you cannot meet your needs for oxygen, no matter how hard or fast you breathe. Lack of oxygen prevents you from breaking down lactic acid so it accumulates in your muscles and blood, and you develop severe shortness of breath. Researchers analyzed the effects of drinking oxygenated water daily for two weeks on lung function and clearance of lactic acid from the bloodstream during exhausting exercise. During both exercise and rest, there was no difference between people who drank oxygenated water and those who drank ordinary water as a placebo.

Oxygenated water would be helpful to fish because they have gills whose main function is to extract oxygen from water. Since you don't have gills or any other organ to extract oxygen from water, extra oxygen in water is useless to you. Lungs are the only organ humans have to provide oxygen to the bloodstream, extracting it from the air you breathe. Water is not broken down into hydrogen and oxygen in your digestive tract; it is absorbed, used and excreted as water. There is no mechanism for moving extra oxygen in water into your bloodstream, so it cannot possibly benefit exercisers or anyone else. I recommend that you save your money.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com.

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