Oxygen water: Are you being ripped off?

These days, you can find food and drinks with all kinds of things added intended to make us healthier. Orange juice fortified with calcium, breads and cereals with extra vitamins.

Now comes bottled water with extra oxygen. Marketers say this new breed of water can boost athletic performance and give you more energy.

Increasing the oxygen concentration of the air you breathe does affect performance, as does increasing the number of oxygen-carrying red blood cells, which is why blood doping is such a problem in high-level cycling and running competitions [4, 5].

But does adding oxygen to water have the same effect?

Oxygen water

"This is just an advertising gimmick," says Dr. John Itamura, an orthopedic surgeon with a special interest in sports medicine at the University of Southern California. "You get oxygen through your lungs. Your stomach may possibly absorb some of this dissolved oxygen, but the key to good athletics is developing good lungs."

Dr. Howard G. Knuttgen, Ph.D., professor emeritus of kinesiology at Penn State University describes oxygenated water as "a case of pure fraud without a physiologic foundation."

"Very little oxygen can be forced into water under pressure — less than that contained in a single breath," he adds. "Most of the oxygen in the water would escape into the atmosphere when you open the container. Additional oxygen would be absorbed into the cells of intestinal walls. All of this would happen before any oxygen would reach the blood, much less the muscles."

That's what the experts say. But what does the research show?

One of the most recent trials, published as a research letter in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows that drinking bottled water described as "oxygenated" before exercise does not improve performance [1].

In the study, five brands of bottled water marketed for their high oxygen content were tested for the amount of oxygen per 100 milliliters of water and compared with the amount of oxygen found in tap water.

Water was extracted from each bottle by inserting an airtight syringe into the side or cap of each bottle and pulling out the fluid. Of the five brands tested, the one with the highest oxygen content was used in the exercise phase of the study.

Eleven healthy adults (with an average age of 35 years) exercised on a stationary bicycle on two different days, at least three days apart. Five minutes before performing each exercise test, participants were asked to drink either oxygenated or ordinary water.

Four of the five brands of oxygenated bottled water contained more oxygen than tap water, while the amount of oxygen in one brand was equivalent to that of tap water.

During exercise, there was no difference in any marker of exercise performance when subjects received oxygenated water rather than ordinary water.

A team at the University of Wisconsin has found similar results [3]. The study included 12 college-aged men and women who were assigned to drink either 500-milliliters of super oxygenated water (Aqua Rush) or regular tap water.

During a multi-stage treadmill test, oxygenated water had no measurable effect on any of the variables measured during exercise or recovery.

Performance

Some competitive athletes swear they perform better when they drink oxygenated water. And there is research to show that oxygenized water does improve exercise performance.

An unpublished study, conducted in 1997 at Texas Women's University by Dr. John Duncan (and sponsored by oxygenated-water company LifeO2) found that after drinking oxygenated water, subjects ran a five-kilometer time trial faster compared to drinking regular bottled water.

A second study, presented by Dr. Bo Fernhall at the June 2001 conference of the American College of Sports Medicine, shows similar results [2].

Twenty subjects (10 women and 10 men), all of whom were regular exercisers, volunteered for the study. They performed a number of different performance tests on a bike. Before and after each test, they were given either oxygenized or plain water.

Richard Barclay CEO of Oxy-Water (the product used in the study) says their product is different from other oxygenated waters, and prefers to call it "oxygenized" rather than oxygenated.

The only significant difference in the overall group was greater hemoglobin-oxygen saturation at the end of the endurance test with the oxygenized water.

In the highly trained members of the group, time to fatigue during the maximal exercise test was greater with oxygenized compared to distilled water.

This study has only been published in abstract form, and no follow-up trials have been published in any reputable peer-reviewed journal.

Published abstracts are usually presented at scientific conferences, which provide a forum for researchers to present new work to colleagues. They're not, however, subject to the same rigorous peer review process as full journal articles.

Most professional journals are peer reviewed, which means that articles submitted for publication are scrutinized by one or more other scientists to see if the information they provide is accurate.

Because of this, any claims based on published abstracts should be treated with some caution.

Most scientists prefer to rely on the results of a number of well-controlled trials. There is always the possibility that the results were due to chance, or that the original researchers unconsciously or consciously influenced the outcome of the study.

What's more, many supplement companies will pay research groups to study their product. If the results are positive and show that the product works, they’ll use the study in subsequent promotional material, such as magazine adverts or press releases sent to newspapers, TV and radio stations.

If the results of study are negative (meaning that the supplement didn't work) some form of "non-disclosure agreement" signed in advance means that the results will be brushed under the carpet and never published.

The bottom line

There's very little reliable evidence to show that oxygenated (or oxygenized) water has any significant effect on exercise performance, energy levels, or recovery. This water isn't going to hurt you, but there's no reason to believe it's going to help you substantially.

References
1. Hampson, N.B., Pollock, N.W., & Piantadosi, C.A. (2003). Oxygenated water and athletic performance. Journal of the American Medical Association, 290, 2408-2409
2. Jenkins, A., Moreland, M., Waddell, T.B., & Fernhall, B. (2002). Effect of oxygenized water on percent oxygen saturation and performance during exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33, S167
3. Willmert, N., Porcari, J.P., Foster, C., Doberstein, S., & Brice, G. (2002). The effects of oxygenated water on exercise physiology during incremental exercise and recovery. Journal of Exercise Physiology Online, 5, 16-21
4. Morris, D.M., Kearney, J.T., & Burke, E.R. (2000). The effects of breathing supplemental oxygen during altitude training on cycling performance. The effects of breathing supplemental oxygen during altitude training on cycling performance. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 3, 165-175
5. Ploutz-Snyder, L.L., Simoneau, J.A., Gilders, R.M., Staron, R.S., & Hagerman, F.C. (1996). Cardiorespiratory and metabolic adaptations to hyperoxic training. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology, 73, 38-48