Water, Water Everywhere

Burns Fat, Makes Your Smart, Adds Fluoride And More

(CBS)  From flavored water to fitness water to oxygen water to diet water - you could get parched just trying to decide what to drink these days.

You may have thought that you'd seen everything there was to see in this market, but the thirst for new and improved water seems literally unquenchable. The Early Show contributor Laurie Hibberd reports.

Michael Bellas, chairman of Beverage Marketing Corp. says, “The bottled water industry is about $7 billion at wholesale, and about 6 billion gallons are consumed every year by the American public. This year, it will be the No.2 beverage in the United States - it will pass milk, coffee and beer to do that.”

In fact the enhanced water business has gotten so huge, sales increased more than 10 times from 2000 to 2002 - from $20 million to over $200 million. And brands like Glaceau, with it's best-selling vitamin water, are still coming up with ideas for enhanced water you never knew you needed. Their newest thirst-busting drink? Zero-calorie flavored smart water. But will you get smarter by drinking it?

Darius Bikoff, president and CEO of Energy Brands explains, “I think it's not a matter of being smarter if - I think you're smarter for drinking it. I mean, is it going to make you - is it going to raise your IQ? No, and I don't think anybody really thinks that it will. Calcium, magnesium, potassium and electrolytes, as we all know, promote hydration. So it's a biologically superior product and when you're drinking as much water as you should drink, Glaceau Smartwater gives you exactly what you would want and nothing that you wouldn't want.”

If you're feeling waterlogged trying to retain this info - you're not out of the water yet. Trying to lose weight? Check out eVamor's fat-burning water.

Glenn Morris from eVamor says, “eVamor does more than burn fat. And one of the things we like to tell people about is that when you're burning fat, you're doing other things that are good for your body. This is one of the better solutions you're getting, too. You're protecting your bones as well as helping with blood pressure issues, and doing better things for your health.”

Taking it one step further from fat-burning water are the folks at Peace Mountain, who bring you skinny water. It promises to help you lose weight by blocking carbs and suppressing your appetite.

And there is more. if you skipped brushing your teeth today, there's Dannon's Fluoride-Enhanced Water. Feeling parched after your workout? Pick up a bottle of Reebok's Fitness Water, or Gatorade's New Propel Water - both enhanced with electrolytes. Or, if you just need a breather, try clearly Canadian's new Oxygenated Water. Will the water saturation slow down in the years to come? Not likely.

Bellas says, “You may have beverages that help hearts or arthritis. So you're going to see far more targeted for maybe older women, young kids - so it's going to be a targeted functionality. And eventually, in 20 years, you may have diets and beverages that are going to be tailored to your genetic makeup.”

So what's next in the water world? Possibly do-it-yourself water enhancers like this one from Flavors2go. Just add 6-8 drops of a natural concentrated flavor to any water - or mix them - and you'll never have boring water again.