That's what a host of new low- or no-calorie, electrolyte- and vitamin-enhanced bottled beverages promise.
Unless you're an athlete, most are better choices than the traditional calorie-laden sports drinks, said Martin Banschbach, professor of biochemistry at OSU's Center for Health Sciences.
Traditional sports drinks contain maltodextrins, a type of sugar that make them high in calories and high in glycemic index (the sugar gets digested quickly and enters the bloodstream rapidly).
For athletes burning lots of calories during competitions or workouts, the sugar boost is beneficial -- giving them the energy to keep going, Banschbach said. For others, it may result in too many calories consumed -- and a potential sugar crash.
"A strong glucose push coming from high glycemic index foods and drinks is a very serious health problem in this country," he said.
If your muscles are not burning large amounts of glucose (say, watching TV on the couch instead of exercising) all of that extra glucose has to go somewhere -- and it will go somewhere you don't want it: to form triglycerides.
If you're not going to be burning massive amounts of calories through exercise, the reduced-calorie and no-calorie beverages flooding the market these days are probably a better choice, he said.
But water may be the best -- and least expensive -- choice.
Getting water into your body in any form is the most critical thing in preventing muscle cramping and possible heat stroke during exercise, he said.
Look for more beverage innovations soon -- Banschbach thinks the next wave will be similar to Prohydrator energy drinks, which are made with glycerol, "a wonderful source of energy for our muscles -- and our brain."
