Chia, quinoa and coconut water: Testing "superfoods" (CBC Marketplace)

*Chia, quinoa and coconut water: Testing "superfoods" (CBC Marketplace)*

Superfoods: We test quinoa, chia and coconut water to see if the nutrition lives up to the health hype and the price tag.

Sales of coconut water have skyrocketed in the past two years, and anecdotally, several fitness buffs interviewed by Marketplace said they believe it hydrates better than tap water.

So Marketplace decided to conduct an experiment comparing the popular drink to Ontario tap water to determine which one provides better hydration during exercise.

Producers approached Stephen Cheung, a Canada Research Chair in environmental ergonomics at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont., to run the test in his lab where he routinely conducts extreme sport experiments, often in different climates to determine optimal athletic performance.

Host Charlsie Agro drank 500 millilitres of coconut water that has 45 calories, 11 grams of carbohydrates and 11 grams of sugar per cup. Its label says it's full of natural electrolytes and has more potassium than a banana.

Agro then ran 11 km/h for 60 minutes on a treadmill with a slight incline in a temperature-controlled setting of 35 C and 40 per cent humidity.

Cheung took measurements throughout, including multiple urine samples, weigh-ins, core temperature

and heart rate, and gathered anecdotal evidence on how Agro was feeling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tzYUeoFuNw