BOSTON -- If you believe the claims, health drinks can ward off sneezing, help you bone up on calcium, and boost your energy to get through tough workouts, reported WCVB-TV in Boston.

Fortified drinks have become a big business, but what's in it for you? Do enhanced drinks really measure up?

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Video: 'Health' Drink Not Always Best Choice

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7-Up Plus is fortified with vitamin C and calcium. But does just 10 percent of the recommended daily amount really make a difference?

"Looking at the calcium alone in this product, unsupplemented without vitamin D, it doesn't give the optimal nutrition that you would need for bone health," said Donna Belcher, of Mt. Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Mass.

You're not getting much vitamin C, either. You can get the same benefit from just a tablespoon of orange juice -- which has other nutrients your body needs.

But if you are already a soda drinker, 7-Up Plus, with just 10 calories, 2 grams of carbs and at least some small calcium and vitamin C benefit, is a better choice than its sugary competitors, the television station reported.

Vitamin Water's newest product, called Perform, claims to be a healthier alternative to sports drinks like Gatorade. Perform has added vitamin B and electrolytes, but no sodium.

"The sodium in Gatorade is added to enhance fluid absorption and retention. If you have a fluid without the salt, it goes in one end and out the other," nutritionist Nancy Clark said.

Clark said that sports drinks are designed for people doing a strenuous, sweat-filled workout for more than an hour. The average exerciser doesn't need the extra nutrients or the calories.

"Most people who come to the health club are exercising to lose weight, and the question is, do they really want to burn off 50 calories, only to consume it in their water?" she said.

If you need a boost, experts say skip the sports drinks and eat a banana before your workout. Unless you're a serious athlete, water is still the best way to stay hydrated.