Latest news with #ScottBraunstein
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Should you use hydration multipliers in extreme heat?
It's officially the 'Dog Days' of the summer season — and they're getting hotter and more humid thanks to the impact of the human-caused climate crisis. In extreme heat, hydration is critical to prevent heat-related illnesses, such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion. The adult body is 60 percent water, and drinking enough each day helps regulate body temperature, prevent infections, and maintain organ and other key functions. Hydration multipliers - powders, packets, and liquid drops that you add to water - have become popular to boost that process and replenish electrolytes that are lost when we sweat. Electrolytes are substances that help your body to regulate chemical reactions and maintain the balance between fluids inside and outside your cells. Nearly every fluid and cell in the body contains electrolytes, according to the Cleveland Clinic. 'When we sweat, we lose more than just fluids, we also lose electrolytes — mostly sodium and chloride, but also smaller amounts of potassium, calcium, and magnesium," Dr. Scott Braunstein, chief medical officer at medicine concierge company Sollis Health, told CBS News. "While it all could all be replaced by drinking water and eating a variety of solid foods, for those not ready for a meal, drinking electrolyte-containing fluids is a great way to replace the losses in sweat." So, should you add a hydration multiplier to your water this summer? Here's what to know... Hydration multipliers hydrate the body faster than water alone due to a process that takes place in the small intestine and rapidly pulls not just water, but other nutrients, into cells. 'The hydration multiplier maximizes your water uptake by using the sodium and glucose co-transport across the stomach while pulling water along,' Texas Health explains. 'With such optimal sodium to glucose ratio, water gets transported into your body faster than if you drank water alone.' The formulas also carry potassium, calcium, and essential vitamins. Experts recommend using them when exercising for long periods of time or following heat exposure. 'When you drink plain water, it is absorbed primarily by osmosis through the walls of the intestine,' registered dietitian Mia Syn told Vogue. But if you're dealing with an imbalance of electrolytes—say, you just ran a half-marathon or are feeling the effects of a few too many negronis — then plain water may not be absorbed as efficiently, she says. Water is generally a safer bet than hydration multipliers because of what else might be on the ingredient list. For example, some electrolyte drinks contain more sodium and sugar than nutritionists recommend you consume in a day. That may be harmful for people suffering from chronic conditions, such as diabetes. Too much sugar can lead to kidney damage in people who have diabetes. 'Electrolyte drinks in general are safe for young athletes, but it's important to avoid any that contain caffeine,' University Hospitals pediatric sports medicine specialist Dr. Laura Goldberg said. 'Many people believe electrolyte drinks and powders are healthy, but they have a large amount of sugar which is unnecessary unless you're exercising for more than 60 minutes.' Too many electrolytes can also lead to unintended consequences, such as weakness, headache, tremors, confusion, muscle cramping, rapid heartbeat, and gastrointestinal issues. Many of the signs of an electrolyte imbalance are similar to dehydration symptoms. Check with a physician before drinking hydration multipliers. "Those with certain chronic conditions, especially kidney disease — since your kidneys regulate your electrolytes — high or low blood pressure or heart disease, should consult their doctor before consuming these products, as maintaining fluids and electrolytes within a specific range may be critical for their health," Braunstein added.
The Independent
04-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Should you use hydration multipliers in extreme heat?
It's officially the 'Dog Days' of the summer season — and they're getting hotter and more humid thanks to the impact of the human-caused climate crisis. In extreme heat, hydration is critical to prevent heat-related illnesses, such as heat stroke and heat exhaustion. The adult body is 60 percent water, and drinking enough each day helps regulate body temperature, prevent infections, and maintain organ and other key functions. Hydration multipliers - powders, packets, and liquid drops that you add to water - have become popular to boost that process and replenish electrolytes that are lost when we sweat. Electrolytes are substances that help your body to regulate chemical reactions and maintain the balance between fluids inside and outside your cells. Nearly every fluid and cell in the body contains electrolytes, according to the Cleveland Clinic. 'When we sweat, we lose more than just fluids, we also lose electrolytes — mostly sodium and chloride, but also smaller amounts of potassium, calcium, and magnesium," Dr. Scott Braunstein, chief medical officer at medicine concierge company Sollis Health, told CBS News. "While it all could all be replaced by drinking water and eating a variety of solid foods, for those not ready for a meal, drinking electrolyte-containing fluids is a great way to replace the losses in sweat." So, should you add a hydration multiplier to your water this summer? Here's what to know... How they work Hydration multipliers hydrate the body faster than water alone due to a process that takes place in the small intestine and rapidly pulls not just water, but other nutrients, into cells. 'The hydration multiplier maximizes your water uptake by using the sodium and glucose co-transport across the stomach while pulling water along,' Texas Health explains. 'With such optimal sodium to glucose ratio, water gets transported into your body faster than if you drank water alone.' The formulas also carry potassium, calcium, and essential vitamins. Experts recommend using them when exercising for long periods of time or following heat exposure. 'When you drink plain water, it is absorbed primarily by osmosis through the walls of the intestine,' registered dietitian Mia Syn told Vogue. But if you're dealing with an imbalance of electrolytes—say, you just ran a half-marathon or are feeling the effects of a few too many negronis — then plain water may not be absorbed as efficiently, she says. There's nothing as good as plain water Water is generally a safer bet than hydration multipliers because of what else might be on the ingredient list. For example, some electrolyte drinks contain more sodium and sugar than nutritionists recommend you consume in a day. That may be harmful for people suffering from chronic conditions, such as diabetes. Too much sugar can lead to kidney damage in people who have diabetes. 'Electrolyte drinks in general are safe for young athletes, but it's important to avoid any that contain caffeine,' University Hospitals pediatric sports medicine specialist Dr. Laura Goldberg said. 'Many people believe electrolyte drinks and powders are healthy, but they have a large amount of sugar which is unnecessary unless you're exercising for more than 60 minutes.' Too many electrolytes can also lead to unintended consequences, such as weakness, headache, tremors, confusion, muscle cramping, rapid heartbeat, and gastrointestinal issues. Many of the signs of an electrolyte imbalance are similar to dehydration symptoms. Check with a physician before drinking hydration multipliers. "Those with certain chronic conditions, especially kidney disease — since your kidneys regulate your electrolytes — high or low blood pressure or heart disease, should consult their doctor before consuming these products, as maintaining fluids and electrolytes within a specific range may be critical for their health," Braunstein added.
Forbes
24-04-2025
- Health
- Forbes
The Economic And Social Consequences Of The Women's Health Gap
Dr. Scott Braunstein is the Chief Medical Officer of Sollis Health. Women's health has long been underfunded and under-researched. The disparity isn't just a healthcare issue: It's an economic and social crisis. In 1977, the FDA recommended excluding women of childbearing age from Phase I and early Phase II drug trials—even if they weren't pregnant or trying to become pregnant. While this policy was intended to prevent adverse health outcomes after thalidomide, a morning sickness drug, caused severe birth defects, it resulted in a shortage of data on how medication affects all women. This policy dovetailed into the general exclusion of women from medical research, strengthening gender biases that viewed the white male body as the physiological 'norm.' In the 1980s, activists protested the CDC's case definition of HIV/AIDS, which was too narrow to include many women with the condition. While the NIH began encouraging the inclusion of women and minorities in drug trials and medical research later that decade, it wasn't until 1993 that Congress codified it in federal law. In 2025, women's care continues to be affected by lack of funding, delayed treatments and misdiagnoses. Women experiencing a heart attack are 50% more likely to be misdiagnosed because their symptoms often differ from men's. Only 4.5% of coronary artery disease research funding is allocated to women, despite cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death for women. Women are diagnosed later than men for over 700 diseases, including several types of cancer. And while chronic pain is more common in women, they're less likely to receive painkillers and more likely to have physical symptoms dismissed as psychological. The disparity in women's care goes deeper than health outcomes. The McKinsey Health Institutes reports that globally, the average woman will spend nine years of her life in poor health—25% longer than men. With nearly half of this health burden affecting women during their working years, the healthcare gap can have a profound impact on their ability to financially support themselves and their families. This productivity loss affects the healthcare industry, too, contributing to the global healthcare workforce shortage that, according to the World Health Organization, will see a shortfall of 11 million healthcare workers by 2030. For any healthcare company concerned about employee retention or patient experience, the other side of the coin is investing in women's health—which is itself a high-potential market. According to McKinsey, investing in women's health shows a positive ROI, with approximately $3 in economic growth projected for every $1 invested. Closing the women's health gap can benefit patients, industries and even the global economy, to the tune of $1 trillion annually by 2040, according to McKinsey. I believe this will require nothing less than a paradigm shift in medical research and healthcare delivery. But what does that entail? From my perspective as a chief medical officer, I believe healthcare leaders need to lead the shift toward more personalized, proactive healthcare solutions—particularly in emergency medicine, where an overreliance on urgent cares and ERs has resulted in overcrowding, a rise in misdiagnoses, and stress and confusion caused by long waits and a lack of continuity between providers. Here are several ways you can get involved: • Support better funding and research for women's health. In the United States, the National Institute of Health (NIH) only allocates 11% of its budget to women's-health-specific research. Private-sector stakeholders have an opportunity to channel funds into high-impact areas of research, enabling more investment and innovation that will reap more data about how women experience disease, react to medication and recover. • Create financial incentives to close the gender gap. Developing new financial products and investment vehicles can attract capital to projects that directly address the women's health gap. For example, the fast-growing FemTech sector, already disrupting the healthcare market, funds consumer products, digital health applications, and medical products and technologies specifically designed for women's health needs. • Improve the patient experience. Develop creative business models that provide a better experience for your urgent and emergent care patients, such as concierge medicine, which is currently undergoing explosive growth. This can help remove barriers for women seeking acute care and allow your organization to provide more personalized, accurate care and diagnoses. If the medical, social and economic costs of treating women's health as a 'specialty' are obvious, the reasons for closing the women's health gap should be even more so. Achieving medical equity and inclusivity for women could not only improve their lives but also their families, their communities and the world in which we all live. Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
