Hydration multipliers are everywhere. Should you use them in a heat wave?
While experts say buying hydration multipliers aren't entirely necessary, they can be useful in certain circumstances — but there are things to be aware of.
"Plain water is still the gold standard for hydration, so don't skip it," Dr. Shannon Dowler, family physician and board of directors at the American Academy of Family Physicians, told CBS News. But, they can be a great tool if you're spending a lot of time outside or exercising heavily, she said.
"If you're doing strenuous physical exercise for over an hour, rehydrating with electrolytes is a great idea, but be sure to drink water continuously. These supplements are supplements, not a replacement for water," Dowler said.
Similar to sports drinks, hydration multipliers help by replenishing electrolytes to the body, which are lost when we sweat, said Dr. Scott Braunstein, chief medical officer at medicine concierge company Sollis Health.
"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," he 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."
Braunstein said there are variety of products available, including electrolyte infused water, well-known drinks like Gatorade and Powerade, Pedialyte and packets and tablets that can be added to water.
Experts advise checking the label before giving them a try. In particular, be mindful of caffeine, sugar and sodium levels.
"Some electrolyte products contain large amounts of sugar, which can be problematic for those with diabetes, obesity and other health conditions," Braunstein said. "Also keep in mind that some products contain caffeine, which acts as a diuretic and can actually make it more difficult to rehydrate effectively."
It's also a good idea to check with your doctor before drinking these if you have any chronic diseases or take daily medications.
"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," he added.
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What happens to your stomach in a hot dog eating contest?
Competitive eating champ Joey Chestnut gulps down dozens of hot dogs each Fourth of July at the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest — and comes back do it again year after year. But no one really knows what long-term impacts it might have on his body or the bodies of other competitive eaters. Chestnut has eaten as many as 83 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, surpassing the world record he set in 2021 when he ate 76 hot dogs and buns. He downed 62 to win the Nathan's contest in 2023 but did not compete in 2024. Chestnut returned this year and ate 70.5 hot dogs and buns, taking the title once again. In the women's competition, defending champion Miki Sudo wolfed down 33 hot dogs and buns this year after eating a record 51 dogs in 2024. Contestants can eat upwards of 22,000 calories in a single meal while competing. Long-term consequences are not well known because competitive eating is a relatively new sport with a relatively small number of participants, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson Debbie Petitpain said. But health experts say the practice does raise some potential health concerns. The stomach, which normally contracts after people eat, could end up permanently stretched out, Dr. Rajeev Jain with Texas Digestive Disease Consultants said. It could also impact gastric emptying, the process by which food moves from the stomach into the duodenum. "Nobody is going to get funded for a randomized, controlled trial where you say, 'Hey, I'm going to quadruple your stomach size and see what happens to you,' because there's no reason to do that type of thing from a medical perspective," Jain said. Still, gastroenterologists have some idea of what happens when a trained competitor speed-eats dozens of hot dogs. A 2007 University of Pennsylvania study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology offers some clues. What happens to the stomach of competitive eaters? In the study, a control subject and a competitive speed eater — a 29-year-old man who was ranked in the top 10 worldwide — were asked to eat as many hot dogs as they could during a 12-minute period. While most contests call for including the buns, the study stuck to just hot dogs. Researchers studied the participants' stomachs beforehand and asked each man to ingest an effervescent agent and high-density barium before eating the hot dogs so they could watch the food as it moved through the participants' bodies. Based on fluoroscopy scans during the study, the researchers found the competitive eater's stomach was capable of expanding to accommodate significantly more food. The control subject ate seven hot dogs before he felt sick and needed to stop. At the 10-minute mark, the competitive speed eater had ingested 36 hot dogs; researchers asked him to stop because they were worried for him. "His stomach now appeared as a massively distended, food-filled sac occupying most of the upper abdomen, with little or no gastric peristalsis and emptying of a small amount of barium into the duodenum," the researchers wrote. At the end, they said his abdomen protruded "enough to create the distinct impression of a developing intrauterine pregnancy." Dr. David Metz, who was one of the authors of the study and has worked as a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, said speed eaters have the ability to relax their stomachs so they can ingest more food. The average, empty stomach is about the size of a fist or a fist and a half, he said. It's made of two parts: a receptacle on top and a grinder, of sorts, on the bottom. The stomach muscles will stretch to accommodate food as people eat, but every muscle "has its point at which there's no return." "You could potentially end up with a big bag that doesn't contract properly," Metz said. The study noted that competitive eaters have reported using "varying methods of training" to try to expand their stomach capacity, including ingesting "vast amounts of cabbage" or "water loading," which can be hazardous. In the immediate aftermath of eating contests, participants report feeling extremely bloated and tired. They also report gastrointestinal distress in the day or two after a competition. Other side effects of competitive eating Competitive eating impacts more than just the stomach. Participants can become sweaty, lightheaded and faint in the aftermath, experts said. Some speed eaters have noted pain in their face, jaw and neck afterwards because of the amount of chewing and swallowing involved. "Some athletes have reported arthritis in the jaw, excruciating pain in that area," Petitpain said. It's not just the large quantity of food that's a problem. It's also the type of food. Hot dogs are high in sodium. According to the nutritional information on Nathan's website, one of its Original Coney Island natural casing beef hot dogs contains 170 calories, 16 grams of fat (including 6 grams of saturated fat), and 480 milligrams of sodium. Other varieties are higher. The USDA's 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines recommend that Americans consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium each day. It would take fewer than five hot dogs to go over the daily limit. "If they're absorbing too much sodium, their thirst mechanism is going to kick in and they're going to drink a lot of water afterwards," Jain said. "My concern is, if your stomach is so full of food, how are you going to get the other compensatory liquids in?" High-sodium diets are associated with an increased risk of developing high blood pressure, which is a major cause of both stroke and heart disease. Ingesting excessive sodium can impact kidney function. The spike in sodium can also cause blood pressure to soar, putting pressure on blood vessels in the body, Petitpain said. "If there's a weak spot in those blood vessels that gets stressed, that could cause a heart attack," Petitpain said. "Or if there is a bursting of the vessels in the brain, a stroke." The high level of fat ingested could cause nausea, diarrhea and gastrointestinal distress, Petitpain said. During the annual contest, the competitors also eat the buns, which means a lot of carbs. "This large load of protein, of carbohydrates, of starches, all these things, they're now going to be dumped into the small intestine. And while this is going on, your body has to crank up its insulin," Jain said. But all told, if the competitive eater goes back to a normal diet once a contest is over, their body should regulate back to normal. "Your body is a very adaptive organism," Metz said. "The kidneys flush out the excess sodium and other micronutrients." There are still dangers, though. Beyond the immediate stomach pains competitors might feel, there are much worse possibilities. Competitors who vomit risk aspirating or tearing the lining of their esophagus, Metz said. People have died during eating competitions. In 2017, a 20-year-old college student died after choking during a pancake-eating contest. That same year, a 42-year-old man asphyxiated during a donut-eating contest. "There's a lot of danger involved and many of us have been very concerned about this," Metz said. Major League Eating, the organization that oversees professional competitions, does have safety teams on hand at events, and says it "strongly opposes and discourages home training of any kind." In a 2023 statement to CBS News, Major League Eating said that it adheres to "strict safety protocols," including having an emergency medical technician present at events and ensuring participants are 18 years of age or older. What a new DOJ memo could mean for naturalized U.S. citizens July 4 holiday week expected to set record for travelers WWII veterans start new friendships during July 4th celebration
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3 years later, 988 Lifeline sees higher volume but special option for LGBTQ youth cut
Three years after the launch of the three-digit 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the service is seeing increases in call volume, state-level support and reported effectiveness, as well as reductions in specialized offerings, including one designed to help LGBTQ youth. "This year, the 988 Lifeline continued to provide life-saving help to millions of people, with about a 20% higher volume of calls, texts and chats compared to the year prior," Dr. John Palmieri, acting director of SAMHSA's 988 Lifeline Office, told ABC News via email. SAMHSA is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the division of the Department of Health and Human Services which oversees 988. "Recent evaluation work affirms the effectiveness of the 988 Lifeline, with studies showing that the vast majority of suicidal callers saying they thought their crisis call helped them and stopped them from killing themselves," he added. A network of more than 200 crisis call centers field calls, chats and texts on behalf of the Lifeline, offering support to callers experiencing suicidal crises and other forms of mental distress. This network has existed in some form for at least a couple of decades, beginning with the precursor to 988 -- the 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which was started in 2005. During his first term, President Donald Trump signed into law the National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2018, which designated 988 as the new three-digit number to call in case of a mental health emergency. The new number, intended to be easier to remember and access in times of crisis, officially launched on July 16, 2022. Since that launch date, the Lifeline has answered over 13 million calls, chats and texts across the U.S. and its territories, according to SAMHSA. "The transition to 988 three years ago sparked coordinated efforts across the country -- inspiring local governments, states, Tribes and healthcare providers to improve crisis care response systems in communities nationwide," Palmieri said. Despite increasing state-level support for the Lifeline, recent downsizing efforts across the federal government have had an impact on the ability to "build out a crisis continuum of care across the country," Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, told ABC News. "Interestingly, the administration has proposed flat funding for 988 for fiscal year 2026, so that was really encouraging that they're proposing keeping funding levels at [$519.6 million]," Wesolowski said. "But with a lot of the changes within HHS, we've seen a fair number of the staff within the 988 behavioral health crisis coordinating office depart the administration." The Trump administration has implemented significant workforce reductions for HHS and SAMHSA over the last few months. HHS also recently announced a major restructuring effort, which includes plans for additional staffing cuts and and the reorganization of some of the department's agencies, including SAMHSA, under a new entity called Administration for a Healthy America. Asked how these changes to SAMHSA's place within the federal government may impact its oversight of 988, SAMHSA told ABC News via email that, "The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline will continue daily, life-saving work, helping thousands of people every day and millions of people every year." MORE: Trump administration to close LGBTQ+ suicide hotline program next month In addition to the federal funding of 988, states offer varying levels of funding to support the Lifeline's operation. Many states have chosen to either adopt fees or recurring state appropriations in order to maintain efficient service and availability of counselors. Currently, twelve states charge a small tax on phone bills every month to fund 988 operations. This funding structure is modeled after the one used to fund 911 call centers. Those twelve states include Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Vermont. The permanent funding fees range from no cost in New York to $0.60 in Delaware. An additional five states -- Arizona, Utah, Kansas, Georgia, Florida -- have implemented recurring state appropriations, meaning those states' legislatures offer funding through their annual budget. "We've seen an increased commitment by states to create sustainable funding mechanisms for the service and a growth in local response to people in crisis," Palmieri said via email. While states have been increasing resources to support 988, the Lifeline's offerings nationwide are about to change. Currently, callers to the Lifeline are prompted to press numbered options for certain specialized services -- 1 for the Veterans' Crisis Line, 2 for the Spanish-language subnetwork and 3 for LGBTQ-youth centered care. SAMHSA recently announced that the Press 3 option, which provides specialized care for LGBTQ youth, will no longer be a part of the Lifeline. That repeal was announced during LGBTQ Pride Month, just under three years after the subnetwork was first established as a pilot program in 2022. The cut came as a surprise to those working on the specialized line, including The Trevor Project, which has been operating this type of service for ten years, according to Interim Vice President of Advocacy and Government Affairs Mark Henson. Henson told ABC News that the federal funding for the service allowed The Trevor Project and other organizations to "double our capacity to serve youth." Since the launch of Press 3, Henson says the option has fielded over 1.3 million calls, chats and texts. Monthly calls have also increased from 1,752 at the option's launch to 69,057 answered contacts in its last reported data from SAMHSA in May 2025. In a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a bipartisan group of Congressional representatives responded to the cut announcement, noting that the subnetwork has averaged approximately 2,100 contacts per day. "These numbers reflect the critical, ongoing demand for this targeted support," the members said. "To a young person feeling alone and scared, 988 is truly a lifeline." MORE: LGBTQ, legal groups slam UPenn for 'caving' to Trump's trans athlete ban In a statement announcing the discontinuation, SAMHSA said the move comes in response to significant operation costs and "to focus on serving all help seekers, including those previously served through the Press 3 option." "The Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus included a Congressional directive for $29.7 million to fund the specialized services," SAMHSA said. "Federal funding in FY24 for the Press 3 services increased to $33 million. As of June 2025, more than $33 million in funds have been spent to support the subnetworks, fully expending the monies allocated for 988 Lifeline LGB+ subnetwork services." Despite the evident utility of the specialized option, "Press 3 option has run out of Congressionally directed funding," an HHS spokesperson wrote in a statement to ABC News, adding, "continued funding of the Press 3 threatened to put the entire 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in danger of massive reductions in services." The Trevor Project remains adamant that the change to the program will do more harm than good because it neglects the specific challenges that people in the LGBTQ community face. "I think there's a fundamental lack of understanding that suicide prevention is about risk and not about identity," Henson told ABC News. "It's because of the life experiences and the stigma and the bullying associated with LGBTQ+ young people that make them more than four times as likely to attempt suicide." "It's their life experiences and the unique drivers that have increased their risk of suicidality and therefore, have tailored care," he added. For NAMI's part, Wesolowski said the organization is, "continuing to advocate with Congress," to reverse the decision to remove press 3, saying that, "members of Congress on both sides of the aisle express some concern around this." Despite the federal shifts, Wesolowski says she hopes the foundation of 988 is strong enough to withstand political changes, both now and in the future. "The goal has always been that anyone who's in a mental health crisis or emotional distress gets appropriate mental health care response," she said. "And I think right now, the [political] uncertainty is creating a lot of concern. [But] I think there's still strong bipartisan support and cross systems support." If you are experiencing suicidal, substance use or other mental health crises, or are worried about a friend or loved one, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You will reach a trained crisis counselor for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also go to
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an hour ago
- Yahoo
Nasal COVID Vax Shows Promise in Phase 1 Clinical Trial
CINCINNATI, July 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- During the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists learned that the critical path to infection started with the SARS-CoV-2 virus invading the nasal tissues of its victims, then causing millions of deaths by spreading through the body and robbing the sickest people of their ability to breathe. While the traditional way to administer protection has been to inject vaccines into the bloodstream, many experts called for developing a nasally delivered vaccine as a potentially more-effective approach. Now, encouraging results are in from the first human clinical trial to be conducted in the United States of a nasal COVID vaccine. Findings from the study led by an expert at Cincinnati Children's were published July 4, 2025, in Science Advances. "A single dose of this vaccine (CVXGA) was well tolerated. It generated a wide spectrum of specific immune responses including mucosal and systemic immune responses. Those who received the highest dose of the vaccine showed significantly lower rates of symptomatic COVID-19 infection," says the study's lead author, Paul Spearman, MD, a long-time leader in vaccine research and vice chair for clinical and translational research and education at Cincinnati Children's. The vaccine is made by the Georgia-based company CyanVac LLC, which also funded the clinical trial. Based on the promising data generated from this phase 1 trial, two larger clinical studies involving more people are underway (NCT05736835 and NCT06742281). If these trials also prove successful, the CVXGA vaccine could join four other nasal COVID vaccines approved in other countries: two in China, one in Russia, and another in India. Why is a nasal vaccine needed? While the total number of deaths from COVID has declined far from the peak pandemic years, the virus has not disappeared. In fact, 663 Americans died of COVID in the 28 days ended June 15, 2025. Those deaths (which in one month exceeded the combined deaths of the three deadliest plane crashes since 2022) accounted for 67% of the 987 total deaths worldwide reported to the World Health Organization. India (101 deaths) was the only other nation reporting more than 100 COVID deaths in this timeframe, and its population is more than four times larger than the US. The wealthy Western nation Sweden reported 22 deaths. Since the pandemic began, the virus has mutated several times. This has required adjusting the vaccine and suggests that annual re-vaccination may be needed to prevent another pandemic. A nasal vaccine could prove both more effective medically and more tolerable for young children and adults who may fear needles. "There is a need for improved COVID vaccines that offer more complete and durable protection," Spearman says. "A nasal vaccine has the potential to block SARS-CoV-2 at its mucosal entry site and to reduce transmission of the virus to others." How effective was the nasal vaccine? The clinical trial included 72 people who received vaccinations, with ages ranging from 12 to 53. A total of 61 participants completed the entire trial. During the period of the trial from September 2021 to May 2023, various waves of SARS-CoV-2 variant infections emerged in the US. Participants were divided among four groups. One group received a low dose of the vaccine, which served as a control group. The other three higher dose groups included one group of adults that had never been infected or had not been vaccinated recently; a group of adults that had been recently vaccinated with a previous mRNA vaccine; and a group of teens that also had been vaccinated. Overall, about 25% of recipients reported having a runny nose after the vaccine; 8% reported nausea. None had a fever. The researchers found evidence that the vaccine was absorbed in the nasal tissues, and that it generated statistically significant antibody responses, as intended. CVXGA1 produced a combined 51.9% mucosal antibody response rate across the three higher dose groups, compared to just 21.4% in the lower dose group. The low-dose group (Group 1, enrolled from September 2021 to February 2022) had the highest overall COVID-19 infection rate: 73.3%. The other three groups had infection rates ranging from 11.1% to 22.2%. None of those found to be infected required hospital care. The results suggest that the vaccine reduced the risk of infection by at least 67% compared to never being vaccinated before. However, definitive proof of efficacy will require larger trials designed specifically for this purpose. What's next? By design, a phase 1 clinical trial involves low numbers of participants. However, the results were encouraging enough to recommend moving ahead with larger clinical trials. The largest of the two ongoing trials (NCT06742281) seeks to enroll up to 10,016 participants by mid-2026 with the study completed by mid-2027. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
