Latest news with #NorthwellHealth
Observer
a day ago
- Health
- Observer
Do you need to drink electrolytes?
There is a large, growing and very competitive market for electrolyte powders, drinks and tablets. In 2024 the electrolyte drink market was valued around $38 billion. The products are designed to be consumed before, during and after exercise — and manufacturers claim they'll optimize your hydration, health and performance. There are even options to supplement your daily hydration, whether or not you are exercising. But do you really need to replenish the electrolytes lost in your sweat? And are sports drinks, electrolyte powders and salty supplements actually the best way to do it? What do electrolytes do? Electrolytes are minerals — such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium — that carry an electrical charge that influences how water moves in your body. 'They help maintain the fluid balance,' explained Dr. Amy West, a sports medicine physician at Northwell Health. They help move fluid into and out of your cells and regulate blood pressure, heart rhythm, muscle, and nerve function. While they're found in supplements and sports drinks, they're also in the foods we eat every day. 'When we talk about potassium, it's in a banana,' said Heidi Skolnik, a nutritionist at the Hospital for Special Surgery. 'When you eat a pretzel, there's sodium on it.' As you sweat, you lose both fluid and electrolytes, and if you lose enough fluid, you can become dehydrated. The volume of blood in your body drops, and 'your heart has to pump harder to get the same amount of blood circulating,' Skolnik said. Do you need to replace them? When you lose an exceptionally large quantity of water and electrolytes, as you might if you're having a serious bout of diarrhea, you need to replace both. In those situations, doctors often recommend a rehydration solution like Pedialyte, which typically has more sodium and potassium than your average sports drink. But experts say you probably don't need to reach for a sports drink during your regular workouts. Even if those workouts are strenuous or happen in hotter weather, drinking water when you're thirsty is enough to keep you hydrated. The sugar and carbohydrates found in many sports drinks certainly may help competitive athletes maintain their energy, but the electrolytes have little impact. In the 1990s, standard medical advice recommended sodium-rich drinks for athletes during any exercise that lasted more than an hour. But more recent research has found that even as you lose sodium through sweat and urine, your body maintains the concentration of sodium in your blood. In several small studies, athletes didn't tend to report a performance difference between working out with water and electrolyte-infused drinks, even after five hours of running in 86-degree heat. It's been well-established for at least a decade that electrolytes don't do much for performance, said Ricardo Da Costa, an associate professor in sports dietetics at Monash University in Australia. 'But the marketing strategies from the sports drinks companies are more potent than the researchers.' 'Everybody thinks that they need to replace lost electrolytes right away,' said Tamara Hew-Butler, a sports medicine scientist at Wayne State University. 'You don't. You will make it up generally in your meals.' Most of the time, you are fine just drinking water when you're thirsty. If you're spending hours outside in the heat for several days and start feeling dehydration symptoms, like lightheadedness, you might reach for a sports drink or supplement, especially if you aren't getting enough electrolytes in your diet, said Robert Kenefick, a professor of biomedical and nutritional sciences at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. In rare cases, you can have too much fluid but not enough sodium in your blood, a condition called hyponatremia, which can cause nausea, fatigue, and, in the most severe cases, seizures or death. It's more likely to happen if you have certain medical conditions such as heart, live,r or kidney problems. For athletes, it can happen if they drink so much fluid before, during and after long workouts that it dilutes the electrolytes in their blood. However, most sports drinks don't contain enough sodium to prevent it, Da Costa said. Is there a downside? Aside from the cost, experts say there's little downside to consuming electrolyte drinks. As long as you're otherwise healthy, they do not have enough electrolytes to overload your system (called hypernatremia), Kenefick said. And the sweet taste could motivate you to hydrate. Like most supplements, however, electrolyte products are not well regulated and can even be contaminated, Hew-Butler said. In 2015, she and her team found unsafe levels of arsenic in Muscle Milk and Gatorade powders that had been provided to college athletes. The athletes showed no signs of having been harmed by the exposure. You won't see 'arsenic' on a supplement label, but you should check for the amount of sugar in the drinks, which can be almost as high as some sodas. As you are reading the label, Kenefick cautioned buyers to be skeptical of what it promises. 'The beverage market is very competitive, and everyone's looking for an edge,' he said. 'A lot of the beverages that are out there are using electrolytes as a marketing tool.' This article originally appeared in
New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Neo-Nazi who live streamed fake bomb threats to Jewish hospitals in NYC and Long Island learns his fate
A Oregon antisemite has been sentenced to five years in prison for phoning in phony bomb threats to Jewish hospitals on Long Island and livestreaming the chaos as it unfolded, federal prosecutors said. Domagoj Patkovic, 31, terrorized medical workers and patients during a months-long spree in 2021, calling in threats to Jewish health care facilities in Nassau County and across the Big Apple — falsely claiming he had planted C-4 explosives throughout their buildings. Local police responded to the scene in several instances and conducted bomb sweeps. 3 Oregon neo-Nazi Domagoj Patkovic was sentenced to five years in prison for calling in fake bomb threats to Jewish hospitals on Long Island. U.S. Department of Justice 3 Patkovic claimed that he planted C-4 explosives in the Jewish health care facilities. Google Maps Northwell Health's Long Island Jewish Valley Stream hospital was partially evacuated and placed on lockdown that September after his bomb hoax made under the alias 'Abrahimavich,' according to court documents. Patkovic, of Portland, claimed to have hidden explosives in maintenance closets in the hospitals and vowed to blow the building up — all while live on Discord, a social media site popular for real-time voice chats, gaming communities, and increasingly, extremist content and fringe groups. When a 911 operator called the number back, Patkovic — still in front of a live audience on Discord — doubled down on the threats and confirmed his identity. And in at least one case, even flipped the camera to reveal his face. The neo-Nazi eventually confessed to participating in swatting and bomb threat calls with others, according to prosecutors — while also identifying himself making the 'Sieg Heil' Nazi salute over a man's unconscious body in a picture from an unrelated incident. 3 Domagoj Patkovic admitted to recording himself giving a Nazi salute over an unconscious man. U.S. Department of Justice He was arrested last August and hit with a 23-count indictment. '[Patkovic] endangered patients and diverted precious law-enforcement resources to advance his hateful agenda against people of the Jewish faith,' said prosecutor Joseph Nocella Jr. 'His actions fed a rising tide of antisemitism in America.' Patkovic pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to issue bomb threats and conveying false information about explosives. No explosives were ever found in any of the hospitals. He was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in federal prison.
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- Health
- NZ Herald
Do you need to drink electrolytes?
Electrolytes are minerals – such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium – that carry an electrical charge that influences how water moves in your body. 'They help maintain the fluid balance,' explained Dr Amy West, a sports medicine physician at Northwell Health. They help move fluid into and out of your cells and regulate blood pressure, heart rhythm, muscle and nerve function. While they're found in supplements and sports drinks, they're also in the foods we eat every day. 'When we talk about potassium, it's in a banana,' said Heidi Skolnik, a nutritionist at the Hospital for Special Surgery. 'When you eat a pretzel, there's sodium on it.' As you sweat, you lose both fluid and electrolytes and if you lose enough fluid, you can become dehydrated. The volume of blood in your body drops and 'your heart has to pump harder to get the same amount of blood circulating,' Skolnik said. Do you really need to replace them? When you lose an exceptionally large quantity of water and electrolytes, as you might if you're having a serious bout of diarrhoea, you need to replace both. In those situations, doctors often recommend a rehydration solution like Pedialyte, which typically has more sodium and potassium than your average sports drink. But experts say you probably don't need to reach for a sports drink during your regular workouts. Even if those workouts are strenuous or happen in hotter weather, drinking water when you're thirsty is enough to keep you hydrated. The sugar and carbohydrates found in many sports drinks certainly may help competitive athletes maintain their energy, but the electrolytes have little impact. In the 1990s, standard medical advice recommended sodium-rich drinks for athletes during any exercise that lasted more than an hour. But more recent research has found that even as you lose sodium through sweat and urine, your body maintains the concentration of sodium in your blood. In several small studies athletes didn't tend to report a performance difference between working out with water and electrolyte-infused drinks, even after five hours of running in 30C heat. Ricardo Da Costa, an associate professor in sports dietetics at Monash University in Australia, said it's been well-established for at least a decade that electrolytes don't do much for performance. 'But the marketing strategies from the sports drinks companies are more potent than the researchers.' 'Everybody thinks that they need to replace lost electrolytes right away,' said Tamara Hew-Butler, a sports medicine scientist at Wayne State University. 'You don't. You will make it up generally in your meals.' Most of the time, you are fine just drinking water when you're thirsty. If you're spending hours outside in the heat for several days and start feeling dehydration symptoms, like lightheadedness, you might reach for a sports drink or supplement, especially if you aren't getting enough electrolytes in your diet, said Robert Kenefick, a professor of biomedical and nutritional sciences at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. In rare cases, you can have too much fluid but not enough sodium in your blood, a condition called hyponatremia, which can cause nausea, fatigue and, in the most severe cases, seizures or death. It's more likely to happen if you have certain medical conditions such as heart, liver or kidney problems. For athletes, it can happen if they drink so much fluid before, during and after long workouts that it dilutes the electrolytes in their blood. However, most sports drinks don't contain enough sodium to prevent it, Da Costa said. Is there a downside? Aside from the cost, experts say there's little downside to consuming electrolyte drinks. As long as you're otherwise healthy, they do not have enough electrolytes to overload your system (called hypernatremia), Kenefick said. And the sweet taste could motivate you to hydrate. Like most supplements, however, electrolyte products are not well regulated and can even be contaminated, Hew-Butler said. In 2015, she and her team found unsafe levels of arsenic in Muscle Milk and Gatorade powders that had been provided to college athletes. The athletes showed no signs of having been harmed by the exposure. You won't see 'arsenic' on a supplement label, but you should check for the amount of sugar in the drinks, which can be almost as high as some sodas. As you are reading the label, Kenefick cautioned buyers to be sceptical of what it promises. 'The beverage market is very competitive and everyone's looking for an edge,' he said. 'A lot of the beverages that are out there are using electrolytes as a marketing tool.' This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Written by: Emma Yasinski Photographs by: Sean Dong ©2025 THE NEW YORK TIMES
Epoch Times
5 days ago
- Health
- Epoch Times
How a Healthy Heart Boosts Your Body From Head to Toe
Heart health isn't just about preventing heart attacks; it's a crystal ball for your future well-being. A recent review of nearly 500 studies found that heart health reduces risk of dementia by 86 percent, kidney disease by 62 percent, and cancer by 20 percent. Each additional heart-healthy habit also cuts the risk of depression by 10 percent. The findings indicate that keeping a healthy heart puts you on a path to better health from head to toe, Dr. Stacey E. Rosen, president of the American Heart Association and senior vice president of women's health at Northwell Health, told The Epoch Times. The 7 Simple Metrics That Predict Your Future The new review in the Journal of the American Heart Association centered on what doctors call Life's Simple 7 (LS7), a framework that measures heart health through seven key areas.
Business Wire
21-07-2025
- Health
- Business Wire
Northwell Health's Dr. Barbara Anne Eberhard Awarded the American Academy of Pediatrics the James T. Cassidy Award
MANHASSET, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For her dedication to research and leadership in pediatric rheumatology, Northwell Health's Cohen Children's Medical Center rheumatologist and Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research scientist Barbara Anne Eberhard, MD, has been awarded with the James T. Cassidy Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Dr. Eberhard has spent her two-decade-long career working clinically and as a mentor to other physican-scientists within the Department of Pediatrics at Cohen Children's, while conducting research at the Feinstein Institutes. She specializes in studying and treating children with rheumatologic conditions, including arthritis, vasculitis, dermatomyositis and lupus. The Cassidy Award is given to members who have made significant contribution to the field, according to the AAP. 'Our young patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and its related conditions deserve better, more effective therapies to help them to live healthier, happier, lives.' said Dr. Eberhard. 'Being recognized with the James T. Cassidy Award is a tremendous honor that reinforces my passion to continue my research and help train future leaders in the field of pediatric rheumatology.' As the director of Northwell Health's Pediatric Lupus Clinic, Dr. Eberhard oversees the care of over 200 young lupus patients. Her commitment to improving pediatric rheumatology extends to her significant contributions to the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA). Serving as past chair of CARRA's lupus subcommittee (2008-2015), she was instrumental in developing a world-renowned pediatric lupus clinical database, now encompassing data from more than 900 patients. Dr. Eberhard's work with CARRA also includes establishing consensus treatment guidelines for biologics in various autoimmune diseases and generating data demonstrating positive patient outcomes. Her research career boasts over 70 published papers and more than 50 abstracts. Dedicated to fostering the next generation of rheumatologists, she has mentored over 20 clinical research fellows and junior faculty and co-founded the ACR/CARRA Mentoring Interest Group (AMIGO), which connects budding physician-researchers with mentors based on shared research interests. 'Dr. Eberhard is a leader in the field of pediatric rheumatology and is very deserving of this award,' said Annemarie Stroustrup Smith, MD, PhD, senior vice president of the pediatrics service line and chair of the department of pediatrics at Cohen Children's and the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. 'Her dedication to advancing research, educating young physician-scientists and fostering collaboration across institutions is inspirational. She is helping to pave the way for a brighter future for children with rheumatologic conditions.' The AAP Section on Rheumatology James T. Cassidy Award was established in 2001 to recognize a member for outstanding achievement in pediatric rheumatology. Those must be a members in good standing of the AAP section on rheumatology and meet one of several qualifications, including education, history of successfully training pediatric rheumatology fellows, and providing contributions to the field of pediatric rheumatology through research, publications and/or legislation. In 2023, Dr. Eberhard was awarded top honors by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP). The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the home of the research institutes of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State. Encompassing 50+ research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its six institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, molecular medicine, and translational research. We are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine – an innovative field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. The Feinstein Institutes publishes two open-access, international peer-reviewed journals Molecular Medicine and Bioelectronic Medicine. Through the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, we offer an accelerated PhD program. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit and follow us on LinkedIn.
