The summer sun is beating down on you as you wipe the sweat from your brow. You passed thirsty a mile ago and you’re headed straight for parched. You need liquid — fast.

Your first thought is a cool glass of water. It’s tried, true and certainly reliable. But is that your best option?

Researchers from St. Andrews University in Scotland believe otherwise.

While the study found that water, both still and sparkling, offers quick hydration, certain drinks with a slight amount of sugar, fat or protein perform a more adequate job of replenishing us for longer.

It all has to do with how our bodies digest. The more liquid you drink, the faster it empties from your stomach before being absorbed into your bloodstream.

Another aspect to consider is a beverage’s nutrient composition. In the case of milk, for example, the study found it to be more hydrating than water because it contains a sugar (lactose), protein and fat. These three elements digest slowly and lead to longer-lasting hydration, rather than the tidal wave of rapid absorption associated with drinking water.

You might be wondering how sugar-heavy drinks, like fruit juices and sodas, measure up. Yes, the sugar spends more time in your stomach compared with unmodified water, but its contents and calories don’t fill us up nearly as well. Avoid these beverages, along with alcohol, which acts as a diuretic, causing you to urinate more.

Though more sobering than a martini, caffeine has a similar impact on hydration. More than 300 milligrams of coffee could cause a short-term diuretic effect, leading to lost fluids.

So as the summer ends, consider what you choose to quench your thirst. And if you panic, a glass of water will still do the trick.

The University of Florida’s Veterinary Community Outreach Program provides valuable synergy between veterinary education and supporting local animal welfare. Veterinary students gain crucial hands-on surgical and medical experience while simultaneously offering services that reduce pet overpopulation, improve shelter animal health, facilitate adoptions and educate the community on responsible pet ownership. On this archived episode, Dr. Simone Guerios will discuss how the program benefits not only the students’ clinical training but also the local sheltering community.

Summertime is a great time to get outdoors, go hiking and explore nature. Kids are out of school and vacation season is in full swing.

But so is the heat.

High temperatures are no joke and can make any hike dangerous — even deadly. Each year, multiple people die from heat exhaustion during hikes and hundreds more are rescued.

By taking a few safety precautions to heart, you can greatly reduce your chances of injury or death when hiking in hot temperatures.

Be prepared physically. If you know will be undertaking a long, strenuous hike, be confident that you are in good enough physical shape to complete the trek. You can acclimate to the heat by taking shorter, low-impact hikes in warm weather and gradually work up to more difficult hikes in hot weather.

Hikers should also know their sweat rate, which can be determined by weighing yourself before and after a hike. Experts say you shouldn’t lose more than 2% of your body weight during a hike.

Speaking of sweating — an abundant amount of water is critical in high temperatures. A water filter and electrolytes, in the form of tablets or drinks, can also help replace salt and minerals lost from perspiration.

Hikers should wear light, loose clothing to help prevent sunburn and keep body temperatures down. Experts recommend bringing a fully charged phone, extra battery and a friend if possible.

It can be easy to underestimate just how challenging a hike can be when temperatures soar. The reward doesn’t outweigh the risk.

And don’t ignore what your instinct tells you. If you think it’s too hot to hike, turn back.

If you’ve ever swatted a fly, it’s unlikely you wondered before or after the act, “Do flies feel pain?” Scientists think they do, in a sense.

And this fact might help a species that doesn’t sport wings — humans.

Australian researchers discovered that fruit flies that have lost a leg begin to behave as if they are suffering pain. Injured flies will jump frantically off surfaces that wouldn’t normally trigger their escape response.

This behavior shows the fly sensing and avoiding what it perceives as stimuli that can be dangerous. Researchers say it mimics a state of chronic pain.

It isn’t the exact equivalent of human pain. But it’s close.

The heightened escape response even occurred when scientists stimulated the opposite, healthy leg. That made scientists think the fly’s chronic pain response was tied to their central nervous system, not the site of the injury. This, too, is true in humans.

Researchers discovered that the injury triggered the death of cells in the fly’s nervous system that worked to keep the insect’s pain responses in check. They learned that if they kept these specialized cells alive, the flies did not develop this chronic pain-mimicking response.

The biological mechanisms involved in a fly’s chronic pain are similar to those seen in humans. Scientists think that compounds and proteins involved in producing the fruit fly’s response might someday be used to alleviate suffering in people.

Which, when you think about it, is pretty good work for an insect that tends to spend most of its time investigating the clump of bananas you forgot about on your kitchen counter.

Some people swear by the keto diet. Others can’t make it past lunchtime without a carb-heavy snack. We know weight loss is far from a one-size-fits-all approach. Now, a new review of nearly 100 clinical trials is evaluating how certain methods measure up against each other.

Of note? Intermittent fasting, where you eat within a specific window of time, might work just as well as traditional calorie counting.

Researchers looked at data from more than 6,500 adults and found that all forms of intermittent fasting, like time-restricted eating, whole-day fasting and alternate-day fasting, led to small drops in weight and corresponding improvements in heart health markers. But one method stood out: alternate-day fasting.

This approach, which involves fasting every other day, showed slightly better weight loss results than both standard calorie restriction and other fasting methods.

Still, there’s a catch. Even the best-performing diets didn’t quite hit the minimum threshold for “clinically important” weight loss, which the study defined as about 4.4 pounds. And when it came to other health markers like blood sugar or “good” cholesterol, no clear winner emerged.

What’s more, most trials were short, about 12 weeks on average, and varied widely in quality. So, while the early results are promising, they’re not definitive.

The take home? Yes, intermittent fasting might work just as well as counting calories, and alternate-day fasting could offer a slight edge. But don’t ditch your diet just yet. The best plan is still the one you can stick with … and one that supports sustainable change.

A new survey of Americans reveals that a third of us are exhausted even after rolling out of bed in the morning. By lunch, the average person’s energy levels begin to rapidly fade.

In a sense, their workday ends hours before they leave the workplace.

Physicians worry that the continual grind of life in the computer age, with its endless electronic distractions and duties, takes a cumulative toll on the body. If we don’t spend time winding down and relaxing effectively, the stress builds and can adversely affect our health.

The representative survey of 2,000 Americans by Talker Research, a market research firm, shows about half report they feel wiped even after a day off.

How respondents try to combat that midday energy drain is instructive. A quarter of those whose energy is spent by noon turn to caffeine. Another 15% turn up the music on their earbuds. Surprisingly, about the same number sneak off for a nap.

Indeed, a quarter of those polled believe that a minor change in habit, such as drinking more water, can rejuvenate them.

The experts insist that maintaining our energy stores requires we actively seek out what works best to keep us energized. Hydration, better quality sleep and meaningful downtime can, for example, make a significant impact.

The poll also shows that many Americans blame their fatigue on endless household chores, financial woes, bad weather and dull social interactions.

It doesn’t hurt if you love your work. Boredom or lack of enthusiasm is an energy vampire. Happy people, science has shown, live healthier and longer lives.

Anyone who’s struggled to stand up straight after a long car ride or felt restless while sitting through a movie knows that arthritic knees are no fun.

And while more than 10% of knee arthritis patients get cortisone or other shots to relieve the pain, a new study suggests the practice may be linked to faster joint damage in the long run.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, analyzed data from more than 200 patients who were part of the Osteoarthritis Initiative, a project that tracked Americans with knee problems from 2004 to 2015.

The team used detailed MRI scans to assess knee-joint health. They evaluated images from two years before injections, at the time of injections and two years after.

Then, they performed a comprehensive assessment of cartilage, bone marrow, meniscus, ligaments and fluid buildup.

Researchers found that patients who received cortisone shots showed more signs of arthritis progression compared with those who either got no treatment at all or a different type of injection.

Meanwhile, patients who got hyaluronic acid injections — a gel-like lubricant for joints — avoided signs of worsening arthritis and showed less disease progression on MRI scans.

The researchers made clear, however, that the findings do not prove steroid injections cause arthritis to progress faster. Their study was observational and could not account for all differences between patients. Still, the results raise important questions.

Current guidelines call for cortisone shots for short-term pain relief and advise against the routine use of hyaluronic acid injections.

Next steps, as they say: Before you go for the needle, talk to your doctor.

Has your pet shown abnormal behavior lately, such as hiding or growling? Our animals can’t tell us when they’re hurting and assessing pain in our pets can be difficult. It’s important that pet owners are in tune with any changes in behavior, including the way your pet stands, walks or even looks at you. On this archived show, Dr. Elizabeth Maxwell, a surgical oncology specialist, will discuss why pain assessment is so important, why contacting your veterinarian is critical if you suspect your pet is in pain and different methods of pain management.

There are those who live to drink coffee, and those who drink coffee to live. Now, a new study suggests that a cup of joe could be doing more than just jumpstarting the day — it could be extending your life.

Adults who drank one to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day had between a 14% to 17% lower risk of dying early, compared with those who skipped coffee entirely.

The study analyzed data from 46,000 adults ages 20 years and older, and categorized consumption based on preferences like whether participants drank their coffee black or added cream and sugar.

Notably, the strongest benefits showed up in those who drank their coffee black or with only small amounts of cream or sugar. When people added large quantities of those tasty extras to their coffee, the longevity benefits disappeared. Additionally, those who drank more than three cups of black coffee per day did not see the same lower mortality risk, especially when it came to heart disease.

With nearly half of Americans reporting that they drink at least one cup of coffee per day, understanding how it impacts our health is important, according to the study. Researchers also pointed out that the health benefits of black coffee are likely derived from the drink’s naturally occurring bioactive compounds.

The study emphasizes that while coffee does convey health benefits, how the coffee is prepared and how much you consume is heavily associated with how much you could profit.

So if coffee is already part of your morning routine, consider keeping it simple. A little less cream and sugar today might mean a few more years to enjoy coffee tomorrow.

There are plenty of old wives’ tales about food before bed. What to eat, what not to eat and whether you should eat all. Now, a new study from researchers in Canada is adding a point against eating cheese just ahead of going to sleep.

The team of scientists studied how diets influence our dreams. In a study that included more than 1,000 participants, 40% reported that certain foods impacted their sleep. One of the standout culprits? Cheese.

The dairy product was associated with some not-so-gouda effects. Specifically, cheese consumption was linked to folks reporting more nightmares than sweet dreams, especially if a participant was lactose intolerant.

Why? Well, it all comes down to digestion.

Cheese is challenging to break down. The amount of fat and protein each morsel of muenster contains means its journey through the digestive tract is slow. At night, we are also not well equipped to digest food. Sleep is an activity that requires your body’s attention in full to achieve its list of hearty benefits. Add in some complicated digestion to the mix, and the focus becomes split between two areas. This affects your sleep quality … and what you get out of it.

Notably, cheese isn’t the only dairy product to impact our sleep. A warm glass of milk before bed can have a benefit. It is easier to digest than cheese, and it possesses the amino acid tryptophan, which helps promote solid shut-eye.

Generally, sleep experts recommend avoiding meals at least two hours before bed. And, if you are lactose intolerant, reconsider dairy consumption of any kind before you hit the hay — it’ll save you the nightmare of a late-night trip to the bathroom.