Dr. Max Gomez: Dispelling Hot Weather Health Myths
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In this heat you'll probably hear a lot of advice about how to keep cool and safe. Some of it is legit and some is pretty far off base.
But as CBS2's Dr. Max Gomez explained, there are a number of hot weather health myths.
People may think that on a hot and humid day, a sports drink is your best bet to beat the heat. Others say water is the way to go.
"Always water definitely recommend water, the quickest way to replenish the body," one man said.
He's right, the vast majority of time, unless.
"If you're working out, running, really moving about, you can consider a sports or energy drink. In general they're not really necessary, unless you're working out in an intense fashion for more than about an hour," Dr. Robert Glatter of Lenox Hill Hospital said.
Sports drinks won't hurt you, but most of them do have a lot of extra sugar calories that you don't need to rehydrate.
Energy drinks shouldn't be confused with sports drinks. Energy drinks usually have a lot of caffeine, which can actually dehydrate you.
You might be surprised to find that spicy foods can cool you down.
"Not necessarily, but it's all about the flavor. If it's a good spice it doesn't matter, if it's out I'm going to eat spicy food," one man said.
Spicy foods are eaten mostly in very hot climates, because they can cool you down.
"Spicy foods actually make you sweat more, so the theory is if you have more sweat then you could cool yourself by evaporation, so in theory it's possible it might help you," Dr. Glatter said.
Many people opt for light clothing over dark in hot weather.
"Light definitely because the sun just attracts to anything dark," one woman said.
Light colored, loose-fitting clothing is definitely cooler, but if you're looking for protection from the sun's rays dark cloth is a better UV blocker.
Fanning yourself is also an effective way to cool off. In addition to creating your own wind chill factor, the breeze helps evaporate the sweat, cooling you off even more.
