Health, Summer | featured news

What to drink on your summer run or bike ride — sports drink or water? The answer is not always as clear as, say, water. It depends on the duration and intensity of the physical activity and on how much you sweat, says Suzanne Girard Eberle, sports dietitian and author of “Endurance Sports Nutrition.”

For folks without air conditioning, an electric fan may seem like a life-saver in a steaming summer like this one. But researchers who looked at existing studies say it's possible fans do more harm than good when the temperature soars above 95 degrees. That's because blowing hot air over your body might actually increase heat stress and your risk of heat-related illness -- even if you feel like the fan is cooling you down. Better ideas: get out of your hot house and into a cool mall or library for a few hours; take cool showers.

Important health tip for the summer: Drink more wine! A better protection against harmful sunburns might be a healthy dose of SPF sauvignon blanc, suggests a new Spanish study.

Even a slight change in our water levels can lead to dehydration. And if we constantly fail to top-up on H2O whenever we lose it (and we lose it a lot), then we may become chronically dehydrated. Thankfully, your body will let you know when this happens.

Don't forget to pack your sunscreen along with the swimsuits, fishing poles and other accoutrements of outdoor summer fun.