💧 Busting 5 common hydration myths

Plus, visible mending is having a moment

View this email online Photo Illustration by Becky Harlan/NPR I've been a nuisance to those around me since I listened to this Life Kit episode about hydration myths. What can I say? Hearing experts refute things I’ve believed for my entire life felt… historic. Thus, practically everyone who has talked to me in the last few months has learned that, um, actually, coffee isn’t a diuretic, thank you very much.  I usually don’t add in those moments that coffee isn’t a diuretic if you have some caffeine tolerance and consume it in moderation. (The caveats mess with my delivery). Maybe you've heard other claims about hydration, like you should drink eight glasses of water a day or that drinking water can help you lose weight. We talked with several experts to help us set the record straight.   HYDRATION MYTHS 🥤 Myth #1: You must drink at least eight glasses of water daily. Researchers tried to verify the eight glasses of eight-ounce water rule but could not find rigorous evidence to support it. The amount of water you need depends on your body size, activity level, the temperature and how much you're sweating, says Tamara Hew-Butler, an associate professor of exercise and sports science at Wayne State University. Because of these factors, there's no hard and fast rule for how much water you should consume. "The best advice is to listen to your body," Hew-Butler says. "If you get thirsty, drink water. If you're not thirsty, you don't need to drink water." ☕ Myth #2: Caffeine makes you dehydrated. Essentially, with the exception of higher alcohol-content beverages like hard liquor, all liquids count towards hydration. As does food. The experts we spoke to say about 20% of your fluid intake comes from the food you eat, from fruits and vegetables to pasta. According to multiple studies, caffeine can be a mild diuretic in large amounts for people who don’t consume it often. But caffeinated drinks in moderation provide the same hydration as non-caffeinated drinks. 🏃🏻‍♀️ Myth #3: We need sports drinks to replace salt and other electrolytes. According to the experts, if you're exercising for more than an hour, you likely need to replace the salt you're sweating out with water. But you don't have to do that by drinking sports drinks like Gatorade. They definitely can replace the body's salt, but you could also get that salt from other foods and beverages. And like thirst, you can trust your body to tell you how much you need. 📏 Myth #4: Drinking water can help you lose weight. Some small studies have found that drinking water before meals can help certain groups of people lose weight. The idea is that water makes your stomach feel full, and therefore, you eat less.  However, there are many conflicting studies on this topic, and when scientists looked at papers on this subject in a systematic review, they concluded that there's just not enough evidence for the general public. However! Studies have shown that drinking water can help with weight loss if it's replacing sugary beverages like soda, sweet juices and sports drinks. 🎨 Myth #5: Dark-colored pee means you're dehydrated.  Just because your urine is dark gold, says Hew-Butler, it doesn't mean your body is dehydrated. It just means your kidneys aren't releasing as much water to keep your blood's water-sodium level balanced.  That said, if you're not great at paying attention to your thirst, some hydration experts recommend drinking enough water to keep your urine a light, straw-yellow color — a simple way to assess hydration. There you have it. I can’t wait for you to put this hydration knowledge to use (and maybe infodump on your friends and family).  —Julia Carney, Podcast Coordinator   Newsletter continues after sponsor message If you want to fix your clothes, try this easy style of mending Instead of trying to hide clothing repairs, a style known as "visible mending" uses noticeable threads, fabrics and decorative techniques to show off patches and mends.  Visible mending is having a moment. Menders like Arounna Khounnoraj attribute the increasing interest, in part, to a growing awareness of ethical issues within the fashion industry: exploitative labor practices, significant carbon emissions and millions of tons of clothes going into landfills. Lily Fulop; Katrina Rodabaugh Access Sponsor-Free Episodes Want to support our show? Try a subscription to Life Kit+ and get all the tips and tricks you love sponsor-free! Learn more at plus.npr.org/lifekit.  Learn More Coming up on Life Kit 🏊‍♀️ Learn to swim as an adult 💰 What to consider when picking a bank 🥗 Tips for making the perfect salad   Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: LifeKit@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Life Kit emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy

Plus, the Tiny Desk, Black Mirror, and -- yes -- Vanderpump Rules.

View this email online by Linda Holmes Welcome! It was the week when we remembered Cormac McCarthy and Treat Williams. It was the week when AI came for one of our greatest bands. And it was the week when the writers strike got new allies. Let's get to it. Let's let go of 3D already I saw the Pixar film Elemental this week (we'll be talking about it on the show soon). It's a story about Element City, where fire people, water people, cloud/air people and earth people all live alongside each other, sometimes uncomfortably. Some things about it work better than others, but it's impossible, I think, not to admire the inventive way it creates its world of flames and bubbles and flowers and puffy clouds, and the way all those things make up the characters it's about. On top of that, those characters live in a world of smoke, rivers, and all kinds of other -- shall we say -- earthly delights. The screening I attended was in 3D. I tend to have mixed feelings about 3D, which can certainly have its impressive "ooh, neat" moments, but which I tend to find more a gimmick than a genuine advantage -- despite the fact that these days, it works pretty well. Even as a person who wears glasses and is therefore not perfectly suited to putting 3D glasses over them, I had no trouble with the 3D presentation itself as far as appreciating and enjoying the different layers of visuals. 3-D glasses for Avatar: The Way of Water / Getty Images The problem is that, as you know if you've ever picked up a pair of the RealD glasses that you use for a film like this, it considerably darkens the picture simply because of the 3D technology. You can see it -- they are literally dark glasses, and as sunglasses would do, they make the picture look, you know, darker. Particularly with something like a Pixar movie for kids, and extra-particularly for one that's so dependent on a lively presentation of nature, it's impossible for me to believe I even saw the best version of Elemental. I feel certain that my appreciation of its colorful take on the world would have been, what, 30% greater?, if I had just watched it in a regular 2D presentation. I've always been a bit of a 3D skeptic -- the glasses are fiddly and just become more plastic junk, the gimmicks wear off, it gets distracting, and it introduces more opportunities for technical problems (there were some at my screening). And for a while, I felt like my side was winning the argument -- you don't see as many random "but this time it's 3D!" sequels as you did for a while, what with Saw 3D and Piranha 3D and Step Up 3D and so forth. But one of the places 3D seems to persist is in animated kids' movies, which is the last place it belongs. Why would you want to watch an explosively colorful world unfold while wearing sunglasses? The people who create Pixar films are perfectly able to make those worlds immersive and unforgettable without exploiting a technology that degrades the experience on one level in order to supposedly improve it on another. Honestly, maybe this is tech that belongs in cheapie horror sequels, where it can be used for jump scares and tricks in a genre that relies on them, rather than in films that are designed to be visually joyful. Besides, who wants to try to make a squirming kid wear plastic glasses for two hours? Newsletter continues after sponsor message We Recommend We'll be talking about the new season of Black Mirror on the podcast soon. As is usually the case with anthologies, these five episodes are uneven, but it's always interesting to see what's kicking around in these folks' heads as they try to compete with the bleakness of the actual tech world. Sarah Wendell at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books had a lovely tribute this week to romance writer Julie Garwood, who died at 78. I, too, was a Garwood reader as a young person, and I remember her work fondly. I cannot say enough about the impact NPR Music, and especially the great and good Bobby Carter, have already had with their Tiny Desk offerings during their celebration of Black Music Month. And it's only half over. Wander over there and treat yourself. What We Did This Week Ezra Miller in The Flash / Warner Bros. Pictures Stephen talked to Reanna Cruz about Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. All the greatest dreams of our beloved former producer (and new ICYMI host at Slate) Candice Lim came true -- and she returned! -- when she talked with Stephen, Amil Niazi, and Shamira Ibrahim about Vanderpump Rules and the Scandoval that has swirled across the internet. Aisha is off enjoying the release of her book Wannabe, but before she left, she wrote a review of The Blackening, and she talked about it with Ayesha Rascoe and jarrett hill. We talked a lot about how to best cover The Flash, given the history of allegations against its star as well as its complicated place in the history of DC movies. Glen and I wound up talking about those things, and about the movie, too. And he also sat down and wrote a terrific review. (Many thanks to our producers and our editors for their help with this episode.) What's Making Us Happy Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are: Glen Weldon: The very unusual Tony Awards Linda Holmes: Megan Abbott's Beware the Woman Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+. Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free episodes. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: pchh@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Music, Books, Daily News and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Pop Culture Happy Hour emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy

8 life lessons from dads 🕺

Plus, celebrating Juneteenth

View this email online Photograph by David Clode/Unsplash; Collage by Kaz Fantone/NPR This Sunday is Father’s Day, and to honor the dads in our lives, we’re sharing some of the best life advice our listeners ever got from their dads. The wisdom from these dads encompasses the best of life advice — the practical, the everyday — that sticks with us and somehow isn't just about remembering to bring a jacket on cold days or learning how to drive. Though, outwear and merging correctly are important, too. Happy Father's Day to all the dads — dads-to-be, dads who are gone, and dad-like figures — may you spend Father's Day celebrating fatherhood, whatever that means to you. —Clare Marie Schneider, Life Kit producer Newsletter continues after sponsor message Responses have been edited for length and clarity 💖 Learn what you love Dad said: “Learn everything you can about what you love, and no one can take that from you.” I did and have had a wonderful career in television engineering. —Clifford Whitney 🪛 Leave some wiggle room My dad told me not to tighten the screws on furniture that needed to be assembled until it was fully put together. At the time, I thought that was to give me some wiggle room to align everything or in case I had used the wrong part. In hindsight, I think it was about major life decisions. Make your decision, but don’t tighten the screws until you’re sure everything is aligned and in the right place. —Pam Goodman 🧐 You have options [My dad] says the only thing we can’t fix is death. For everything else, there is always a way. This has always helped me put problems into perspective and remind me that even if something feels totally hopeless, there is always a way out.  —Krissia Keck 😱 Don’t let fear guide you “Never be afraid to do something you want to do unless it is unsafe, immoral, or will hurt someone else.” This was the most important lesson I received from my dad. I still try to live by his wise words, and I believe they have served me well. —Frannie Doonan 👕 Wear layers From my dad before going to an outdoor football game: "If you aren't sure of how warm to dress, wear extra clothes. You can always take them off, but if you don't have them, you can't put them on." —Brian Klawun 💡 Use your headlights When I was learning how to drive, my dad told me that if I ever wonder whether or not to put my headlights on, I should just do it. I think this applies to driving and to life. If you wonder whether or not to do something but there’s no actual downside, just do it. —Elizabeth Broderick 🌩️ Don’t try and control  My dad has always said: “You can’t control most things in life. You can’t control the weather, or traffic, or even other people. But you can always control your attitude.” —Gordon Granger 🫂 Make new friends When I was a lonely young married transplant due to career choices (we were military) and called home far away in Alabama, Daddy’s response was, “Try to make new friends. And accept all invitations. You never know what might develop when you open yourself up to new people and experiences.” He also believed occasional impromptu drop-in visits to close friends were not rude; spontaneity sometimes pays off in friendships. —Emily Walls Rayundefined Access Sponsor-Free Episodes Want to support our show? Try a subscription to Life Kit+ and get all the tips and tricks you love sponsor-free! Learn more at plus.npr.org/lifekit.  Learn More Happy Juneteenth What changes when an informal celebration becomes an official holiday? There's more commodification and more government-sponsored events to choose from, for starters. Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman, the editor of the essay collection The Black Agenda, shares how people can appropriately commemorate the day — and support Black Americans throughout the year. How to properly celebrate Juneteenth in the age of commercialization.   How do I speak up more for myself at work? How do I learn how to be a leader at work? Am I burnt out or do I just need a vacation? We want to hear from you ✍️ We’re working with a team of career coaches and experts to answer your work-related questions. From layoffs to job transitions to burnout — we want to know what’s on your mind. Whether it’s logistical: How do I get a promotion? Or the emotional: I’m having trouble with my boss. What do I do? We want to hear it — ask away. Email us with your full name by Tuesday, June 20. We may use your response in a story online or in our newsletter.   Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: LifeKit@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Daily News, Code Switch, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Life Kit emails. 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