Medical Myths

[Michaelangelica]

There MUST be more than seven?
Any suggestions?

Revealed: The seven great "medical myths"

Fri Dec 21, 2007 10:18am EST

By Peter Griffiths

LONDON (Reuters) - Reading in dim light won't damage your eyes, you don't need eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy and shaving your legs won't make the hair grow back faster.

These well-worn theories are among seven "medical myths" exposed in a paper published Friday in the British Medical Journal, which traditionally carries light-hearted features in its Christmas edition. Two U.S. researchers took seven common beliefs and searched the archives for evidence to support them.

* Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight

* Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser
.
* Eating turkey makes you drowsy

* We use only 10 percent of our brains

* Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death

* Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals

Details here
Revealed: The seven great medical myths | Reuters

[Michaelangelica]

Universal Health Care Myths 101
Posted on January 5, 2008 by sunny66
Universal Health Care Myths 101 « The Crone Speaks

[Racoon]

masturbation causes blindness!

"But Dad!, I was only going to do it until I needed glasses!"

[Michaelangelica]

Q: Will you get a cold if you catch a chill?
A: No, colds are caused by viruses. You can not get a cold or flu from being cold.

Our expert: Professor Raina MacIntyre

Published 02/04/2008

Will you get a cold if you catch a chill? - Health & Wellbeing
Some other points of view:-

Margaret Clark :

03 Apr 2008 10:02:17pm

The lack of association between cold temperature and developing a cold is likely due to the experimental design, rather than the purported link. If you take a subgroup of immunocompromised, fatigued, poorly nutrited subjects and expose them to cold or normal temperature and viral infections, those in the cold environment would be more susceptible, as energy would be used for heat maintainence thereby compromising the immune system further. In addition some immune responses eg antibodies are temperature related.
Personally, once a throat viral infection has commenced, it is preferable not to breathe cold air, not to have wet hair, and to wear a scarf whilst outdoors. Warm nebulised air is used to aid breathing for respiratory conditions.

Gerald Hunter :

03 Apr 2008 7:21:14pm

This article without double blind proof is just an other opinion. No-one can tell me that when sweaty and moist, getting a chill is not a fast way to a cold.
However it is worth repeating that frequently washing your hands when out of your home is one great defense and avoiding coughing and snotty people is an other one. Let alone tasting fruit etc in the supermarket. Tell your guests, not to come if they have a cold.
These prevention ideas go for the Professor also, before she does the scientific number crunching.

[mynah]

I've just read an interesting chapter from The man who ate everything by Jeffrey Steingarten. In it he challenges the belief that raw vegetables are good for you. He points out that, to survive the onslaught of browsers, plants pump themselves full of toxins and repellents, many of which are destroyed by cooking. (Good thing dry beans don't taste good, as they're quite poisonous. Soft fruit, on the other hand, are intended to be eaten, as the animals that eat them also spread their seed.)

[Michaelangelica]

Yes a herbalist friend said to me that carrots are only nutritious when cooked slightly.

The digestive system has a protective coat that sloths off every few days.
It is there to protect us from plant toxins.

I believe carrots were only stock -horse etc- food until WW2 when necessity made them a vegetable.

The myth that they are good for eyesight was started by the British Secret Service who had to explain their sudden increase in RAF hits against the Luftwaffe. (Due to improvements in radar)
They promulgated the lie that pilots were being fed on carrots so could see better in the dark!
Good one!

[mynah]

And then there is the belief that spinach is a good source of iron, due to a mistake made when the iron content was first measured. Even worse, spinach contains substances that actually hinder the absorption of iron.

Another misconception concerning iron is that everyone (especially women) need iron supplements. Some people are anaemic because their bodies don't absorb iron, not because their diet is iron-deficient, and some forms of anaemia are caused by other problems. Iron overdoses can be fatal - especially in children - or cause serious health problems. People with haemochromatosis, a very common genetic condition in whites, may develop chronic health problems and eventually die from what is usually considered just normal amounts of iron in the diet.

[Michaelangelica]

• 1. Sugar makes kids hyperactive.
• 2. Suicides increase over the holidays.
• 3. Poinsettias are toxic.
• 4. You lose most of your body heat through your head.
• 5. Eating at night makes you fat.
• 6. You can cure a hangover with…

Medical Myths For The Holiday Season: True, False Or Unproven?

I would have thought that re-hydration with water would help a hangover headache..
Perhaps too Vitamin B and methadrine.?