Dispelling Myths
I read an interesting article that as a caffeine swilling, turkey munching, low light reading, cell phone toting, leg shaver who uses a solid 11% of her brain, I thought I should share.
(Reprinted from here):
Revealed: The seven great “medical myths”
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.
Despite frequent mentions in the popular press of the need to drink eight glasses of water, they found no scientific basis for the claim.
The complete lack of evidence has been recorded in a study published the American Journal of Psychology, they said.
The other six “myths” are:
* Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight
The majority of eye experts believe it is unlikely to do any permanent damage, but it may make you squint, blink more and have trouble focusing, the researchers said.
* Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser
It has no effect on the thickness or rate of hair regrowth, studies say. But stubble lacks the finer taper of unshaven hair, giving the impression of coarseness.
* Eating turkey makes you drowsy
It does contain an amino acid called tryptophan that is involved in sleep and mood control. But turkey has no more of the acid than chicken or minced beef. Eating lots of food and drink at Christmas are probably the real cause of sleepiness.
* We use only 10 percent of our brains
This myth arose as early as 1907 but imaging shows no area of the brain is silent or completely inactive.
* Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death
This idea may stem from ghoulish novels. The researchers said the skin dries out and retracts after death, giving the appearance of longer hair or nails.
* Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals
Despite widespread concerns, studies have found minimal interference with medical equipment.
The research was conducted by Aaron Carroll, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Regenstrief Institute, Indianapolis, and Rachel Vreeman, fellow in children’s health services research at Indiana University School of Medicine.
(Editing by Steve Addison and Paul Casciato)
I’d like to add some other popular statements that common sense dictates to be myths:
* If you want to lose weight, don’t eat after 8 p.m.- This doesn’t take into account the different lifestyles people lead so you can be sure any diet guru who makes this recommendation is a quack.
* There’s nobody better to raise a child than the mother/father- Uh, how about a professional with years of experience dealing with children? Parroting the above statement is like a couch potato saying, “Who better to choose the prime time tv lineup than me?” Nobody’s going to love a child more than the typical mother, but that doesn’t mean the woman who one year earlier was doing tequila shots off a Chippendale dancer’s abs is the most qualified for the full-time job of raising the kid. Disagree with me all you want then take another look at all the fucked up people around you (or maybe even yourself) with mommy or daddy issues. I’ll dare to say that more often than not, the parents aren’t the best ones for the job.
* Asians are bad drivers/ blacks are lousy tippers- Ok, those two are true but at least they have (respectively) the technological geniuses/ big penises stereotypes going for them as well.
* 40 is the new 30/ 50 is the new 40- The only people who believe this are desperate 40 and 50-year-old women. The rest of the world are still drooling over Lindsay Lohan’s 21-year-old ass.
