Common Health Myths Solved.

Remember when we were young, our mom used to tell us to eat your vegetables so you'll grow big and strong and few years later all those leafy greens resulted to me being still short and definitely not strong.

We as children, I'm sure everyone grew up with stories passed down to us by our elders to help us lead better, healthier lives. But the question lies... does everything really hold true to their word? Don't mind me playing detective here. Today, lets take a look at some of the common tales we’ve been told and the truth behind them.



1. Eating carrots helps to improve your vision
Raise your hand up if you wear glasses! Got your hands up? Good, then I'm sure most of you heard your elders telling you to eat carrots as it is good for your eyes. While it is a known fact that carrots are a great source of Vitamin A, the myth actually got about during World War II in the British Military. It was said that eating carrots could improve the night vision of pilots who usually have to fly in the wee hours of the night. However, research has shown that although Vitamin A can be helpful for age-related macular degeneration, the Vitamin A in carrots are not likely to prevent the need for glasses. The bottom line is, it’s good to eat carrots, but don’t expect it to give you 20/20 vision!



2. Drinking coffee is bad for your health
Too much coffee could result in you feeling jittery or being unable to sleep, but is it really bad for your health? This old wives’ tale that has been passed down from generation to generation has no actual scientific backing. I myself a coffee lover hate hearing this from everyone to my family and my friends. For many years, caffeine was thought to be linked to osteoporosis, which gives a bad name to coffee. But this reasoning is flawed in the sense that coffee does not actually cause osteoporosis, nor does osteoporosis cause height loss (it only increases the risk of broken bones). On contrary to the fact, it is actually beneficial to your health if you drink between 1 to 3 cups of coffee a day. Besides, coffee also helps to reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes, stroke, liver disease, and gout.



3. Swimming in a full stomach causes cramps
My mom would also tell me “don’t go swimming on a full stomach” before my swimming classes. Young me would always think if it's whether to avoid throwing up in the pool or to avoid cramps. However, there is no actual scientific study that links between swimming while full and developing cramps. While working out on a full stomach would result in feeling nauseous and vomiting, this would only happen if you swim vigorously. So if you’re only going into the pool to splash about, you would most likely be fine.



4. Fully digesting chewing gum takes a few years
Singaporeans definitely cannot relate hah! But people has always told me that swallowing gum is bad for you and you'll have trouble digesting them and soon enough you might fill up your stomach will be filled with chewing gum. The reason behind this belief because the ingredients used in gum cannot be broken down, leading many to believe that the gum will just stick to the insides of our intestines, slowly making its way out. In reality though, these small pieces of gum usually find their way out of your body along with the rest of your food when you empty your bowels. So unless you are swallowing a huge amount of chewing gum every day, you’re not going experience gum clogging up your insides.



5. Sitting too close to the TV will make you shortsighted There is some element of truth to this “fact” as sitting too close to the television for extended periods can strain your eyes and cause it to ache. However, doing this regularly does not actually spoil eyesight nor would it cause short-sightedness. Modern research has found a lack of link between staring at a lit screen for hours on end and worsening eyesight, attributing the birth of this belief to the high traces of radiation emitted from television sets before the 1950s where television. As modern televisions are equipped with proper shielding, radiation from the TV screen would likely not affect your eyesight negatively at all.



6. The 5-second rule legit
Oh no, your cookie fell onto the floor? If it has only been 3 or 5 seconds, pop it in your mouth, it's safe! But I hate to break it to you, it's not – this theory is actually not scientifically backed at all. Extensive research on this theory has instead proved that regardless of how long your food has been on the floor, it would have collected a considerable amount of germs and could easily result in food poisoning. It’s easy to lie to ourselves since germs are invisible and we typically keep our floors clean, but bacteria can contaminate food instantly. It’s better to trash the dropped food in this case.



7. Cracking knuckles results to arthritis
Those who constantly crack their knuckles may notice themselves developing swollen hands or reduced grip strength, which could be the origins of “knuckle-cracking causes arthritis” myth. While it’s definitely a bad habit as there have been cases of people injuring themselves as they attempt to crack their knuckles, none of this is actually indicative of arthritic symptoms. Studies and comparisons have found that there is no correlation between cracking your knuckles and developing arthritis. It’s good to break this habit, but if you catch yourself doing it still, don’t let it worry you too much.



8. Eating ice cream makes your cold worse
It’s a common misconception that eating cold food when you have a cold will cause your body temperature to become "colder”. So when we catch ourselves sneezing, we avoid ice cream at all costs even if we’re craving it. Well, here’s some good news: go ahead and treat yourself to that ice cream because it does not make your cold worse. The digestive process of breaking food down actually generates heat, so despite your stomach temporarily becoming colder while snacking on an ice cream, you don’t have to worry about it making you feel more ill.



9. Milk strengthens your bones
Although most of you guys seen advertisements on milk being good for your bones and it’s true that your bones require calcium to be healthy, much like how calcium can be found in milk. The older we get, the more we feel a need to up our calcium intake to reduce risk of bone fractures and this is where milk comes in to help us. However, various studies conducted point to a lack of association between the risk of fractures and calcium intake. Other studies suggest getting calcium supply from leafy greens or beans. This doesn’t mean that milk is bad for you, it just means that it’s not as effective in combating bone fractures.



10. More sweat loss during a workout means more fat is burned
After a particularly intense workout that gets you drenched in sweat, you may have weighed yourself and discovered that you’re lighter than before you started your session. Some take this to mean that more fat has been burned but this isn’t actually the case. Sweat is released as a way of cooling the body when your body temperature increases, and most weight loss that happens immediately after exercising is usually only water weight loss – which you would gain once you rehydrate.

While some of these health “facts” do sound plausible, it’s always good to be aware of what is sound and what is not so that we don’t spend all our time worrying unnecessarily.