Truth or Fiction? Medical Myths -What to Believe,
and What to Not.
You don’t want to be an April fool — or any kind
of fool — when it comes to your health. Yes, those old
wives knew a thing or two, but they never went to medical
school or conducted a scientific study. Are you sure you know
the answers to the following?
1: Chewing gum takes seven years to pass through your digestive
system.
ANSWER: False. The gum component itself is pretty indigestible,
but will “pass” in a mass and will not stick your
insides together, either. This one probably got going when
exasperated parents tired of buying more gum after half an
hour because their kids had chomped, then swallowed, their
allotment.
I would be concerned of the choking hazard for children (or
adults) who chew gum while playing sport or during playground
activities.
2: Cutting salt intake can help your high blood pressure.
ANSWER: True. An American study in 1998 demonstrated that
those who suffered with high blood pressure who had a high
salt intake benefited from even a small decrease in salt in
the diet. Tossing the salt shaker is not the whole answer.
That’s because most of the salt is “hidden”,
or found in large amounts in processed foods — such
as deli meats and canned foods. The best advice is to change
your taste for salt. Don’t automatically salt before
tasting. Use herbal seasonings and condiments to flavor your
foods. Pretty soon, things will begin to taste too salty and
you’ll be on the right track.
3: Cracking your knuckles will cause arthritis in later life.
ANSWER: False. Depending on your point of view, knuckle-popping
sounds disgusting or cool. There is no evidence that cracking
your knuckles inflames the joints and leads to arthritis.
The cracking causes the bones to pull apart, forming a gas
bubble and breaking the adhesive seal in the joint. Constant
cracking can weaken the fingers.
4: Staring at an eclipse can blind you.
ANSWER: True. Never view the sun directly with the naked eye
or with any unfiltered optical device, such as binoculars
or a telescope! As sunlight enters the eye, the high intensity
rays can damage the light-sensitive nerve endings in the back
of the eye — known as the retina — causing vision
loss. Total and partial eclipses can lead to serious damage
if precautions are not taken to prevent blindness. This is
why there are only a few safe ways to view an eclipse, such
as with a referred image. Regular sunglasses, exposed film,
and even a welder’s helmet (black glass lens) are not
safe.
5: Staying out in the cold and wind will give you a cold.
ANSWER: False. If this were true, we would never see a cold
or flu in the tropics! Colds are caused by viruses, with enough
variations to give you a choice of 200 versions of a cold
(which is why you get them over and over again). Because viruses
get into healthy cells, it’s difficult to kill them
without knocking off the good cells. This is the job of your
immune system, which usually clears out cold viruses in a
week or two. You can get the virus through inhaling infected
air droplets sneezed or coughed by an infected person, or
by touching something that an infected person has touched
and then transferring the germs to your mouth or nose. You
don’t get it from cold air, slush, wind, or other wintry
conditions. Cold viruses are more active in the winter, and
that’s why people get more colds in the winter. So what’s
the best way to ward off this miserable virus? Wash your hands
often.
6: You can catch a sexually transmitted disease (STD) from
a toilet seat.
ANSWER: False. Sorry guys / girls, you just won’t get
away with this one. Neither is it true that you can fall pregnant
in semen contaminated bath water / ocean etc. Hard surfaces
such as toilet seats are not conducive to STDs or gene coded
tadpoles. You might be able to fool your boyfriend / girlfriend,
but don’t bring these ludicrous theories to the doctors
office. Incidentally, there is rumor that the toilet seat
myth got started by men who wanted their wives to think a
public restroom, not their adulterous ways, had given them
an STD.
7: Drinking warm milk puts you to sleep.
ANSWER: True. Milk contains an amino acid called tryptophan
which is necessary for the brain to cross over into “sleep
mode”. Some foods however, such as cheddar, avocados,
certain beers, bologna or salami, and of course coffee can
keep you awake. Other sleep tips include never oversleeping.
Get up about the same time everyday even if you had trouble
sleeping. And try to get to bed at around the same time every
evening.
8: Chocolate and peanuts cause acne.
ANSWER: False. Medical studies have shown the link between
chocolate / peanut intake and acne outbreaks has been broken.
Another study, however, showed that stress can cause outbreaks.
Acne forms when the oil glands make too much sebum, a waxy
substance that along with dead skin cells can clog pores.
Bacteria grow and irritate the blocked pore given the red
and swollen look to them. Too much harsh washing can further
inflame the area. Doctors have many tools to attack and control
acne these days. Some birth control pills even promise to
improve acne (for women only!).
“Kim Patra is a qualified Registered Nurse and Midwife
that has been living and working in Bali for almost twenty
years. She now runs her own private practice and medical referral
service from her Kuta office. Kim is happy to discuss any
health concerns with you and she may be contacted via e-mail
at info@chcbali.com”.
