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Momma always said... yeah, but was she right? |
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Written by Knight Ridder
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Wednesday, 24 May 2006 |
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When it comes to health advice, moms aren’t afraid to speak up. In fact, mothers’ sayings have been deeply ingrained and passed down through the generations.
Some of that advice has scientific truth. But other things she said ... well, they’re old wives’ tales at best.
Here, Dr. Kathleen Gallagher, associate clinical professor in the department of family medicine at the University of California-Irvine, and Dr. Michael Cater, community pediatrician at Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Calif., review some pearls of health wisdom from mom:
Feed a cold, starve a fever.
False.
“This comes from the mistaken belief that food acts as a kindling for your temperature,” Cater said, adding that the body needs fluids when fighting an infection.
You can’t go in the water for an hour, you just had lunch!
False.
“When you have a lot of food in your stomach, the body will divert blood flow to the digestive tract to help digest the food,” Gallagher said. But it’s not enough to cause cramps in most people.
Eat your fish. It’ll make you smarter!
True, sort of.
“There is some credence to this,” Cater said.
“Some types of fish are a high source of omega-three fatty acids, which are important for the development of the brain. In fact, there are infant formulas being marketed that make a big deal out of having omega-three fatty acids. Fish contains vitamin B, which is good for cognitive ability and memory.”
Gallagher agrees, though she cautions that young children, women of childbearing age and pregnant women should avoid fish known for having high mercury content.
If you go outside with wet hair, you’ll catch a cold.
False.
“The only way to catch a cold is from someone else who has the virus,” Gallagher said. “A cold is a viral infection.”
Stop cracking your knuckles. You’ll get arthritis.
False.
Arthritis is an umbrella of conditions affecting the joints and is marked by pain, stiffness and inflammation. Cracking the knuckles is not a cause, Cater said.
"Reading in dim light will hurt your eyes. Turn on another light.”
Partly true.
It’s a myth, like the one about sitting too close to the TV damaging eyesight. But strain it? Yes, Gallagher says, you should make sure you read with adequate light because dim light can cause “eye strain and eye fatigue.
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
Has a grain of truth.
Apples alone won’t improve health, but eating fresh veggies and fruits, including apples, is important for good nutrition, Cater said. “They’re good sources of antioxidants, vitamins and fiber, which can help keep us healthy and prevent cardiovascular disease, and even some cancers,” Gallagher said.
"You’ll go deaf listening to that crazy music.”
True.
“Ears can sustain acoustic damage as a result of excessive noise,” Cater said. This is why people who work with loud machines wear ear protection, he added. “It can cause temporary and permanent hearing loss, or cause tinnitus — ringing in the ears.
“If a parent can hear the music being played in iPods while the child is wearing headphones, then the music is too loud.”
"Drink your milk. It’ll help you sleep.”
True.
“Apparently, milk does contain tryptophan, an amino acid that induce sleep,” Gallagher said.
"Don’t swallow your gum. It’ll stay in you forever.”
False.
“Gum is relatively undigestible,” Cater said. “It goes where everything that doesn’t get hung up in the stomach goes. It doesn’t stick to the sides of the digestive tract.”
What! You can’t drink coffee yet. It’ll stunt your growth!
False.
“But it’s not good for children to have the caffeine in coffee. Caffeine is a stimulant and it dehydrates you,” Gallagher said.
Eat carrots. They’ll improve your eyesight.
Has several grains of truth though not, strictly, 100 percent accurate.
“Vitamin A deficiency is a cause of blindness,” Cater said. “Carrots have a lot of vitamin A. They also contain lutein, which can be shown to retard the progress of macular degeneration (an eye condition in which lines can appear wavy or there are blank spots in the field of vision).”
However, Cater added: “eating carrots won’t increase your vision.”
The carrot-eye link is rooted in World War II.
The British, Cater said, spread rumors about their troops eating carrots to improve vision, to divert the Germans’ attention from the Allied forces’ new radar capability. | Only registered users can write comments.
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