Top Seven Health Myths

tferran - First of all, it's "nutritionist" not "nutritionalist". Second, like Atlanta Doctor pointed out, these are myths that are held even by doctors, but are just that: myths, which are fictitious. Third, what's this about a child in Orlando finding a piece of candy with a razor blade in it? Sounds like another urban legend (those are fictitious as well) and unless you can produce a news account of it from a reliable source, I don't believe it. Fourth, looks to me like the writer did their research since they were using sources that have been published in the British Medical Journal as well as studies from prestigious medical institutions (like the Mayo Clinic). And, finally, do you really think this writer should be fired? Good grief.

I, for one, welcome this article. One of my pet peeves is the rampant belief in what we call "old wives' tales" or urban legends.

I think this writer is very amusing. We are trained to think all of these ideas are fact. However, through my studies I have also come across very similar arguments. It is scientifically proven that there is no need for 8 glasses of water a day.; but if you would like to detox your body the best way to do that is to drink water. The author is not a idiot, just ready to hear a lot of heat from people who are trained one way of thinking. kudos to the author...

and next week it will be the oposite....when will it stop...

Having Halloween candy x-rayed began when sharp, harmful objects were found in the candy, and some children were injured. The "poisoning" in the article is bogus, unless one counts sharp objects as poisonous. Any physician should know that no body parts grow in the body after death. Bacteria in the colon reproduce in unembalmed bodies to initiate all soft tissuedestruction --the dust to dust process.

Re: brain usage. I think the author begs the question. A gallon jug with an ounce of liquid in it is being used, just not to its full capacity. Stroke studies have shown that patients can learn to use otherwise unused portion of the brain to relearn tasks.

I agree with tferran about the water myth. Being a labor and delivery nurse I see the benefits of drinking water everyday. I often see patients that complain of contractions while they are preterm and even term. When asked how much water they have had the answer is usually less than 2-3 glasses per day. Then, miracle of miracles, when we start an IV and hydrate them, the contractions go away. As to the other myths, I will freely admit am not qualified to comment.

I liked the article, and as for the xray comment, obviously they set it up to find objects in the candy. tferran, bless your heart you sound extremely stressed. The author should be fired? Go do something to relax, try meditating, do something nice for someone today, lay off the caffeine.

As a physician I must agree with Atlanta Doctor. The point of the article was commonly held misconceptions, not whether or not eating things off the sidewalk is a bad idea. tferran if you don't like it then don't read it. And the eight glass of water thing is a crock of sh*t, I tell my patients to drink plenty of fluids for various reasons but I don't specify eight glasses (is "a glass" a standard or metric measure of volume?).

Tferran: Granted, the better way to hydrate is to drink water, but it is not absolutely necessary to drink water to BE hydrated. As for the Halloween candy, the author is generally correct, but there will always be individual instances that contradict a general statement. Carroll, as Atlanta Doctor says, is correct about the other widely-held misconceptions. It seems as if Tferran is just being negative for the heck of it. Understand the purpose of an article and then understand its methods. Carroll isn't stupid and shouldn't be fired! Geez. I hope Tferran isn't a boss. How unbelievably judgmental can you get?

tferran, it is a "Fluff" piece. If this really gets you that uppset - enough to throw insults, then please stay away from political issues.
Get a grip.

tferran - it is a fluff piece. Get a grip.

tferran - it is a fluff piece. Get a grip.

Did the writer of this article ever study the local news or newspapers? Did they ever seek advice from a nutritionalist? Obviously not. As to the poisoned candy, how can an x-ray machine detect poison in candy anyway? The whole reasoning behind having the candy x-rayed is to detect sharp objects and metal inside the candy. Just this halloween, a chlld in Orlando found a piece of candy lying on the sidewalk on halloween night with a razor blade inside of it. This is not a myth people!!! This writer should be fired. Further, regarding water intake, any nutritionalist or doctor will tell you to hydrate your body with fluid by drinking eight glasses of water per day. They did not say that you should include 2 cans of soda along with that! Please Newsweek, hire some intelligent people who actually research the subject before writing!

Did the writer of this article ever study the local news or newspapers? Did they ever seek advice from a nutritionalist? Obviously not. As to the poisoned candy, how can an x-ray machine detect poison in candy anyway? The whole reasoning behind having the candy x-rayed is to detect sharp objects and metal inside the candy. Just this halloween, a chlld in Orlando found a piece of candy lying on the sidewalk on halloween night with a razor blade inside of it. This is not a myth people!!! This writer should be fired. Further, regarding water intake, any nutritionalist or doctor will tell you to hydrate your body with fluid by drinking eight glasses of water per day. They did not say that you should include 2 cans of soda along with that! Please Newsweek, hire some intelligent people who actually research the subject before they write an article!

Incidentally, on three occasions in the past six months, my blackberry sitting on the bathroom counter has received a call and turned on my cordless razor sitting next to it. Weird - and not too much of a stretch to think that it could adversely affect electronic equipment.

And by the way, I find no problem whatsoever in questioning ANYONE's knowledge. It's our responsibility as free-thinking humans.

I think we need to keep in mind that a myth can be based on some remote fact so yes an element of truth could be behind them all. The point is probably that in general, these are not as true as people would believe e.g., your child does not need to have their Halloween candy x-rayed, just use common sense. As for the cell phone thing in hospitals, seems to me 1.2% is enough in an ICU environment to have people turn them off. People need to get over their cell phone and crackberry habits, it's bad enough they are causing auto accidents, disturbing movies and talking loudly in public places...just rude.

I think the point of the 1.2% is that is statistically insignificant. You can never completely remove other factors besides what you are testing for so the 1.2% could have been testing error, or even solar radiation flux. I think in case of an error they would - um simply retest. Add that to the fact newer cell phones are less powerful and emit less EMF radiation, thus the 2007 study had nothing to report.

In reading the comments I was most taken with "I read", "I heard", "I know" statements. If you didn't personally experience, it is myth by default. A news media article does not count as scientific evidence. Nor does someone relating a ???possible??? recount - not every agency of authority exist to tell lies and deceive. Even worse, were those that defied the report or tried to discredit it with personal statements- how laughable!

I would personally rather be blissfully unaware of an infinitesimal possible event then paranoid terrified about it actually happening but ???to each their own!???