When was the Last Time You Checked Your Facts? Health Myths Debunked. 1. Drinking eight glasses of water a day is good for your health: Where did this magic number come from? French food giant Danone, probably made this myth stick in households everywhere. What were the products that Danone sold? Evian and Volvic bottled waters. 2. Exercise only an hour after meals to avoid appendicitis: However, research has shown that obstruction of the appendix is unlikely to be the primary cause of appendicitis. Researchers propose various other causes such as viral infection, low fiber diets and allergic reactions. Unfortunately, the definite cause of appendicitis still eludes researchers and medical practitioners till today. 3. Vegan diets are always good for you: Contrary to popular belief, a pure vegan diet lacks many nutrients that we need for proper function. Cholesterol is a good example. Our bodies cannot synthesize sufficient cholesterol on their own and the only source of cholesterol is from animal products such as fat. Plants do not produce cholesterol but a similar molecule, phytosterol, which competes with cholesterol for absorption in the intestines. While bad in copious amounts, cholesterol is crucial to many biochemical pathways in the body such as bile production, vitamin D synthesis and testosterone production. Imagine the problems that arise from a lack of this important molecule! In fact, randomized controlled trials have shown a decrease in testosterone in participants on a low fat diet. 4. The five-second rule for food that you drop: Ever heard of the five-second rule, the one which says you can still eat the fallen morsel if you can pick it up within five seconds of dropping it? Researchers have subjected the five-second rule to rigorous scientific testing. Experiments conducted involved dropping food on various surfaces that were artificially contaminated with Salmonella typhimurium, a bacterium that causes gastroenteritis in humans. It was found that within five seconds, more than 99 percent of the present bacteria were transferred! 5. MSG is bad for your health: Invented by Kikunae Ikeda from the Tokyo Imperial University in 1908, monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a small molecule isolated from kombu, a type of seaweed, and used to flavor food such as meat, fish, vegetables, soups, sauces and marinades. In 1968, the ‘MSG Symptom Complex,’ a reaction towards MSG consumption characterized by general weakness and palpitations, was described by Robert Ho Man Kwok in the New England Journal of Medicine. However, despite subsequent studies debunking the threat MSG poses to health, its reputation has never improved. Surprisingly, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has classified MSG as a Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) ingredient since 1958. Other ingredients that are in this category include pepper and sugar. In fact, MSG has only one third the amount of sodium (Na+) as compared to table salt (NaCl). Nonetheless, everything in moderation, we say! asianscientist/health-medicine/five-health-myths-debunked-2013/
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 14:15:50 +0000
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