Skip to main content

5 Health Myths Everyone Follows Today: Corrected!

The "3-second rule"

Say you've dropped a sweet on the floor so your friend shouts “Quick! Pick it up! 3 second rule!” Because apparently if you drop food on the floor, you have three mighty seconds to rescue it and it will still be pure and untouched by bacteria as it was before you dropped it.
Food dropped onto any contaminated surface, in this case the floor, has the potential to cause food poisoning and many other problems nobody wants and it was found that at least 20,000 UK residents seek hospital treatment for contaminated food case, a year, which could have been easily avoided.
It has also been scientifically proven that the 3-second rule or 5-second rule doesn’t exist and it is safer to just throw away whatever food you dropped on the floor. Better to be safe than sorry.


Vitamin supplements replace their natural sources


Taking vitamin supplements can be a daily routine for some people and its encouraged for kids to take lots of supplements such as fish oils and vitamins to help them extend their performance in school and memory, but can you replace fruits and vegetable and other natural sources of vitamins and minerals?



The answer is no; because vitamin supplements are there to be taken along with food as nothing can replace the many phytochemicals, fibre and naturally occurring vitamins and mineral within different food which cannot be replaced by a mixture of supplements.



Drinking 8 glasses of water a day

It’s always been recommended that everyone should keep hydrated and drink at least 2 litres of water a day, or the equivalent of 8 glasses of water a day to keep the body running and wash out toxins from the liver.



While it is not necessary for most of your water intake to be water directly from the tap, it can be from juices, and other beverages but not including caffeine-filled beverages or alcoholic beverages. Which means that your water intake could be enough or more than enough and there is little to no scientific evidence that 8 glasses of water a day is the level that we should be drinking a day. Drinking less than the given amount will not harm the body but it’s still beneficial to stay hydrated; especially for people going on long-haul flights or live in countries with high temperatures. Coconut water is equally as hydrating to water and full of nutrients too.

Living gluten free is healthier

It has recently become popular that a large amount of  people are suddenly becoming “gluten free” even if they don’t have coeliac disease, trying to find ways to substitute  gluten-filled flour with gluten-free “healthier” alternatives.  However the body can perfectly digest gluten without problems so it’s not really necessary to exclude gluten (such as bread, pasta, cereals and cakes and biscuits) from the human diet. 


Eating fatty foods and carbohydrates will make you gain weight

Eating that cupcake will not make you automatically gain 10 kilos. Regulating what you eat and the amounts you eat along with the types of fats you consume can help control body weight and general health.
You can also fill up your diet with “good fats” the unsaturated fats which are found in: oily fish (such as salmon, sardines and mackerel), nuts, seeds, sunflower and olive oils and avocados. The good fats can help lower blood cholesterol and are generally good for the heart.

What is a health myth that you have heard that turned out to be not true? Comment below…


References

[1]glass of water image [2]thermometer in woolly hat image [3]Fish oil pills image

[4]fresh fruit and veg image [5]gluten free bread image [6]burger and chips image

[1]http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/homehygiene/Pages/does-the-five-second-rule-really-work.aspx

[2]http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/nutrition-vitamins-11/help-vitamin-supplement
[3]http://ajpregu.physiology.org/content/283/5/R993
[4, 5] http://lifehacker.com/10-health-myths-that-just-wont-die-debunked-by-scienc-1443659706
[5] http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/goodfood/pages/fat.aspx

Comments