The FastDay Forum

This is the first time I have bought this magazine - I was intrigued by cover article

In Summary

1 Drink 8 glasses of water a day - no scientific basis for this at all. A lot of our liquid needs comes from the food we eat. We only generally need about a litre on top of that and it can be caffinated drinks if you like. (personal observation - I have never believed in this myth but it amazes me how many people do)

2 Sugar makes children hyperactive - many people belive this but research shows it to be an urban myth. They may well feel more energetic having taken in a source of energy but that does not equate to hyperactivity.

3 Our bodies can and should be detoxed. We are constantly exposed to toxins. Our body can deal with a lot of them but some get stored in fatty tissue. Because we can't eliminate exposure to toxins we cannot fully detox. Losing a lot of weight quickly can be dangerous as toxins get released from the fat and go into our bloodstream and some will end up in muscle tissue and our brains where they may do more harm

4 Antioxidant Pills help you live longer - the 2007 study of 70 trials and 230,000 people quoted concludes that supplements of beta carotene and Vitamins A and E seem to increase mortality.

5 Being a bit overweight means you will die soone. A review reported that a BMI of 25 to 29 sems to have a 6% reduction in death risk compared to people with a BMI of between 18.5 and 25, although those with a BMI of over 35 have a higher risk (personal observation - it's not all about death risk - I am sure if I had a BMI in the lower range I would have a better quality of life)

6 We should eat like cavemen - because our eating habits have progressed much faster than our eveolution. There is however evidence that we have evolved in the past 50,00 years- I didn't know that lactose tolerance in adults is relatively new in evolutionary terms - and cavemen were not neccessarily that healthy anyway.

This is a very brief summary of the article from the 24th August edition. I am no expert myself so don't take my word for it but if any of the above interests/concerns you please do a bit of research of your own to gain a deeper understanding of the issues

Some of them are myths but I think that what is wrong is to generalize something. It depends on how your body work and react. It's kind of like the horoscope thing, it can be true in general but it's only an idea, not something you should base your life on

On a personnal note, I need to detox from time to time, not to lose weight but because I feel better after. It's not a myth, it's true. I do feel better after my detox days and I do believe it's part of what helps me to nearly never be sick.

About the water, I don't count what I drink, 1,5l a day but it's not because somebody told me it's good for me, just because I like it and, if it's good for me well.... it's even better !

Truths come and go. A few years back, one of them was that eggs and avocado are bad, now they are good again. Another one is that, as an adult, you shouldn't drink milk or eat cheese, not it's not so true. I don't care, really, what people say, even not my GP, I mostly listen to my body and my gut.

Thanks for this David. Sounds sense to me.

There's the "always wear a hat as most body heat is lost this way". From what I can recall this came about after an experiment in the 1950's when volunteers(?) were fully dressed for arctic conditions but didn't wear hats. The only part of the body showing escaping heat was guess where: their heads!

is it a myth about hats? I always feel cold if I don't wear a hat here in winter, and would forgo an extra jumper or scarf rather than my hat - stops my ears aching too!

The myth about hats is that you lose most of your body heat through your head and wearing a hat stops it. If you only wore a hat on a cold day then you would lose your body heat from everywhere, and you would probably get some funny looks - if not arrested, but your head (and possibly cheeks ) would be warm.

A hat does keep your head, and ears, warm on cold days, body heat is lost from wherever is uncovered.

I think you need to have a healthy skepticism about blanket statements. For example, on the 8 glasses of water, if you live in the desert southwest (US) like I do, you better be taking in lots of liquid, water included, or you will be dehydrated, especially in the 100F ++ that we have her in the summer.
As to the sugar and hyperactivity thing with kids, I don't know about clinical hyperactivity, but if you've ever been around a bunch of kids who have overloaded on sweets, you won't doubt the effect of sugar on short term behavior. And, as to longer term effects, more and more evidence is coming in about the deleterious effects of sugar (and other refined carbs) on all of us.
As for the BMI thing, they usually don't specify whether they are talking about HEALTHY individuals with low BMI or are including those who have low BMI because they are ill (cancer, congestive heart disease, very old, etc.). Obviously these two groups may have different outcomes. The danger comes when we take any of these types of statements as gospel. Critical thinking, in such short supply these days, is required.

Agreed bordergirl

It's just that I think that many of the myths are taken as gospel by quite a few people.

The insurance companies here seem to take the BMI thing very seriously. My husband's employer now has a physical where they do bloodwork, weigh and measure height and waist before deciding the cost you will pay for premiums. If your waist is smaller, you pay less. This is becoming the popular thing to do here in the States.

These, IMO, aren't myths but general "rules".
I mean, we don't need to drink 8 glasses of water but it is a good amount for someone who doesn't know how much to drink. Or, sugar doesn't make kids (or adults) hyperactive but sugar IS an energy source and if a child eats more of it then it might become hyperactive.

Sadly, nowadays, there are people who seem to need rules to even breathe. I have opened kitchen appliances and in the instructions I read:
1. Open box.
2. Plug in.
I mean, seriously??? Would I expect it to work IN the box WITHOUT power?

So, IMO, we aren't talking about myths but general rules and conclusions. IMO, except for 6, doing what those "myths" say won't harm anybody. 6 won't harm you either, but you might die of boredom if you eat like a caveman.

[carieoates]

Thanks @David Knight Great read. Haven't read a new scientist for about a year. Nive that there's something a bit light hearted in there. Can be pretty damn heavy reading.

the online article here
http://www.newscientist.com/special/six-health-myths

I knew the water one, and it's a personal irritation when people quote that as fact to me. But people dont tend to believe me when I say it's utter rubbish because it is so ingrained in the public psychy.

Another myth I gladly debunked the other day was that you can destroy your taste buds through eating spicy food. I have found recently that my spice tolerance had shot up, and someone said I had damaged my taste buds. Well I went and looked it up, not only is it very difficult to damage taste buds with spicy food, even if you do they grow back within 2 weeks just like when you drink something a bit hot!

Your taste buds are firmly related to your nose. In order for a person to destroy their taste, they would have to destroy their smell first. And it is not easy to do that, LOL!