Spring Break
Health Myths: Exposed!
Issue date: 4/7/08 Section: Money/Health
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Myth. Baking in the sun does nothing to improve your acne. When you spend time outside and your skin becomes darker, the redness caused by acne may be less noticeable for a little while. But when your tan fades, you will still see your zits. Spending time in the sun without the proper protection can cause dry, irritated or burned skin, not to mention it increases your risk of developing wrinkles and skin cancer later in life.
Hair and fingernails keep growing after death.
MythAccording to forensic anthropologist William Maples, "It's a powerful, disturbing image, but it is pure moonshine." What does happen, Maples found, is dehydration after death sometimes causes skin around the hair or nails to shrink, giving the appearance of growth.
Everyone should drink eight glasses of water a day.
Myth. "There is no medical evidence to suggest that you need that much water," said Dr. Rachel Vreeman, pediatrics research fellow at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
She and Dr. Aaron Carroll, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, trace the misperception to a 1945 recommendation by the Nutrition Council that Americans consume the equivalent of eight glasses of fluids daily. Lost over the years, they concluded, was the council's note that the 64 ounces called for included water contained in coffee, soda, fruits and vegetables.
Wearing antiperspirants and underwire bras can lead to breast cancer.
Myth. Several studies have found no link between these products and breast cancer risk, says Dr. Victoria Seewaldt, director of the breast cancer prevention program at Duke University. One theory was that using antiperspirants or wearing certain types of bras would impede lymphatic flow through the breast, causing cancer-causing toxins to build up, but that's just not true, says Dr. Virginia Kaklamani, assistant professor of oncology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago
-Source:McClatchy-Tribune, McClatchy Newspapers
Health Myths Exposed! is a bi-weekly feature highlighting common health and fitness misconceptions compiled by Money/Health editor Tara Bannow.
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