Chocolate doesn’t trigger pimples – however carrots do make it easier to see at the hours of darkness: the very best and worst well being myths and knowledge | Life and elegance

Rooster soup helps treatment colds and flu

TRUE “Whenever you’ve bought a chilly, the very best factor you possibly can eat is a hearty, nutritious soup,” says Rhiannon Lambert, a nutritionist and the creator of Re-Nourish: A Easy Option to Eat Properly. “Rooster incorporates vitamin B12, plus different antioxidants and nutritional vitamins which assist the immune system and support digestion. It’s additionally wealthy in protein, which is nice for mobile restore. Including extra veg additionally will increase the nutritional vitamins and minerals which are wanted to assist restoration.”

Chocolate causes pimples

FALSE “The pores and skin is your largest organ and has its personal microbiome – its personal micro organism – so the higher you eat, the higher your pores and skin,” says Lambert. “Small quantities of chocolate gained’t massively influence pores and skin well being however chocolate with much less sugar and dairy is healthier. Extra essential for pores and skin well being is hydration – it’s best to drink a minimal of 1.5-2 litres (6-8 glasses) of water a day. Espresso is a diuretic, however the quantity of fluid you soak up outweighs what you lose in urine. Tea can be nice, however keep away from consuming it with a meal, as a result of tannins in tea block iron absorption.” (Iron deficiency can result in signs reminiscent of itchy pores and skin.)

An apple a day retains the physician away

FALSE “It’s unfaithful however it could maintain you away from the pharmacy,” says Dr Hazel Wallace, nutritionist and creator of The Feminine Issue. “One examine checked out healthcare practices of every day apple eaters and located they used fewer prescription medicines. This had extra to do with them being more healthy total – apple eaters additionally had greater instructional ranges and have been much less more likely to smoke – than particularly with consuming apples. Nevertheless, since apples are nutritious, one a day just isn’t a nasty concept.”

Going out with moist hair offers you a chilly

FALSE “If moist hair makes you shivery, it’s an inflammatory response, so that you most likely have already got a viral an infection brewing,” says Punam Krishan, a GP and creator of How To Be a Physician and Different Life-Saving Jobs. “However in the event you’re in any other case wholesome, you gained’t catch a chilly. Lack of sleep and stress have an effect on your immune system, leaving you vulnerable, however you solely catch colds from different folks, notably in chilly climate. Viruses and micro organism unfold simply once we’re huddled indoors with no air flow.”

Carrots make it easier to to see at the hours of darkness

TRUE “Carrots include vitamin A, which is essential for wholesome imaginative and prescient as a result of it helps type a pigment within the retina known as rhodopsin,” says Dr Ayan Panja, accomplice in an NHS surgical procedure and creator of The Well being Repair: Remodel Your Well being in 8 Weeks. “That is vital for low-light imaginative and prescient. Vitamin A deficiency can result in difficulties seeing in low mild, so getting sufficient – from meals reminiscent of carrots, leafy greens and candy potatoes – is essential for evening imaginative and prescient.”

Spicy curry induces labour

FALSE “The idea is that spice stimulates the intestine to work tougher, and may stimulate the uterus on the similar time,” says Krishan. “If you find yourself about to enter labour the intestine naturally will get irritated so most ladies will expertise diarrhoea as an indication that the infant is coming. Nevertheless, no meals will convey on labour – it was most likely imminent anyway.”

Feed a chilly, starve a fever

TRUE “It’s extra correct to say ‘feed a virus, starve micro organism’,” says Lambert. “Diet is essential for restoration, therefore feeding a chilly, ideally with carbohydrates, to gasoline immune responses towards the virus. Conversely, bacterial infections profit from fasting – the physique’s response to micro organism will be excessive, so lowering carbs stops the immune system going into overdrive. Fluids are important with each kinds of sickness, nonetheless, and it’s higher to eat little and sometimes if doable.”

Turmeric helps forestall coronary heart illness

TRUE “Turmeric has been proven to have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, each of which assist battle coronary heart illness by lowering oxidative stress – a dangerous organic course of akin to rust on iron,” says Panja. “To soak up the lively ingredient in turmeric – curcumin – you want fats reminiscent of olive oil, and a compound known as piperine, present in black pepper, although it’s unclear how a lot you would want to really feel the profit. Krishan provides: “Excessive doses of turmeric can intervene with some blood thinning treatment, so seek the advice of your GP first.”

Cracking your knuckles gives you arthritis

FALSE “That snapping sound of knuckle-cracking is brought on by the fast launch of nitrogen gasoline from the fluid that lubricates our joints,” says Panja. “This isn’t really dangerous to joints and there’s no proof to recommend it might probably trigger arthritis. Nevertheless, some research present that extreme knuckle cracking could also be linked to swelling of the arms, decreased grip energy and harm to tender tissue.”

It takes as much as seven years to digest swallowed chewing gum

FALSE “Chewing gum is product of sweeteners, preservatives and softeners, which your digestive system largely breaks down,” says Lambert. “It additionally incorporates synthetic polymers like waxes, which go out in your poo in lower than seven days. The larger issues from chewing gum are bloating and acid reflux disease, brought on by the abdomen getting ready to obtain meals, and producing saliva and pointless acid.”

Garlic underneath your pillow aids sleep

FALSE “Garlic incorporates minerals together with vitamin B6 and selenium (plus a number of sulphur compounds, which can keep at bay bugs) but it surely gained’t have any influence on sleep,” says Panja. Consuming garlic can, nonetheless, assist decrease ldl cholesterol and blood stress and increase immunity. A greater means to enhance sleep is to keep away from giant meals earlier than mattress, maintain the bed room darkish and go to mattress and get up on the similar time every day.”

Peeing after intercourse can forestall UTIs

TRUE “Urinating after intercourse might help forestall a UTI by lowering the micro organism within the genital space,” says Panja. “Girls are at greater threat as a result of micro organism has a shorter distance to journey from the vagina to the bladder, and intercourse can set off cystitis. The penile urethra is longer but it surely’s nonetheless a good suggestion to ‘void to keep away from’ a UTI.”

Cinnamon helps stability hormones

FALSE “Some small trials confirmed {that a} pure chemical in cinnamon known as cinnamaldehyde elevated progesterone and decreased testosterone in girls, serving to to stability hormones,” says Lambert. “However the high quality and quantity of cinnamon you devour is unlikely to be sufficient. Hormones are a part of your endocrine system and consuming a balanced weight loss program helps assist that, however you possibly can’t management hormones with meals. You possibly can, nonetheless, handle stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline with diaphragmatic respiratory to modify your physique from a sympathetic [fight or flight] to parasympathetic [relaxed] state.”

Urine relieves jellyfish stings

FALSE “Ammonia, being alkaline, is believed to neutralise the acid from bee stings, which is the place this delusion most likely arose,” says Panja. “Nevertheless it might really make a jellyfish sting worse by inflicting the venom to launch extra toxins.” Water or urine can change the composition of the answer of any remaining stinging cells within the pores and skin, so can encourage extra venom launch. “Additionally,” he provides, “introducing micro organism to the pores and skin dangers an infection. It’s higher to take away any tentacles with tweezers or scrape them off with a bank card then ask a health care provider for oral ache aid and an anti-inflammatory cream.”

Oysters are aphrodisiacs

FALSE “Oysters are wealthy in zinc, which is essential for reproductive well being, however there aren’t any research to recommend that consuming oysters will increase libido,” says Panja. “Zinc can enhance dopamine, the mind’s pleasure chemical, but it surely’s a stretch to say a libido rise would happen immediately.” Krishan provides: “Treating low libido or erectile dysfunction is extra about attending to the foundation trigger, which for a lot of is continual insomnia, psychological well being points, reminiscent of nervousness or despair, or perimenopause and menopause.”

You lose about half of your physique warmth by your head

FALSE “The quantity of warmth you lose out of your head can be proportionate to its measurement compared with the remainder of your physique,” says Krishan. “You often lose about 10-15%, largely as a result of while you’re exterior within the chilly, most of you can be lined by garments apart from maybe your head and face. When you went out in shorts, you’d lose an identical quantity of warmth out of your legs.”

Cheese offers you dangerous goals

FALSE “There’s no strong proof that cheese causes nightmares,” says Wallace. “In a single 2015 examine, 17% of individuals stated they felt their goals have been influenced by what they ate, with dairy merchandise most often blamed for disturbing goals. Nevertheless, this contradicts extra substantial proof that different dairy merchandise, reminiscent of heat milk, earlier than mattress might help support sleep, due to the amino acid tryptophan, which is used to make serotonin – ‘the comfortable hormone’ – and melatonin, a hormone that initiates sleep. Nevertheless, for tryptophan to work, it must go by the mind’s safety system – the blood-brain barrier – to be transformed into serotonin. Consuming carbohydrates alongside meals excessive in tryptophan could assist this course of, which is why malted milk or milk with honey are really helpful for sleep.”

Sitting too near a display screen damages eyesight

FALSE “The world is turning into extra myopic, and gazing our screens for too lengthy is one principle for this,” says Panja. “Nevertheless, sitting too shut is extra more likely to trigger eye pressure than everlasting harm. Taking common display screen breaks lowering blue mild and glare and guaranteeing its brightness isn’t lighter or darker than your environment might help.”

Breakfast is an important meal of the day

TRUE and FALSE “Skipping breakfast just isn’t dangerous, offered you possibly can match important vitamins and every day energy into different meals,” says Wallace. “Those that devour most of their energy earlier within the day are inclined to eat much less, be a more healthy weight and have a decrease threat of sort 2 diabetes and coronary heart illness. Nevertheless, in the event you habitually skip breakfast and slot in wholesome meals elsewhere, persist with what works for you.”

Probiotics assist your intestine well being

FALSE “Probiotics are reside useful micro organism and yeast that may be present in meals reminiscent of yoghurt [with live active cultures], kefir, kombucha, kimchi and natto [fermented bean], and you’ll find them in dietary supplements,” says Wallace. “There may be some proof that probiotic dietary supplements could also be useful in some circumstances, reminiscent of easing signs of irritable bowel syndrome however there’s little proof to assist the numerous different well being claims made about them – and presently no convincing proof to recommend that taking a probiotic will profit wholesome individuals who don’t have intestine points. There are additionally many various probiotic strains that may have completely different results on the physique, so it’s case-by-case. Higher to assist your intestine with meals, aiming for 30 completely different plant-based meals, together with nuts, seeds, wholegrains, pulses, herbs and spices, per week. The extra various your weight loss program, the more healthy your intestine microbiota, which is able to imply higher immunity and bettter psychological, cardiovascular and digestive well being.”