socialmedian: Hangover cures and other popular myths

User-submitted headlines for this story

Clip

Source: guardian.co.uk Science

Dec 18, 2008

Summary

Now and again, it's good to take a look at conventional wisdom through the eyes of a scientist. What proof is there to support the things we believe in, but rarely question?

To start the ball rolling, two doctors from Indiana University have trawled through scientific papers in search of support for six commonly-held beliefs. Among those they tackle are: do hangover cures work; does sugar make kids hyperactive; do we lose most of our heat through our heads; and does eating at night make you fat?

All turn out to be modern myths, without a shred of evidence to support them. Writing in the British Medical Journal, the doctors involved, Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll, point out that GPs are far from immune to believing things about our bodies that are simply untrue.

It's not the first time Vreeman and Carroll have questioned common beliefs. Last year, they discredited a clutch of other oft-repeated statements, including that our hair and fingernails continue to grow after death; that shaved hair grows back faster; that reading in dim light ruins your eyes; and th

...Read the full article

Comments (0)

Add Your Comment