10 Health & Medical Myths Exposed!

”I think it’s fair to say that there is a lot of hype these days surrounding what you can and can’t eat, what exercises you should do, how many calories you cant have blah blah blah blah blah, and I’m sick of hearing it. I think men, women and children alike are being heavily pressured by the media to look like our ‘celebrity’ counterparts, they will tell you anything for you to buy there product, latest diet book or some electronic device that promises to make you look like Brad Pitt in a week, this in turn has led to a whole host of health myths that many of us believe to be true.

Today I am going to expose these myths for what they are, a great big pack of lies! Enjoy.

1. Pull out a grey hair and two more will grow

This is absolute tosh, of course over time you will sprout more grey hairs but that is down to you growing into an old fart not because you pluck a grey hair. A single hair grows from 1 follicle so if you plucked out 1 hair only 1 will grow back, it is impossible for 2 hairs to grow from 1 follicle no matter what people tell you.

2. Men think about sex every 7 seconds

If a man thought about sex this much he wouldn’t be able to function in everyday life, the fact is most of your brain time is taken up by processing instructions to the rest of your body, such as breathing, walking, talking and reminding you that falling off a ladder does actually hurt. Lets break this down mathematically, A man is awake on average 16 hours a day which means if this myth were true you would have to think about sex 57,000 times in 24 hours! It’s rubbish, total utter media hyped shite!

3. Men with big feet have a massive c**k

I have size 4 feet and a 12 inch penis, so this throws it straight out the window! OK I’m kidding but seriously it’s all rubbish. A medical trial happened recently that studied 3,100 men and found no relationship what so ever between his foot size and his quim stake.

4. You can cure a hangover with?

I have heard this so many times, people telling you that the best cure for a hangover is raw eggs, a cooked breakfast, aspirin, water, and even marmite. Unfortunately these are empty promises, there is no known cure for a hangover just the same as the common cold, there is no scientific evidence at all to support there is, so sorry lads you have to suffer it out!

5. Urinating on a jellyfish sting will ease the pain

If you are stung by a jellyfish it’s funny how your best mate is willing to piss all up your leg isn’t it? but you let him because you heard it cures the pain right? well it’s simply not true. The reason the pain may subside with urine is because of it being warm, you would get the same if not better effect using standard clean warm water.

6. Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis

I used to get in trouble with my Nan all the time for doing it, she would bark out ‘you will get arthritis like me if you carry on!’ of course I believed her but I’m 27 now and I don’t have any problems with my hands at all. When you crack your knuckles all that is happening is the fluid between your joints is forming a bubble and then pops, giving it that distinctive and satisfying ’snap’, if you kept doing it over many years you may lose a little grip strength but that is it, no bones are grinding against each other and you certainly won’t get arthritis from doing it, so crack away my fellow chums right in front of your Nans face!

7. You should drink 8 glasses of water a day

This is complete nonsense, you get more than enough water a day through what you drink normally, such as fruit juice, milk and even tea or coffee, your body will tell you if your starved of water by making you thirsty, I mean ask yourself this ‘do you feel any worse for not having 8 glasses of water a day?’ thought not. My advice is to try and cut out as much crap as possible like fizzy drinks and caffeine, and only drink when your thirsty.

8. Having sex regularly increases the chance of conception

If your trying for a baby you will probably hear this a lot, mostly from your wife ringing you up at work asking when your coming home, not that your complaining mind, I mean your enjoying it. Sorry to burst your bubble and everything but just because your going at it like 2 crazed rabbits doesn’t mean your going to conceive a 5lb blood bag any quicker. To conceive is all about timing, the best time is between the 11th and 17th day of a woman’s menstrual cycle because sperm can live for up to 72 hours inside the woman’s reproductive tract. My advice is if you want to carry on having lots of sex with the missus then don’t mention this myth.

9. Depression is a sign of weakness

I have heard this numerous times before and it shows just how ignorant people can be. Most of us will suffer from 1 form of depression or another in our lifetime, thankfully most of the time it passes and we get on with our lives, but for a few it can turn into a mental nightmare and will develop into a full blown disorder causing insomnia, weight loss, loss of appetite and the characteristic of loosing interest in life. People suffer greatly with depression and have to take medication to keep it under control so anyone that tells you this myth needs a good pasting in my view.

10. You shouldn’t drink while on antibiotics

How true is this depends on what antibiotic your on, if your on Metronidazole then steer well clear of any alcohol as even a small amount can cause projectile vomiting, but otherwise alcohol has very little effect when used in conjunction with antibiotics, in moderation of course chaps!

Picture from michele eve

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