More Common Health Misconceptions

I just thought this was cute.

As I promised before, here are some more medical misconceptions. You've probably heard them before because they do make sense, but things aren't always as simple as they seem.

Here we go:

You need to drink 8-10 glasses of water a day to avoid dehydration. No one is going to tell you not to drink water if that is what you want to do. After all, it is important to stay hydrated. However, this exact amount is rather arbitrary. It came from a 1945 government-run that stated that people should take in 64 oz (8 8-oz glasses) of fluid a day. However, the next sentence of that article stated that we already get a good portion of that from our food. That makes sense if you consider that koala bears don't need to drink water at all because they get all they need from their eucalyptus leaves. I know we're not koala bears (koala bears are much cuter than some people I've seen), but the point is that there is water in our food as well. It's not just in that liquid form. Also, note the word 'fluid'...meaning drinks like juices and teas also 'count'. While you might have to adjust your intake depending on things like activity and the weather, your body is pretty good at telling you when it needs water. Listen to it.

Your genes determine your fate. In other words, if it runs in your family, you're going to get it. While many conditions (breast cancer, heart disease, mental disorders) do have a strong genetic component, different genes behave in different ways. For instance, I asked my doctor what kind of chance I had of passing on my bipolar disorder. I was concerned because it runs in both my and my husband's families pretty strongly. He told me that, while there is a chance, it's not the same as hair color or eye color; it's not a 'dominant' or 'recessive' trait. The same goes for other things-high blood pressure, certain forms of arthritis, etc. That gives me hope.

Also, how you take care of yourself plays a huge role. One way to look at it is that the genes you inherited from your parents only make up part of the pie chart that is your health-the rest is determined by your personal habits. Just because no one in your family had cancer, high blood pressure or cholesterol problems doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with 'impunity'-things like smoking, excessive drinking and a sedentary lifestyle aren't good for anyone.

You lose most of your body heat through your head. This probably seems true because the head is often the only part of our bodies that isn't covered, but there isn't anything special about the head that makes it lose heat faster than any other part of the body. Any exposed area can give off heat.

Humans only use 10 percent of their brains. Imaging scans such as MRIs have long showed that no part of the brain is completely inactive. Some parts might not be used at all times and we may not be aware of them, but there isn't any part of the brain that is truly not used. This was probably made up by someone in the pharmaceutical or 'snake-oil' industry as a way to hawk their products.

As you can see, there are quite a few medical 'facts' that are really no more than old wives' tales or sneaky marketing tactics. I hope you found this as fun to read as it was to write. Have a good day!