8 Old Wives Tales: Which Should You Believe?

[Mr. Bloom]

Yahoo! Headline this morning...with editorial comment

Just like your mom didn't need a thermometer to know if you had a fever, we bet your grandmother or other homegrown expert didn’t let the lack of a medical degree stop her from issuing health directives. But which of them are worth following?

Grandma's wisdom: Ginger is good for upset stomachs.
Science says: Yes. Good evidence shows ginger reduces nausea.
Mr. B: What about Ginger Ale?

Grandma's wisdom: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Science says: Granny's overstating this fruit's potency. Still, the peel is a good source of quercetin, an important antioxidant that, studies suggest, helps lower blood pressure, fight asthma and allergies, and prevent heart attacks.
Mr. B:But the (ahem) regularity is good for something, isn't it?

Grandma's wisdom: Honey speeds healing.
Science says: Yes. Mild to moderate burns (but not other types of wounds) heal faster if you spread honey on them -- maybe because it creates a moist, antibacterial environment that promotes tissue growth.
Mr. B:Ooooh! STICKY!

Grandma's wisdom: Put butter on a burn.
Science says: No. There's no evidence of a benefit from butter.
Mr. B:Even the Scout Handbook published this 35 yrs ago.

Grandma's wisdom: Sleeping in air-conditioning can give you a chill.
Science says: She may be onto something. Air conditioners dry out the protective layer of mucus along nasal passages, which likely allows viruses to infect you more easily. Viruses reproduce faster inside a cold nose too.
Mr. B:Sleeping with the windows open brings on Hayfever

Grandma's wisdom: If you go out with wet hair, you'll catch a cold.
Science says: Maybe. Some research indicates (but doesn't prove) that a wet head helps cold viruses take hold, by tightening blood vessels in the nose and making it harder for white blood cells to reach the viruses and fight them off.
Mr. B:But, it certainly does cause chap scalp and dandruff!

Grandma's wisdom: Swimming after eating can lead to cramps and drowning.
Science says: Not exactly, but not completely wrong either. After you eat, blood gets shunted to your digestive tract and away from exercising muscles. That can lead to a buildup of lactic acid in your muscles, so swimming a few laps too soon after lunch could cause a sudden (though not fatal) cramp.
Mr. B:Hmmm, why chance it?

Grandma's wisdom: Chocolate gives you pimples.
Science says: Not quite. Chocolate bars might trigger an acne flare-up, but if so, the culprit is probably the sugar, milk, and gooey fillings, not the cocoa.
Mr. B:I have no response to this

[bmccasland]

My 2 cents -
Ginger Ale - works on my upset stomach, so does ginger tea.

Honey - has antibiotic properties - have you ever seen mold grow on it? To deal with the stickies, that's what bandages are for. I'm sure you learned how to bandage things in Boy Scouts

Butter on a burn - this is bad. It holds in the heat of the burn. You want to cool the burn with cold packs, cool water - just not direct ice. OK an ice cube on a small burn probably won't hurt you, but an ice bath on a large burn will put you in shock.

A/C - I suppose we need to define "cool room". I've been in some places that are kept so cold you could hang meat. Or the window units that were pretty much the only option in Grandma's day cranked out really cold air - not so great if it was your room, but on the outer edge, not good enough. Central air is better than window units, but the house doesn't need to be kept so cold as a meat locker either.

Chocolate - "I have no response " Chicken
There's always Dark Chocolate

[OakLeaf]

I'd always heard that the apple thing had to do with gum health. They know so much nowadays about how gum disease contributes to inflammation in the whole body, makes you susceptible to heart disease and systemic infections. Biting into an apple and chewing on it stimulates the gums like few other foods.

[channlluv]

Ginger ale works, but only if you choose one that isn't mostly sugar. I'd find a ginger beer or ale from a health food store.


What do you mean going out with wet hair causes dandruff? DD rarely dries her hair before we go out, and she had dandruff. Should I get her to start blow drying in the morning?

Roxy

[OakLeaf]

Yeah, to me, blow-drying dries my scalp worse than air-drying. My current hairstyle doesn't require blow-drying, so I almost never do.

OT, but maybe she's just got sensitive skin. My DH had awful dandruff, for decades, until he switched to SLS-free shampoo.

[MommyBird]

CHOCOLATE:
Acne is a genetic issue at its core.
My son went to bed in January 08 with a couple of minor zits and woke up with a chin covered in acne. Over the next few days it spread up his face and I called the dermo. A month and a half later(it takes forever to get in) the doctor diagnosed him with deep scarring acne before he had even crossed the exam room to the table. It was that bad. Acutane and cortisone shots for scarring were his only options. According to the doc, diet, nor lack of cleanliness is ever the cause of true acne. It is 100% genetic and inescapable.

Now, a nasty zit here or there may be caused by diet but you cannot blame true acne on the unlucky sufferer's habits.

[sarahspins]

OT, but maybe she's just got sensitive skin. My DH had awful dandruff, for decades, until he switched to SLS-free shampoo.

I would honestly wonder if this isn't the case for a lot of people... I have never had dandruff but I can't use anything with SLS or I break out in hives all over and eventually developed an excema like rash over my arms that just wouldn't go away. I struggled with it for YEARS before someone clued me in. Once I switched it all went away.

Now I use special shampoo and make my own soap... and couldn't be happier

I'm not discounting that some people have dandruff and it is an actual fungal issue, but I think there has to be some that are simply reacting to the SLS's in the shampoo.

[tulip]

What do you mean going out with wet hair causes dandruff? DD rarely dries her hair before we go out, and she had dandruff. Should I get her to start blow drying in the morning?

Roxy

You live in San Diego! Try going outside with wet hair when it's below freezing and the wind is blowing and you have no hat on. It's no fun, and probably does cause the scalp to shrink and react badly. In the summer, no problem!

[GLC1968]

I never use a blow drier. When I lived in Maine, it meant my hair froze on the way to class and then steamed in the heat of the radiator classroom. I don't have dandruff.


I think that the only reason chocolate got associated with acne is because chocolate is a known deterrent to PMS and we all know that hormones cause acne flare ups. It's a secondary association.