Crazy ideas about how to be healthy come and go with almost every new year - and while some of them have been long debunked (like the idea that bleeding people would get a sickness out of their bodies, ugh) some seem to endure no matter how wrong they are. Here are 10 of the most common health myths that most people still believe today! How many are you guilty of?
1. Fatty Food Is Always Bad For You
Flickr user Ruth and Dave
False! There are plenty of high-fat foods out there that (when eaten in moderation) actually offer some serious health benefits. Check out more on healthy fats here.
2. Diet Soda Is Healthier Than Regular Soda
Flickr user QuinnDombrowski
Nooooooooooope. Sure, it might technically have less calories or fat, but the tradeoff is usually a LOT more sugar and/or artificial stuff to get those numbers down.
3. Don’t Ever Eat Late At Night
Chowing down on a whole carton of ice cream at 11 pm isn’t a great idea…but then again, you’d be eating the same calories if you ate it at 11 a.m. A good late-night snack can actually help keep your metabolism going and keep you from getting hungry in the middle of the night.
4. Juicing or Fasting Cleanses Your Body
Flickr user saaleha
We’ve all heard of those crazy cleanses that people swear by. But there is no benefit to cutting out food completely. None. All it will do is make you tired, hungry and way more likely to binge when you finally end the cleanse.
5. You Need To Drink 8 Glasses of Water Every Day
Flickr user StuffNThings
This is one of those health myths everyone has heard before. While staying hydrated is obviously really important, those 8 “recommended” cups actually include the water you get from food, so you don’t need to strap that Nalgene to your body wherever you go.
6. Don’t Spend Too Much Time Out In The Cold, Or You’ll Get Sick
Flickr user timsackton
Cold weather doesn’t cause sickness. If it did, people would literally be sick for an entire season. No one would live in cold places at all. Being outside exposes you to more germs, sure, but that’s true any time of year.
7. You’ll Get Sleepy After Eating Turkey
Flickr user sk8geek
Ever notice how people say that right around Thanksgiving? The biggest meal of the year? How could you NOT get sleepy after a huge meal, whether or not it includes turkey? If you eat a lot, you’ll get sleepy. It doesn’t matter what the food is.
8. Most Of Your Body Heat Is Lost Through The Head
Flickr user snickclunk
Nope. While your head is likely the body part exposed most of the time, you can lose heat through any bare skin.
9. Don’t Eat For An Hour Before Swimming
Flickr user backpacker01
While being full might not make swimming exactly comfortable, it doesn’t have any real health drawbacks.
10. Sunscreen With A Higher SPF Offers More Protection
Flickr user comedy_nose
All you really need to watch for is sunscreen that says “broad spectrum.” SPF 20 and SPF 70 really don’t have much of a difference, as long as you make sure to re-apply it depending on how long you’re in the sun. Mind blown, right?
What other health myths have you heard of? Tell us in the comments below!
