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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Under the Tree: Medical Myths

Recent study debunks seasonal misconceptions

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(Newser) – Bending and breaking under holiday stress? Relax! The British Medical Journal has bah-humbugged six holiday health myths, the New York Times reports:

  • Night eating makes you fat: Calories are calories. When you eat doesn't matter; it's what you eat.
  • Poinsettias are perilous: Reported cases of human poinsettia consumption: 22,793. Significant poisoning cases: 0.

  • Sugar makes kids hyper: The link is all in parents' minds.
  • Suicides spike: People more often take their own lives in warm weather.
  • Put on a hat to stay warm: Heat doesn't escape through the head any more than it escapes through other exposed body parts.
  • The hair of the dog cures a hangover: The only effective measure is a preventive one—abstention.

A gardener looks at poinsettias in a greenhouse. Although 96% of poinsettia-eaters didn't require a doctor, it's still good to call a poison center if non-food plants are eaten.
A gardener looks at poinsettias in a greenhouse. Although 96% of poinsettia-eaters didn't require a doctor, it's still good to call a poison center if non-food plants are eaten.   (AP Photo/Frank Hormann)
Steam wafts from the top of a Carolina Panthers football player during a January football game. Contrary to belief, the head is not the gateway for losing 40% to 45% of our body's heat.
Steam wafts from the top of a Carolina Panthers football player during a January football game. Contrary to belief, the head is not the gateway for losing 40% to 45% of our body's heat.   (Erik Perel/Getty Images)
Santa's jolly figure is about the calories, not the midnight snacking, says one doctor.
Santa's jolly figure is about the calories, not the midnight snacking, says one doctor. "You shouldn't be afraid to have that midnight snack anymore than a mid-day or mid-morning snack."   (David McNew/Getty Images)
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Peter Gabriel performs the song "Steam" at the Brit-Awards   (YouTube Sussudio PGFan)

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There have been more studies on this than on many drugs ... all of which show there is no link between sugar and hyperactivity.
- Dr. Aaron Carroll, Indiana University School of Medicine and article author

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More medical myths, including the one about postmortem fingernail growth
New York Times

Excerpt from the journal article
British Medical Journal


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