Having a healthy lifestyle should be something that everyone observes. It will help you avoid illness or diseases that can cause your body to weaken. You can do this by eating food that contains nutrients and vitamins that your body needs like fruits and vegetables. You must also lower your consumption of salt and sugar because sugar can cause diabetes, and salt can cause high blood pressure that can lead to heart diseases. Besides the scientific explanations on why we need to take this and that, there are also some common beliefs or wives tales about health.
These are some of the most popular wives’ tales in the US and explanations of whether they are true or not.
Chocolates Can Cause an Acne Outbreak
Most people believe that eating too much chocolate can give you acne. They think that its sugar content causes an imbalance in a person’s hormones, which then causes acne. However, researchers would disagree because there are no studies conducted that support such claims. They also argue that if you claim that the sugar content of the chocolate is what is causing the outbreak, then you should also include other sugary food on your list.
Lemon Can Aid with Digestion
This wives’ tale gets the approval of researchers. Lemon aids in the stimulation of digestion and the elimination of unneeded food waste from the body. The lemon contains acid that helps break down the food, which makes digestion faster. Other food can also help with your digestion like yogurt. However, from what we’ve seen in relation to consumer behaviour in the US, people often go with lemon as their digestion aid. They believe that it is more effective and natural.
Milk Makes Your Bones Strong
New researches do not agree that milk makes your bone strong. While it is true that milk contains calcium that aids in the strength of ones, it also contains fat that can negate it. It may even trigger heart diseases and cardiovascular inflammation. If you want stronger bones, do your research. The food that you take is composed of different kinds of nutrients components that can have different effects on the body, whether the sources process it or not.
Coffee Prevents Growth
This is entirely false. It has nothing to do at all with the growth of a person. But, coffee causes other disadvantages when you take too much of it. It can cause anxiety and interfere with your sleep schedule. It contains caffeine that stimulates the brain, which keeps it wide awake and alert.
There are a lot more Old Wives’ Tales that are still popular around the states, and a lot of people still practice them. Some of them are true and backed by scientific basis, but some are also mere hearsay. Believing in them is not prohibited. However, you must choose to believe the ones that are true and reliable. These tales were passed down from one generation to another, and they are going to keep being passed on in the future, so you better inform or educate your children about them. I found some more global examples of Wives Tales in this infographic from Compare The Market:
