5 Popular Health Myths Debunked

medical doctor - 5 Popular Health Myths Debunked

Even though medicine has come a long way, there are still a lot of health myths circling around. We can understand our bodies and the processes inside them a lot better thanks to modern medicine. However, we still believe in some completely illogical medical processes that have no scientific backgrounds.

Luckily, many popular health myths have already been debunked by scientists. Some of these myths are funny and harmless, but others could put someone’s health, or even life, in danger. Let’s check them out and see why these health myths make no sense at all.

  • Eating Too Much Sugar Causes Diabetes

chocolate sweet 300x162 - 5 Popular Health Myths DebunkedEven though it seems logical that sugar causes diabetes, that’s not true at all. It is like saying that you get addicted even if you play lotto online occasionally. Sugar cannot directly cause diabetes, but is harmful to you once you have already developed the disease. However, eating too much refined sugar can make you gain weight, which increases your chances of getting type 2 diabetes.

It’s much more likely that saturated fat, in combination with lots of refined sugar, causes diabetes. Too much fat and cholesterol in your body hinder the ability of insulin to bind to cells and remove sugar from your bloodstream. Therefore, this combination can cause the development of type 2 diabetes.

  • Detox Diets Can Detoxify Your Body

water fruits diet 300x257 - 5 Popular Health Myths DebunkedJuice cleanses, water fasting, raw fruit and vegetable diets, and other detox diets are very popular today. It’s believed that they can detoxify our bodies and get rid of harmful compounds that could destroy our health.

However, the real truth is that these diets do not achieve much when it comes to detoxification. That’s because our bodies already have very effective systems whose sole purpose is to evacuate toxins from our body. They do a great job on their own, so there is no need to help them with fad diets.

  • Stay Warm or You’ll Catch a Cold

Remember when your parents used to tell you to put on an extra layer of clothes when going out or you’ll inevitably catch a cold? Or prohibit you from going out at all when it’s a bit chilly? It turns out they were wrong. Staying warm will not prevent you from catching a cold; the opposite will. Exposing your body to cold will help your immune system become stronger.

Science has proven that staying inside for prolonged periods of time when it’s cold outside increases the risk of catching a cold or going down with the flu. So, put on a pair of gloves and a beanie, and don’t be afraid to be a bit chilly.

  • Soya Sauce Will Make Your Wounds Darker

Soya Sauce 300x169 - 5 Popular Health Myths DebunkedThis is a common myth that has been debunked many times before. The myth states that, when you have any kind of wound on your body, you should not take soya sauce because it will make your wounds and your scars darker. The pigment in soya sauce does not interact in any way with the pigment in our skin, so there is no way it can make your wounds appear darker.

  • MSG Causes Cancer

MSG is a popular flavor enhancer that can be found in numerous types of food today. It has long been associated with various health issues, including migraine and cancer. However, try as they might, researchers were unable to find any conclusive evidence that proves MSG can cause cancer. Some people can experience mild side effects because of MSG, but these are sporadic cases and do not apply to the whole population.