Festive Medical Myths Debunked
Submitted by Dr. Gwenn Is In
As the chill enters the air and the winter holidays approach, so, too, do some well known seasonal myths like my favorite “sugar makes kids hyper”. This week, Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll debunk this myth and a few others you’re sure to know well in “Festive Medical Myths” published this week in the British Medical Journal. Here are the highlights:
Sugar makes kids hyper
A review of the literature on kids and sugar, including ADHD kids, shows no link at all. All types of sugars were included among the 12+studies and at the end of the day there was no difference in behavior in the sugar group and sugar-free group of kids. What I found intriguing, though, is parents in these studies view kids differently after having had sugar, regardless of objective evidence to the contrary.
Given sugary treats often accompany parties and holidays, that’s likely the culiprit a lot of the time. What about the remaining less than ideal behavioral moments our kids have? Let’s face it, all kids misbehave at times and we just have to recognize that.
Suicides increase over the holidays
Reviewing studies from around the globe, the evidence is just not there to uphold this myth. In fact, there’s more evidence globally that the warmer months may be the more risky times for suicidality.
Poinsetta toxicity
A rat would have to ingest 500-600 leaves to die from poinsetta ingestion. For people, the current feeling is a nibble won’t even cause harm and a bite or a child swallowing a leaf won’t even require a trip to the doctor. The danger profile is just not there.
Not wearing a hat is bad
It turns out, whether to wear a hat is more of a fashion statement than a “must do”. You are going to loose no more heat through your head than any other exposed part of your body. The colder it is outside, the smarter we’d all be to cover exposed skin for many reasons but you are not harming yourself in normal circumstances to not wear a hat.
Eating at night makes you fat
This one has been around for a long while and picked up by many of the popular diet programs. As the authors point out, weight gain is caused by excessive eating. The time the food is eaten is not the factor.
You can cure a hangover
If only this were true! We can certainly alleviate the headache and dehydration the next day but otherwise we’re all stuck living through the ordeal caused by over indulging the evening before. All the more reason to exercise caution and moderation this holiday season, huh?
So, that’s the run down of myths debunked. Interesting stuff and most definitely food for thought. It will be fun to see what these authors come up with next year.
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