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“If You Have A Liver, You’re Good”: 45 Health Myths That Continue To Drive People Crazy
We all know that one person who subscribes to the most ridiculous health myths. They’re the ones who believe that urine is sterile, salt is bad for you, and vaccines cause autism. And they would choose to stick to their guns, despite the numerous debunkings.
Here are more of those old wives' tales mentioned in a recent Reddit thread. You may find the usuals: fear of fat and gluten, and walking outside after showering gets you sick. You may also come across more ludicrous claims, like how organic food can cure a serious illness.
If health myths are your pet peeve, this list may irk you a bit. But if you’re also into laughable claims, you may enjoy reading.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
I’m a doctor, so….most of them. The ones that drive me super crazy though, are the ones that are actively dangerous. You want to sell cancer patients some supplements with their chemo? Sure, as long as their oncologist and pharmacist know about them and have confirmed no interactions, and the patient has the money to easily afford them, fine go nuts. You want to tell people black pepper will cure their easily treatable cancer so they shouldn’t do chemo, and then ghost them when they show up with metastatic breast cancer lumps pushing through their skin? Frick you, you pathological psychopath. There’s blood on your hands.
And don’t even get me started on the antivaxxers. They somehow believe all of us are in the pocket of big pharmacy, to the point that we vaccinate our own infants and families?? (Doctor families have amongst the highest rates of child vaccination) F. You. I care about my children more than I care about any money. I vaccinate my kids because I know it can save their lives. You absolute jerk.
Onan Hag All 5 hours ago
I'm thinking a plague will come and eliminate all anti-vaxxers, thus raising the IQ of society.
RELATED:
#3
“MSG is bad for you!” No it isn’t, this was basically racist propaganda. And it has sadly stuck around. “But it makes me really thirsty!” No, really? The ‘sodium’ in the name didn’t give it away? It’s just salt. Not cancer causing, and like *anything* in large quantities it would be harmful. But by itself no, it is not harmful.
#4
My mother complaining that the doctor won’t prescribe antibiotics for the common cold. Every. Freaking. Time.
WindySwede 8 hours ago
If doctor never prescribes antibiotics for the cold, then it's a good doctor!
#5
I’m not eating/drinking that. It’s got chemicals in it.
No s**t! Find me something that doesn’t contain chemicals.
StrangeOne 9 hours ago
XD I know someone like this. Every time we cook. Told her countless times that everything is a chemical. Water is a chemical. Her creams are chemicals, ffs.
#6
Chiropractic practices are legitimate.
Becky Samuel 4 hours ago
Cue the "chiropractors are legit and my back would be ruined if I didn't see one every week" crowd.
#7
There's a "natural" gum advertising on TikTok that claims to "repair and regrow" tooth enamel.
No. No it doesn't.
#8
Natural means safe.
Processed means unhealthy.
StrangeOne 9 hours ago
Everything you buy in the store is processed. It has to be produced and manufactured. That is a process.
#10
I work in a whole foods. So maybe it's just my area or something.
But I have a lot of customers come in and think that organic means healthy.
And I don't mean healthy as in, it's good for you.
Healthy as in it can cure/improve medical issues.
The amount of times I been asked "I have x cancer. Which of the organic chickens is better for that?"* is insane.
Debby Keir 2 hours ago
And whilst it may be 'organic' if the pepper's been flown in from Thailand, then the food miles cancel out what was 'good for the planet'.
#11
Bipolar mania seems fun
Source: I have bipolar 1, and it is decidedly *not* fun to deal with.
#12
That the establishment studies women.
#13
Salt is bad for you.
Too much salt is bad for you, but there's a minimum you need to live and not having enough causes a lot of issues.
Feeling dizzy? That could be low salt levels.
WindySwede 8 hours ago
The Swedish 'LAGOM' is good here.. but I guess the lagom of some is what some else think is toxic from big salt?
#14
That it's snot/mucus clogging up your nose.
Nope, the turbinates inside your nasal cavity swell up and that is what causes the clogged nose feeling.
Ace 5 hours ago
Well, except when it really is snot clogging your nose, you know, like when you can't breath but then you blow your nose and suddenly you can?
Glenn Cuneo 9 hours ago
I had my turbinates shave down, my septum moved over 1/4 Inch, tonsils removed, and electrodermabrasion done on the back of my tongue all at once-- the recovery was horrific, much worse than the recovery from my massive colon cancer surgery 11 years later.
#15
Pam cooking spray has no calories and is healthier than regular cooking oil.
It's just regular oil in a spray can. They just list a ridiculously low serving size so they can round down to zero on the label.
Shark Lady 2 hours ago
On the extremely rare occasion that I cook, I always use a cooking oil spray, mainly because my eyesight s***s and I can't judge how much oil is in the pan!
#17
That ingredients you can’t pronounce are automatically bad for that reason.
That sounds like a skill issue.
#18
"The doctor diagnosed the patient in 15 minutes they are a fraud" No, they likely spent 20+ minutes reviewing the patients file and have 10+ years of experience with evaluating and treating this condition. You would not expect a student to take the same amount of time to write a thesis or solve a math problem after ten years of studying and experience, right? .
Margaret Shannon 33 minutes ago
My husband has a Ph.D. in United States history, but thank God and all the angels he is a genius. He diagnosed all my major illnesses long before physicians figured them out. I don’t trust most MDs.
#19
That breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It was actually a marketing plan for the Kellog cereal.
Becky Samuel 4 hours ago
Eat when it suits you. If your body and mind function better with 2 meals a day, do that. If you're a grazer, make sure that there are healthy options with grains/fruit/veg and go ahead. Diet isn't a one size fits all thing.
#20
Oh man- that eating certain foods or drinks can 'alkalinize' your blood. Your body runs such a tight ship to maintain your blood pH and you DO NOT WANT IT ANY DIFFERENT.
#21
Derm here: that letting a wound "air out" or dry out helps it heal.
The Vaseline-slathered, moist (but clean!) wounds heal best. Less scar, quicker healing.
#22
Raw milk is a miracle cure for anything. It isn’t safe to drink and has no additional benefits that pasteurized milk doesn’t.
#23
That drinking cold beverages with meals will cause the food you ate to congeal and will lead to digestive issues. Even heard someone once claim it can lead to heart attacks. They justified it by asking what happens if you pour grease down the sink followed by cold water.
Except your body isn't that simple. My short response to dispute this is that the plumbing in your home is a bad analogy. Plumbing isn't kept at a constant high temperature the way a human body is. Anything cold going in isn't going to stay cold for long enough to create a fatberg inside your intestines.
Edit: Also, yes digestive enzymes and stomach acid.
AlithenewMC 3 hours ago
My extremely intelligent husband refuses to eat cereal while drinking coffee, because "it creates steam in your stomach". He knows he's wrong, and it absolutely doesn't do anything, but it's something he got in his head as a child and can't get over
#24
That non-fat means it's healthier.
Liliana Spiro 36 minutes ago
"Researchers unearthed over 2,000 pages of internal memos and correspondence from the Sugar Research Foundation (SRF), an industry trade group. Project 226: In 1965, the SRF paid three Harvard scientists the equivalent of about $50,000 today to write a literature review that would specifically debunk the link between sugar and heart disease while blaming saturated fat.When the review was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1967, the industry’s funding was not disclosed (as it wasn't required at the time)." As per AMA Internal Medicine.and USCF
#25
Gluten is poison. My SIL will only feed her kids gluten free food. They are not celiac or have any food sensitivities, she just believes gluten is bad.
#27
That tanning in the sun is “healthy” no it isn’t. There is zero benefit from sun exposure except for exposing your face and hands to sunlight for 20 minutes to maintain vitamin D levels. Frying yourself on the beach does absolutely nothing for your health. Tanning beds should be outlawed due to objective cancerogenic effects.
Yeah, you heard 1 hour ago
Idk, I live in a country that's usually cold and cloudy, and doctors advise us all to take vitamin D supplements because of our lack of exposure to sunlight means most of us are vitamin D deficient
#28
That having a corporate middle-man between you and your doctor who funnels a large part of your payments to shareholders sitting on yachts is good for everyone.
#29
How many “experts” there are on social media telling you to follow this diet to balance your hormones, but they couldn’t name a single hormone or what they do if you asked them lol.
Liliana Spiro 24 minutes ago
1.Don't take things at face value. 2.check scientific sources (I know some facts are revised with time and might -rarely- be manipulated, but still), and don't forward anything from "experts" on social media w/o taking steps 1 & 2. It's potentially both dangerous as well as potentially fatal
#30
"You can't get pregnant on your period." Its less likely but not a 100%. Swimmers can live for 5 days in a woman's body. Plenty of time for another egg to appear for fertilization.
#31
You can spot reduce fat.
Yeah, you heard 1 hour ago
She's not measuring her waist, but yeah if your hips are 54" you've still got huge problems
#34
It's so odd to me how it seems really important to people that they believe urine is sterile. Even healthy urine has some bacteria and a lot of urine is not sterile. But everyone insists that urine is sterile and will often get snappy with me when I clarify that it's not. What are they doing with urine that they need to believe it's sterile so badly?
#35
Defibrillators restart hearts. TV shows get that wrong ALL THE TIME.
You can target body fat on specific parts of the body to tone that part exclusively. Shedding fat happens on a whole body scale, there is no targeting "belly fat" unless it's liposuction or Cryolipolysis (CoolSculpting).
#37
That type 2 diabetes is only caused by obesity/being fat. I was diagnosed with type 2 at only 150lbs. Genetics play a huge role.
#38
Chiropractors aren't doctors, or even healthcare professionals. I used to work in an ER, and I have seen multiple instances of near paralysis or worse.
Shark Lady 2 hours ago
My parents spent months trying to persuade me to go for my spine that isn't straight, they nearly had me convinced until I heard about someone relatively local to me dying half an hour after a chiropractor appointment.
#39
That juicing is better for you! (Worse in fact than eating regular fruit which has the benefit of fiber to slow down sugar absorption.).
#40
Walking outside after showering will 100% get you sick. Can NOT for the life of me convince my dad that this is not the case.
#42
"Carbs are bad".
Debby Keir 1 hour ago
They're not that 'good' for a diabetic though..... Balanced meals are the watchword.
#43
That women have visible lower belly fat in order to protect the uterus. We don't need to make up BS to explain regular fat distribution.
Pawsome 8 minutes ago
This! I've heard this and also that the bulge is actually created by the uterus. Unless you are pregnant, the uterus is way too small to do this. In some cases apparently it can however be caused by sucking in or by bad posture. But if it's fat, what's wrong with it? Women tend to put on fat there and I hate this idea that having fat is such a horrible thing. Even at a BMI of 16.7, I still had a little fat pouch there
#44
That soy increases your estrogen.
Kim Kermes 7 hours ago
There is some evidence that large amounts of soy affect estrogen levels.
#45
Sucking venom out of a snakebite or urinating on jelly stings 🤦🏻♀️.
What do you think ?
Tobias Reaper 6 hours ago
that ADHD is a being a little forgetful its not its going into a room for something getting distracted by something then leaving without the thing you came for. It knowing you need to do something but just not being able to make yourself do it. ADHD is horrible.
Tobias Reaper 6 hours ago
that ADHD is a being a little forgetful its not its going into a room for something getting distracted by something then leaving without the thing you came for. It knowing you need to do something but just not being able to make yourself do it. ADHD is horrible.
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