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69 Cool, Fascinating And Concerning Facts Science Professionals Wish More People Knew
The internet can be a goldmine for health hacks if you know where to look. But we also believe it’s better to listen to the pros. Who says both can’t go hand-in-hand though?
A Threads user recently asked professionals across various disciplines to share what they wish everyone knew about their bodies. The thread quickly went viral, with over 10,000 comments and even more shares.
An Alzheimer's disease researcher offered tips like “sleep more… play more chess, sudoku, etc,” while a biomedical scientist revealed the extraordinary benefits of humming.
Many other experts like psychologists, surgeons, and even veterinarians weighed in with facts and debunked myths.
Take a look at some of their insights, which might help you level up your lifestyle.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Veterinarian (who also has a phd in neurobiology and behavior): there are two kinds of dog walks. One is for urinating/defectating, and the other is for exploration. Your dog explores the world through their nose. When you get impatient trying to pull your dog away from something they are engrossed in, think about it like someone pulling you away from a beautiful vista or painting. These times are your dog’s enrichment, so be patient and let them be a dog
Roman Arendt 4 hours ago
I don't have a dog, but that's something I'm gonna pass on to dog owners I know.
RELATED:
#2
School Therapist: Have conversations with your children, show interest in their fascinations. So many kids are so lonely and have no idea how to hold a conversation.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 1 hour ago (edited)
Too many parents smugly brush off their children's hobbies as "useless / expensive nonsense" and then [surprised Pikachu face] when they end up passively k!lling time on their phones with no passion for anything
#3
NASA Engineer: climate change is not only real, it’s so painfully obvious that people questioning it make me question humanity.
Colleen Glim 8 hours ago
I work retail. I’ve been questioning humanity for more years than I want to think about
Social media plays a major role in shaping public conversations around health.
A major study released by Pew Research Center this week found that 40% of Americans — and half of adults under the age of 50 — get health and wellness information from social media influencers or podcasts.
The report analyzed nearly 13,000 health and wellness social media accounts with at least 100,000 followers, offering insight into who is actually shaping online health advice.
#4
Cancer researcher here: there will never be a universal “cure” for cancer. Every cancer type is incredibly different depending on tissue of origin, with very different driving genes, tumor micro environments, metabolic profiles, and potential drug targets. If you ever hear of a “universal cure” for cancer, it’s a scam, or the news outlets are misreporting / misleading.
Jerome Lenovo 8 hours ago
"" or the news outlets are misreporting / misleading. "" --- but ... but ... that's their job nowadays !! /s
#5
Alzheimer's disease researcher here. Sleep more. Read more books. Play more chess/sudoku/etc.
#6
Psychologist here: go outside!
I know we’ve spent 200,000 years making inside really nice, but your brain wants wind, and plants, and birds, and moss.
Colleen Glim 8 hours ago
My brain is so much happier when I can open my windows and let the outside in
Until a few years ago, if you had a medical question, the most obvious solution was to go to a doctor. Today, people are navigating a crowded online space where credible experts appear alongside influencers promoting questionable claims. You’ve got actual cardiologists explaining heart health right next to “wellness gurus” claiming you can cure anything by staring at the sun.
Similarly, board-certified dermatologists offering medically sound skincare advice compete for attention with influencers pushing miracle collagen drinks or extreme cleanses.
The Pew research found that “many health and wellness influencers describe themselves as some sort of health care professional — but a majority do not.”
Only 17% identified themselves as conventional medical professionals such as doctors, nurses, or dentists. About four percent were mental health professionals, including psychiatrists and social workers. Others used coach, entrepreneur, wellness creator, and even parent as credentials in their bio.
#7
Upon autopsy, 99% of professional football players had chronic traumatic encephalitis.
We've seen high school football players with CTE.
Every single concussion or blackout causes some amount of irreparable brain image.
Football is unsafe. MMA is unsafe. Boxing is unsafe.
You are paying to watch people get brain damage.
🇳🇬 Asi Bassey 🇳🇬 7 hours ago
Encephalopathy, not encephalitis. It’s a degenerative condition not inflammatory.
#8
Psychotherapist: Feelings are data, not directives. Just because you feel like a failure doesn't mean you are one. Acknowledge the emotion, but don't let it drive the car.
#9
Stenographer here. (Trust me it’s a science. ) they all lie. All of them. The judges. The attorneys. The witnesses. The victims. The perps. The jurors. They all lie. All the time.
For many, these creators are just easier to understand than a doctor, breaking down scary medical talk into plain English.
Of those who are hitting “follow” on health influencers, around 41% said they’re genuinely looking to fix their lifestyle or get healthier.
Around a quarter said entertainment was a major reason they get health information from these influencers. And around one in five said that hearing from someone who shares similar personal beliefs or background is helpful.
“We’re absolutely underestimating wellness influencers. They no longer just shape what we buy or wear, but also influence our lifestyle choices, what we put in our bodies,” Mariah Wellman, who studies digital wellness communities at Michigan State University, told the New York Times.
#10
Labor and Delivery Nurse: we really don't like doing c-sections so if we say it's time to go to the OR for the best outcome we really have your best interest at heart. And a c-section isn't the worse thing that can happen in labor. The most dangerous thing to a pregnant or postpartum woman is her partner.
#11
Biomedical Scientist: When you’re anxious, hum. Humming activates your vagus nerve, shifting you into the parasympathetic nervous system, reduces anxiety, blood pressure, and heart rate. Enhances better sleep.
#12
I’m a professional Packaging Engineer, I have a degree in Packaging w/ specialty in Material Sciences and Chemistry. I built a company over 12 years and worked in policy and recycling before that. I’m 8 credits short of a second degree in Sustainability.
*clears throat*
*turns on microphone*
On a very good day (US) Less than 10% of what you seperate and “recycle” is recycled. Green washing is far worse than you can imagine.
Giraffe Sitter 7 hours ago
I separate and recycle anyway. 10% is better than 0% when everything goes in a landfill. At least I know the other 90% isn’t my fault.
Research suggests public confidence in government health agencies has been declining since the pandemic.
People spent months in lockdown, constantly scrolling on their phones in search of answers about a fast-moving public health crisis. All the fake news and misinformation spreading at the time definitely didn't help either.
The Pew study also found that reduced trust in, or access to, traditional healthcare is pushing more people toward health content on social media. It found a clear gap between groups — 53% of uninsured people say they turn to social media or podcasts for health and wellness information, compared with 38% of those who have health insurance.
#13
Library Science. The whole world would be better if people just read. Read literally anything. Just be a reader.
Devin Schmitt 3 hours ago
Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, 1984, The Handmaids' Tale. These books were NOT supposed to be instruction manuals.
#14
Former microbiologist: wash your hands after you use the bathroom. And wash them when you come in from outside. Just wash. With soap. We’re gross. Trust me.
#15
Child psychologist here: read to your children 📖 🙏🏻 children who are read 5 books a day enter school having heard 1.4 MILLION more words than children who are never read to
Devin Schmitt 3 hours ago
War & Peace, The Source, Les Miserables, Gone with the Wind, The Stand. And tomorrow's reading....
Studies also show notable differences across racial and ethnic groups in how people engage with health content online. About 47% of Hispanic and 44% of Black adults are more likely than white adults (35%) to consume health and wellness information from social media or podcasts.
Black Americans, in particular, are also more likely to say that the advice they see from influencers differs greatly from what they hear from traditional medical sources.
Some of these people have a totally fair reason to side-eye the medical establishment. They’re often dealing with a system where doctors might hold biases. Because of those negative experiences in clinics and hospitals, it’s only natural that they’d look for health advice from people who actually make them feel seen.
#16
Astronomer here: humanity would be much better off if we all understood how amazing the universe out there is, how small and lucky we are to be looking up, and how we REALLY need to take care of this piece of rock. There's no planet B.
#17
Cognitive scientist: cognition is largely a controlled hallucination. We don't really have access to reality, our interactions with it are meditated by mental models that our brain is constantly biasing with predictions and that don't really track truth as well as we like to think, because our brain evolved to be useful rather than truthful. Once you accept that, human history makes a lot more sense.
That’s all I yam 4 hours ago
I happen to agree. With all the neural connections there are at time of birth, I believe that no two people have ever had the exact same brain wiring. Similarities? sure. To me, if the impossible happened and two people did have the exact same wiring, as soon as their environments changed in any way, their brain wiring would then be different. I have a personal belief that it's these differences drive the human species, good or bad. As a final thought on this, if someone agrees, fine. Also, if no one agrees, that is also fine. It is what it is.
The health and wellness influencer ecosystem shows no signs of disappearing.
To keep up, some doctors are jumping into the mix to win back people’s trust. They’re busy making their own “how-to” videos or shutting down fake medical claims, much like this viral thread where actual experts teamed up to drop some real knowledge.
Recently, the American Medical Association introduced a new podcast titled “Health vs. Hype.” It aims to examine and fact-check wellness trends and health claims circulating through social media influencers.
#19
Integrative biologist:
We didn't "stop evolving" and other apes aren't on their way to evolving into us. Evolution is happening everywhere, all the time, and is context-dependent. In short, that means every species is well suited for it's specific niche, not that we're the pinnacle of life on Earth or anything.
Also, like 60% of the oxygen you're breathing right now comes from phytoplankton in the ocean. All life on this planet is connected, so take care of it if you want to keep living here!
Luke || Kira (he/she) 1 hour ago
Tell that to the crows who are apparently entering their stone age
#20
Masters Student in Neuroscience: you don’t understand how important sleep is. Your brain “washes” itself during sleep to get rid of metabolic waste.
Colleen Glim 8 hours ago
And understand that some of us need more sleep than others. Some people can live happily on 6-7 hours. Some of us need 9-10. Learn what works for you and don’t compromise. It’s so important
#21
As an orthopedic surgeon: the most expensive thing you own is your spine and most people treat it like rental property. The habits you build in your thirties determine what your sixties feel like. Movement is medicine and sitting is the slow damage nobody takes seriously until it's already done.
One encouraging takeaway from recent research is that most people aren’t just blindly following every health hack they see online. Only 10% of adults said they trust most or all of the information shared by these accounts. At the same time, 65% said they trust some of it.
The challenge lies in separating reliable information from the rest. Always double-check credentials, don’t take every viral video at face value, and do a little research on your own. If a health issue feels legit or serious, skip the scroll and talk to a real-life professional.
#22
Surgical oncologist: Sugar doesn’t feed cancer and spreading this misinformation takes food joy away from people with cancer and can even cause them to become malnourished and pass away.
Colleen Glim 8 hours ago
When you’re going through cancer treatment, you need every bit of joy you can find. I know. I’ve been there. Eat dessert for breakfast. Have that glass of wine. Smell the flowers around you
#23
Your medical doctor, your surgeon or your specialist? Probably only did 1 semester to 1 year of pharmacology. Your pharmacist, had to do 4-7 depending on their speciality.
So when your pharmacist says something about how that could be dangerous let us chat with your Dr to gain clarification and you say, nah, my doctor knows best gimmie my pills. They probably don't. We are trying not to hurt you.
Ace 1 hour ago
My wife was a pharmacologist. The difference being that a pharmacist does indeed need to know about possible d**g interactions and to check all of a patient's prescribed medication, a pharmacologist will be able to understand _why_. Just to clarify that the two things are not the same, and that a pharmacist doesn't know everything either.
#24
Psychiatric Mental Health Practitioner here - Taking 400 mg of Magnesium Glycinate at night and getting 15 minutes of sunlight each day can do wonders for your mental health.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 1 hour ago
Can confirm. My mother is an anxious wreck, but some magnesium transforms her into completely different human being.
#26
Nurse anesthetist here. No such thing as minor surgery. Things happen.
nottheactualphoto 6 hours ago
Every time you go under, there's a chance you might not come out.
#27
Art educator (so STEAM): every culture everywhere throughout the world and our species’ history has made some kind of art. Every type of person has made some kind of art. It’s isn’t useless, it is what makes us human. It is essential to the human spirit. Make time for it.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 1 hour ago
This only makes me more angry at the fact that the current system treats artists as "useless wastes of space who are just too lazy to do REAL jobs like crunching imaginary numbers that make the rich even richer"
#28
Landscape architect: Trees are the antidote of all environmentally related problems: Urban heat island effect, pollution, flooding and storm water, noise, loss of biodiversity etc. Plus it makes your mental health better
David Paterson 6 hours ago
I agree, I want to add one more. Trees make the perfect windbreak. Plant trees beside your freeway to stop crosswinds, and beside your farms to stop the soil blowing away.
#29
Dermatologist. Sunscreen is safe. Please wear it.
#30
PhD in Family Studies here - Please apologize to your children when you are wrong. Giving them age inappropriate responsibilities does not build their grit and resilience, it gives them trauma. One more thing, if you want your children to grow up mentally healthy, start with prenatal care.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 1 hour ago
That'd require parents to actually LIKE their children which is, it seems, more and more rare.
#31
Clinical research PM: stop believing every click bait health hack or health scare. A simple google search to a real trial / peer-reviewed article can teach you a lot. People are just making money by you being gullible and sharing misinformation.
This applies to more than just health (cough cough, politics).
#32
Bioinformatics/Biosurveillance: Please don't drink raw milk. Please. Please. Pleaseeeeee
Colleen Glim 8 hours ago
Am lactose intolerant. Don’t drink any milk and only use lactose free. Which raw milk is not. Also, why is raw milk a thing. Cows will lay down in their own p**p
#33
Women's Health Nurse Practitioner. Get your HPV vaccine and get your child the HPV vaccine. It's safe and since it was introduced cervical cancer rates dropped by 80% in those who were vaccinated before age 16. Modeling studies show that 80-100% global coverage with the HPV vaccine could avert 6.7-7.7 million cervical cancer cases by 2069, with the addition of twice-lifetime screening averting a total of 12.5-13.4 million cases.
Colleen Glim 7 hours ago
Had small cell cervical cancer 7 years ago. Get your dàmn vaccines. They could save your life
#34
Reproductive biologist here! Every single mammal starts life with two FULL sets of reproductive organs. One degenerates. In many people. In many other people, it doesn’t or it does so incompletely. We all had two sets of reproductive tracts at one point. We all contain the female and male INSIDE US. Estrogen is as important in men as testosterone is in women. People who insist there are only two genders are simply biologically wrong. Gender is a social construct.
#35
Perinatal psychiatrist here! Depression and anxiety during pregnancy and postpartum are not risk free. “Toughing it out” is not the safest treatment option.
Colleen Glim 8 hours ago
Babies are a ridiculous an out of work for something so small. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, ask for help. It really does take a village to raise a child
#36
Behavior Tech- You and most people you know have probably never met a person with level 3 autism. If you have, you understand why their parents and caregivers do not see their condition as a “superpower.”
Lukas (he/him, it/its) 5 hours ago
Fuck, I'm a low-support autistic person and I HATE when people call my autism a superpower. No. It is a disability, it impacts me and my ability to exist in my day-to-day life. Me being able to read super fast and obsess over silly cartoons does not benifit me in any way that outweighs the deficit.
#37
Historian: Every war in history, no matter the reason given in history books, had to do with taking resources from someone else.
#38
Speech therapist: Communication isn’t just speech, it’s a whole-brain, whole-body process shaped by relationships.
Communication is not just words. It’s breath, connection, culture, trauma, and trust. Language develops through attuned, responsive relationships, not pressure or drills.
What’s often called “regulation” can actually be suppression.
When someone feels safe, seen, and connected, expression follows
#39
Audiologist: get hearing aids sooner rather than later. The longer you deprive your auditory system of sound (ie hearing loss) the less hearing aids will be able to help you later on.
David Paterson 7 hours ago
Wake me when you have a hearing aid (like an ear trumpet) that only magnifies sounds coming from the direction I am facing.
#40
Parasitologist here. Despite what some health influencers want you to think, you are not full of parasitic worms* and the things that come out of you after “cleanses” aren’t parasites, it’s intestinal mucus, undigested fiber, and intestinal lining (please stop doing these).(*If you have clean water, modern/sanitary toilets, and don’t eat boatloads of raw meat/fish or animal feces)
Colleen Glim 7 hours ago
So called “cleanses” are a boat load of hooey anyway. We have livers and kidneys for toxins
#41
Pediatrician. 1. Vaccines save lives. I'm not getting rich off of this, I actually would prefer your child not suffer an entirely preventable illness. 2. Screen time is bad. A few kid-centered, PBS-type TV shows are probably fine, but handing your toddler your iPhone? Their own tablet? The developmental delays now are destroying me. Your older kids are suffering too. They need to literally go out and touch grass. Limit the phone access for as long as you can.
Luke || Kira (he/she) 1 hour ago
That'd require the parents not having exhausting, soul-crushing jobs that leave them too burned-out to actually engage with their kids in any meaningful way
#42
Vestibular physical therapist: ‘vertigo’ is not a diagnosis, it’s a symptom (sort of like pain), and it’s coming from somewhere else! That somewhere is most commonly vestibular migraine, which is super underdiagnosed, but impacts up to 3% of the population!
David Paterson 6 hours ago
From Wikipedia. "Migraine associated vertigo is emerging as a popular diagnosis for patients with recurrent vertigo, but in contrast to basilar artery migraine, is neither clinically nor biologically plausible as a migraine variant." More normally, vertigo is a stuck otolith in the semicircular canals, often associated with dehydration.
#43
Psychotherapist here -- social sciences count right? Your brain prefers familiarity. Even if something is deeply unpleasant, your brain is primed in most cases to keep doing that thing. Trying new things is important because it promotes psychological flexibility and desensitizes us to the discomfort of unfamiliarity. Brush your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Take a different route to work. Small changes make big changes easier.
David Paterson 7 hours ago
I agree. "Better the devil you know" is always extremely bad advice.
#44
agriculturist here: CLEAN YOUR VEGGIES AND FRUITS BEFORE CONSUMING THEM!
#45
Pediatrician. We make near zero money from vaccines, and at times LOSE money from overhead costs. And we're the lowest paid medical specialty.
#46
11 year Emergency Department Trauma team: If we are in a hurry, you're in bad condition. Wait times are a mix of many factors. It can be doctor speed, waiting for the hospital to accept our admissions, true emergencies that take the entire staff to save a life, mental health patients waiting to move on to the next step, ambulance rush, etc. We don't want to keep you waiting. We're just that busy.
nottheactualphoto 6 hours ago
I was in the ER the other week. I was delighted to be their lowest priority.
#47
Anatomist here: there is no such thing as being double jointed.
#48
Psychotherapist: a lot of mental illness pathology is 80% just being poor. Anxious about paying bills, depressed there is no future, panic that your kid will get shot? It’s all just a symptom of the system.
Colleen Glim 8 hours ago
Money can’t buy happiness is bùllshit. If your bills are paid and you have food in the fridge, you tend to be significantly happier than somebody who doesnt
#49
LMT here…
We lose weight by exhaling.
Biochemically, most of the mass we lose when body fat is metabolized ultimately leaves the body through our breath. When we “burn fat”.. stored triglycerides are broken down and through cellular respiration, much of that mass becomes carbon dioxide.
#50
Nutritional neuroscientist: Unless you have a medical condition, diversification of your diet is better for your brain/body than repeating the same meal everyday.
#51
Physical therapist here 👋🏼
After age 30, we lose 3-8% of our muscle mass per decade. This may not seem like a big deal, but it is crucial for our metabolism, bone density, and daily functioning. The best way to combat this is with regular (2-3x/wk) resistance training. Ladies, please stop fearing “bulky” (internalized misogyny) and start fearing frailty, falls, and life-ending hip fractures in your 60-80’s. It’s never too late to get started, but starting earlier helps more (like investing)!
#52
Dental hygienist here. Cavities are contagious. If someone has the cavity bacteria in their mouth and you share a straw or kiss them, they can transfer the bacteria to you and give you cavities. This includes babies/kids. Also tooth decay is considered the most prevalent disease in the world.
#53
Registered dietitian: You can improve health behaviors without weight being the primary driver, and often get better long-term outcomes.
#54
Drama Therapist here: talk therapy can only get you so far. Eventually your body needs to express whatever trauma it’s holding - through art, music, movement, touch.
#55
Child sociologist here. Children and teens simultaneously learn from existing social constructs while also creating their own culture, identity, and norms. When your kid drops a “skibbity” into a conversation, they are letting you into their lives. Please stop mocking them as silly or inappropriate or other, much more insidious, terms. Appreciate the effort that they are going through every day to learn how to exist in a very complex environment.
Colleen Glim 8 hours ago
Listen to your children. Don’t judge. This is how you get them to talk to you
#56
The overwhelming majority of the time, your technique is not a major risk factor for injury. It’s the load (amount, weight, proximity to failure) that you aren’t prepared for, not the movement itself. Whatever movement you think is inherently risky, imagine doing it with very low intensity, or very slowly, for only a single rep, etc. and then tell me it’s the movement.
#57
Public Health and social impact research: Black women’s health is misunderstood and they are often misdiagnosed because clinical research has a history of underrepresenting them and ignoring their lived reality
#58
HR Director: Always, always counteroffer. Even if it isn’t funds, you can always ask for other things like professional development funds, remote day(s), etc. We normally don’t come with our best offer upfront and you short yourself.
Jerome Lenovo 7 hours ago (edited)
"" We normally don’t come with our best offer upfront "" you seem very proud of being a mo.fo. Peoples lives is not a mind game.
#59
Physical therapy: Balance is a vital sign. The inability to stand on one foot for greater than 10s between the ages of 51-75 is associated with higher risk of mortality.
#60
MH counselor here: depression gravely impacts your perception of the world. Use DBT Opposite Action skill, and others to challenge your negative perception. Intentionally look for things that bring you joy, a sense of wonder and awe, hope, etc., challenging negative thoughts is definitely one way to treat depression (CBT things). Look for the evidence (pro/con) that support your thoughts and see if it's actually true or if it's just your depression talking.
#61
Not a science professional, but communication studies prof here and most of what we call “good speech” skills is really just describing how neurotypical, able-bodied, western white men speak. Our public speaking textbooks take the cultural norms of one group and dress them up as objective standards, then judge everyone else against them.
#62
Social scientist here. DEI isn't too progressive. It is too conservative. It has more in common with HR offices than civil rights movements.
David Paterson 5 hours ago
I had to look this up "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion". Depends on how it's implemented. If it insists on hiring incompetent people at high salaries then that's not a good thing.
#63
Attorney here. If you’re ever arrested say “I want my attorney and I’m invoking my right to remain silent” then SHUT UP. don’t say anything else until your atty gets there. There’s no such thing as small talk in these situations, everything is strategic. “Did you see that guy lose on Jeopardy last night?” “Yeah that was nuts!” Now they know you were home between 7-7:30. I promise they’re not trying to be your pal. Just shut up!!!!
Jerome Lenovo 8 hours ago
cops are not our friends ????? Whaaaatttt !!!!! ........ just kidding, i knew it
#64
Quantum chemist here: There is no absolute truth, everything is an approximation.
#65
Epidemiology: Most outbreaks are not found because someone walks into a clinic with “the disease”. They are found because epidemiologists notice a small pattern change first - a few unusual cases, a cluster, a shift in age groups, a signal in wastewater, a rise that should not be there.
Colleen Glim 7 hours ago
We live in an increasingly global society. Something like the Covid pandemic will happen again. And probably not too far in the future
#66
Microbiology- antibiotic resistance is very scary. Very soon we won’t be able to fight some diseases with antibiotics.
-Food should be put in the refrigerator and NOT allowed to “cool down”, which basically just allows bacteria to grow.
- flies are SO dirty. If one lands in my food I just toss it
- do NOT eat 🍑, for the love of god people.
Soil Science-
-we’re running out of top soil incredibly fast. Think interstellar. We won’t be able to grow food in the future unless we protect soil.
Jerome Lenovo 7 hours ago
do NOT eat peach ? (had to google the emoji). why ? the rest of the sentence is just bs. Why not eat peaches ?
#67
It’s not as simple as saying 5G is "dangerous" or "safe", it all comes down to the dose. The risk with 5G/6G radiation is in how much exposure (power density, frequency, distance, etc) you actually get.
#68
Colorectal surgeon: hard to pick but 1. Don’t spend more than 5 minutes on the toilet 2. 30 g fiber daily and 28 different plants each week 3. Get any rectal bleeding or unexplained weight loss investigated regardless of ag
#69
Physicist here: Our brains are quantum computers and quantum physics is what the normies call magic.
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