Fact or Fiction?
Jul 2009
Here, The Health Journal takes a close look at six popular health axioms and asked the experts whether they hold an ounce of truth or are mere myth.
“Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis.”
Fiction. “No one has done a careful study to show that cracking knuckles does or doesn’t benefit you or cause you harm,” says John Hardin, M.D., a rheumatologist and chief scientific officer for the Arthritis Foundation. “It doesn’t benefit anything, so it’s probably not a great idea to do it.”
Laughs Krista Lauro of Chesapeake: “I can’t believe this is a myth! My mother told my brother that all the time because he was constantly cracking his knuckles, and I believed it all these years!”
Cracking knuckles is not for everyone, though—whether a person can crack them or not all depends on the amount of space between the joint bones and a person’s ability to relax them. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System reports that 25 percent of Americans habitually crack their knuckles.
“Brown eggs are healthier to eat than white eggs.”
Fiction. This is another medical myth that isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, according to Amy Batal, Ph.D., assistant professor of poultry nutrition at the University of Georgia. “While many people believe that brown eggs are healthier [to eat] than white eggs, the color of the shell has nothing to do with quality or nutritional value,” says Batal. “Egg color is determined by the breed of the hen. Breeds with white earlobes lay white eggs, while breeds with red earlobes lay brown eggs.”
“Cell phones interfere with hospital devices.”
Fiction-—at least in the digital age. Signs posted throughout hospitals warning visitors and patients to shut off their cell phones are not necessary, according to a study published in the March 2007 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The study’s researchers say normal use of cell phones results in no noticeable interference with patient care equipment.
Virgil Smoot, director of Biomedical Services at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk, says that although he still questions the safety of cell phones, his main concerns lie elsewhere. “There is a lot of speculation about [cell phones],” says Smoot. “The older analog units clearly created some interference throughout the industry with smoke alarms, infusion pumps, ventilators, etc., due to the power level they were operating at. The digital units are safer, but not foolproof. A much bigger threat, [however], are the walkie talkies that various departments utilize throughout the building. They operate at a higher power level than cell phones.”
“Thin people don’t get heart disease.”
Fiction. “I think people are often surprised when they are pretty lean and find out they have heart disease,” says Jennifer Chiusano, director of nursing for Sentara Heart Hospital in Norfolk. “They sometimes ask, ‘How can it happen to me?’, and the answer is, heart disease can take on many forms. Sometimes it can be congenital or an electrical [problem], which just confuses people who are thin.”
“If you go outside in cold weather with wet hair, you will catch a cold.”
Fiction.MSN Health & Fitness (www.msn.health.com), a website dedicated to providing health news and resources, reports that the only way to catch a cold or the flu is by contracting a virus. Going out into the cold inadequately dressed, or with wet hair, does nothing to facilitate transmission. It’s true, though, that people are more prone to catching colds in the winter, and viruses are more easily shared when people are clustered together indoors.
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
Fiction—but they sure make for healthy eating. Who hasn’t heard this age-old adage? While there is no doubt about the health benefits of apples, which include antioxidants that help fight cancer, stroke and heart disease, a 2009 article published by Harvard Health Publications says recent studies show that apples are even more healthful than once thought. The authors cite a 2008 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that links the high intake of flavonoids (plant-based nutrients found in apples, bran, pears, wine, grapefruit, strawberries and chocolate) with lower death rates among postmenopausal women with cardiovascular disease.
The authors also cite a 2007 study in which researchers in the United Kingdom found that people who ate five apples a week had better lung function and a lower risk of asthma than people who did not eat apples. And according to a recent article on the Web site www.washingtonpost.com, the same goes for children born to mothers who ate apples throughout pregnancy. Two additional studies have linked apple intake with a lower risk of lung cancer. Many studies link the beneficial effects of apples to their high concentration of quercetin, a flavonoid.