We all care about being healthy. Ok, well most of us do! There is so much information out there today though and you never know what to believe, what is true or fake news, or even what’s legit anymore.
Here are a bunch of health myths that may surprise you.
You Must Drink X Amount of Water Daily
It turns out, this isn’t really true. For a long time researchers claimed that 8 glasses of water a day was the perfect amount of water. More recently, everyone from health coaches to bodybuilders drink anywhere from a half gallon to a whole gallon of water a day, or at least half of your body weight in ounces. Turns out as long as you gulp down a glass of water whenever you’re thirsty, that should be enough to stay hydrated and healthy. We get a lot of water from foods like soup, vegetables, fruits, juice, tea, and coffee. If you have really dark yellow urine, live somewhere really dry, are super active, you should probably up your water intake. Otherwise, just drink it when you’re thirsty and you should be good to go.
If You Go Out in the Cold/Rain, You’ll Get Sick
No matter what Grandma used to say, spending time in the cold or the rain will not make you sick. A study showing men spending time in temperatures just above freezing actually had an increase in healthy and virus-fighting activity in their immune systems. It’s actually true that you are more likely to get sick inside, where there are more germs that are more easily passed.
You Have to Eat Breakfast
Who hasn’t heard this their whole life? You must eat breakfast to be healthy and to lose weight. Or must you? It turns out, if you aren’t a fan of breakfast, you may not need it to slim down. Studies show that non-breakfast eaters that didn’t overeat at lunch and dinner ended up ingesting almost 400 calories less in a day. The truth is, skipping breakfast may help healthy people lose weight and become more healthy.
Public Toilet Seats Make You Sick
This just isn’t true, so don’t freak out if you can’t cover the toilet seat. Toilet seats are usually pretty clean especially in comparison to other things in the bathroom. It turns out that door handles, bathroom doors, and floors are much worse than the seat itself. So if anything, protect your hands from these other surfaces, and don’t worry so much about your butt and the toilet seat.
The Five Second Rule
We all like to think that if something delicious falls on the floor, we can scoop it up and eat it, guilt (and dirt) free. But that’s just not the case. It really only takes milliseconds for food to get contaminated with bacteria. Moist and porous foods naturally attract more bacteria than dry foods and it depends on the surface you drop it on that matters, too. Eat (when dropped) at your own risk.
An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Yes, apples are filled with vitamin C and fiber. But, they are not the Holy Grail of health. Keep eating them, but keep up your other healthy habits, too.
Do you believe all of these health myths? It’s disturbing to think that the toilet seat in a bathroom is most likely the cleanest surface in there. Yike.