25 Biggest Body Myths And Why You Need To Stop Believing Them

If we keep hearing the same thing over and over again, we often tend to start believing it as though it is a fact – a thing that has proved itself true, especially during the previous year with regards to the COVID guidelines that kept evolving almost on a daily basis. Though the guidelines issued by health institutions around the world should not be second-guessed, for other “facts” regarding your body and overall health, you should take a second to think if those things you believed to be facts are based on, well, hard facts or not. If you carry out some research, you will notice that some of these “facts” are nothing, but common myths you always believed to be true. And while those “facts” might be completely harmless – such as believing that swallowing gum takes a decade to digest fully (it doesn’t) – other things can have a potentially negative impact on your health without even you realizing it. From things like drinking some alcohol for getting a sound sleep to not taking the flu vaccine just because you believe it may give you the actual flu, we’ve compiled a list of 25 such myths about health that you’ve always believed to be true.

Fat is not good for your health

People often make the mistake of clubbing together all types of fats, making them believe that it is best to keep them out of your diets. However, that is completely false, as eating the right kinds of fats is very important for the overall well-being of our body.

Roseann Capanna-Hodge, a mental health expert and psychologist in Ridgefield, Connecticut points out that a lot of people don’t realize the fact that there are various kinds of fat, and most importantly, that there are healthy fats out there. Healthy fats are packed in foods such as nuts, olive oil, avocados, and seeds. In fact, many researchers over the years have pointed out that consuming low-fat foods over longer periods may hamper your mental health and push you towards suicide. Therefore, eating healthy fats is very, very important for your mental health.

Milk is the most important food for bones

While we’ve been hearing that milk keeps our bones strong as steel ever since we were kids, that isn’t actually the case. Multiple studies have reported that milk cannot do much to add strength to your bones. It can do just the exact opposite. A study carried out in 2014 by JAMA Pediatrics that involved close to 100,000 people found that people who consumed milk in their teenage years actually had a higher chance of hip fracture when they grew up!

Detox will make you look stunning

No matter where you look, you will end up looking at one of those detox ads that promote well-being and how their products help remove the harmful toxins from your body.

However, detoxing is nothing more than a fad, according to the scientific community. Kate Patton, a dietician from Cleveland, Ohio points out that detox products such as herbal teas or juices are not really necessary from the detox point of view, as our body is very much capable of doing the detox work without the need for any catalysts. Instead, you should opt for a healthy, wholesome diet that fulfills your body’s nutritional requirements at present and even in the future.

Consuming less calories means weight loss

The weight loss journey isn’t as simple as dropping calories from your diet. Just because you start eating a lot less does not mean you will start seeing the weight come down. “Calories in, calories out” isn’t exactly the mantra you should follow – especially with regards to losing weight, according to a medical expert from Austin, Texas, Elena Villanueva. Staple foods such as gluten, sugar, and dairy products can end up causing inflammation in your body. When you keep consuming these foods over a period of time, it can lead to a number of chronic conditions such as excess body weight and diabetes. Your focus should be on the quality of calories you consume, not necessarily the quantity, points out Elena.

Genetics control every aspect of your health ultimately

Genetics definitely has a major role to play in terms of your health – just that it doesn’t control every aspect. Villanueva points out while it is important to know the good and the bad things about your genetics, the way your genes are going to end up expressing themselves ultimately decides how it will affect your health. And a major factor behind that decision is the lifestyle choices you make, which ends up deciding whether those beneficial genetic traits are turned on or off. For instance, your genetic predisposition might be towards one of the health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, but if your lifestyle is fairly active with plenty of healthy food items in your diet, this genetic aspect can very well be turned off.