Holiday Myths Busted;)
- Thread starter 0roo0roo
- Start date
really....I guess none of them gave their kid a couple of pixie sticks washed down with a Mt. Dew during church.
EMPshockwave82
Diamond Member
- Jul 7, 2003
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From the articles:
Myth #1: Sugar makes kids hyper.
Answer: FALSE
Most parents swear that too many sweets turn their kids into the Duracell bunny. But Vreeman and Carroll report they found no link between sugar and hyperactive behavior. "When parents think their children have been given a drink containing sugar (even if it's really sugar-free), they rate their children?s behavior as more hyperactive," the researchers found. "The differences in the children?s behavior were all in the parents? minds."
Myth #2: Suicides spike during the holidays, and in the winter in general
Answer: FALSE
Theories have long abounded that suicides spike during the winter, particularly during the holidays, because the weather is gloomy, the skies are gray and people tend to get the blues if reminded during family events of sad occasions or relatives and friends who have died or are ailing. But the scientists did not find any evidence of this. "Studies from all over the world [suggest that] during the sunniest, warmest times of year, there are the highest suicide rates," Vreeman told us. She says they have no clue why but that some experts speculate, at least among teens, that the rates are higher in the summer when they have fewer social interactions and less support than they do while in school.
Myth #3: Poinsettias are poisonous
Answer: FALSE
Many people believe the leaves and petals of this holiday plant are toxic. So many, in fact, that in 2006, poison control centers in the U.S. received 1,615 phone calls from people concerned about exposure to them, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers in Alexandria, Va. But it turns out they had nothing to fear. "Most [scientists] agree that it can cause some GI [gastrointestinal] upset, but it's not toxic," if children or pets ingest them, Carroll says, adding quickly that "we are not advocating that people eat them."
Myth #4: Most of our body heat escapes through the tops of our heads
Answer: FALSE
How many times has your mom told you to wear a hat to keep heat from escaping your body on a cold, wintry day? Well, guess what? Some heat does escape through the head but certainly not the bulk of it, according to the researchers. "Heat loss is proportional to the body's surface area that is exposed. Your head has a decent amount of surface area," she says, but notes that the arms, legs and torso do, too. "By all means wear a hat, but there is nothing special about the head."
Myth #5: Snacking at bedtime causes more weight gain than earlier in the day
Answer: FALSE
When it comes to managing weight, one simple rule trumps all others: If you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. "It doesn't matter when calories are consumed," Vreeman says. One could eat all his or her daily calories before bedtime without putting on pounds?as long as the number of calories consumed does not exceed those burned.
Myth #6: Hangovers can be cured
ANSWER: FALSE
If you imbibe, you no doubt have your own special hangover remedy ? be it a bloody Mary, prickly pears, or blood pressure meds. Alas, say Vreeman and Carroll, there are no known hangover treatments, because nobody knows the exact physiological mechanism that causes the post-binge blahs, though dehydration and accumulation of toxins from alcohol metabolism are suspected culprits. Some things may alleviate symptoms?ibuprofen for a headache, for example?but there is currently only one proven cure for a hangover, Carroll says: "Don?t drink so much."
Myth #1: Sugar makes kids hyper.
Answer: FALSE
Most parents swear that too many sweets turn their kids into the Duracell bunny. But Vreeman and Carroll report they found no link between sugar and hyperactive behavior. "When parents think their children have been given a drink containing sugar (even if it's really sugar-free), they rate their children?s behavior as more hyperactive," the researchers found. "The differences in the children?s behavior were all in the parents? minds."
Myth #2: Suicides spike during the holidays, and in the winter in general
Answer: FALSE
Theories have long abounded that suicides spike during the winter, particularly during the holidays, because the weather is gloomy, the skies are gray and people tend to get the blues if reminded during family events of sad occasions or relatives and friends who have died or are ailing. But the scientists did not find any evidence of this. "Studies from all over the world [suggest that] during the sunniest, warmest times of year, there are the highest suicide rates," Vreeman told us. She says they have no clue why but that some experts speculate, at least among teens, that the rates are higher in the summer when they have fewer social interactions and less support than they do while in school.
Myth #3: Poinsettias are poisonous
Answer: FALSE
Many people believe the leaves and petals of this holiday plant are toxic. So many, in fact, that in 2006, poison control centers in the U.S. received 1,615 phone calls from people concerned about exposure to them, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers in Alexandria, Va. But it turns out they had nothing to fear. "Most [scientists] agree that it can cause some GI [gastrointestinal] upset, but it's not toxic," if children or pets ingest them, Carroll says, adding quickly that "we are not advocating that people eat them."
Myth #4: Most of our body heat escapes through the tops of our heads
Answer: FALSE
How many times has your mom told you to wear a hat to keep heat from escaping your body on a cold, wintry day? Well, guess what? Some heat does escape through the head but certainly not the bulk of it, according to the researchers. "Heat loss is proportional to the body's surface area that is exposed. Your head has a decent amount of surface area," she says, but notes that the arms, legs and torso do, too. "By all means wear a hat, but there is nothing special about the head."
Myth #5: Snacking at bedtime causes more weight gain than earlier in the day
Answer: FALSE
When it comes to managing weight, one simple rule trumps all others: If you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. "It doesn't matter when calories are consumed," Vreeman says. One could eat all his or her daily calories before bedtime without putting on pounds?as long as the number of calories consumed does not exceed those burned.
Myth #6: Hangovers can be cured
ANSWER: FALSE
If you imbibe, you no doubt have your own special hangover remedy ? be it a bloody Mary, prickly pears, or blood pressure meds. Alas, say Vreeman and Carroll, there are no known hangover treatments, because nobody knows the exact physiological mechanism that causes the post-binge blahs, though dehydration and accumulation of toxins from alcohol metabolism are suspected culprits. Some things may alleviate symptoms?ibuprofen for a headache, for example?but there is currently only one proven cure for a hangover, Carroll says: "Don?t drink so much."
This one in particular has been misunderstood I think. Snacking at bedtime obviously won't cause more weight gain but it will increase body fat. They body doesn't use much energy to sleep so anything consumed in excess will be stored as body fat. So while snacking before bedtime won't cause weight gain, it'll increase the BMI.
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
*whoooosh* The researchers completely missed the point of the "myth". The fact that the US Army Field manual doesn't recommend wearing a jacket is because, well, they expect some common sense. Does anyone think the US Army Field manual implies that if you run around naked outside, wearing only a hat, that you'll barely lose more body heat than if you wore a down jacket and no hat? Of course not. No one is that stupid (hopefully), but these mythbusters seem to think that it's what the myth implies.
It's pretty simple to show where heat is lost the fastest in a body.
exhibit 1
exhibit 2
Simple IR imaging shows where most of the heat is lost. The whiter the area, the more heat that's lost. (IR cameras "see" IR, which means IR energy is radiated away)
So, tell me, where is most of the heat being lost by those guys just wearing ordinary shirts? Now, how big of a difference do you think it's going to be if they're outdoors in freezing temperatures? These modern mythbusters: idiots.
DrPizza
Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Yep. Here, let me try for one sentence:
If you don't wear a hat, the majority of the heat that your body loses is going to be from your head.
The researchers trying to "bust this myth" interpreted that as running around outside naked. It's assumed by anyone with common sense that if it's really cold outside, cold enough that you might start thinking about wearing a hat, you're probably going to be wearing other clothes, including a jacket.
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