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News

Seven medical myths

Single page print view

Glass of water

Drink like a fish: Slow down on all that water, you get a lot of what you need from food anyway.

Credit: iStockphoto

"MOBILE PHONES INTERFERE WITH MEDICAL EQUIPMENT"
In June 1994, The Wall Street Journal published the headline, "Clutter on airwaves can block workings of medical electronics" after a journal article in Health Facilities Management cited over 100 reports of suspected mobile phone interference with medical devices. There is some evidence from early studies that interference could happen at distances of less than one metre, but technological improvements have eliminated this. A 2007 study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings found no mobile phone interference with medical electronic equipment in 300 tests of 75 treatment rooms.

"HAIR AND NAILS GROW AFTER YOU DIE"
Don't believe everything you may see on CSI – hair and fingernails do not continue to grow after death. There is actually a biological basis for this myth, however, as forensic anthropologist William Maples explains in his novel Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist. After death the skin around the hair or nails dehydrates and recedes, giving the appearance of increased length. In fact, the growth of hair and nails requires complex hormonal processes, which do not occur post-mortem.

"EATING TURKEY MAKES YOU SLEEPY"
Don't eat turkey and operate heavy machinery, as it may make you drowsy, suggests the common wisdom. Turkey meat contains the chemical tryptophan, an essential amino acid involved in making serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep and mood control. But chicken and minced beef also contain similar levels of tryptophan (approximately 0.31 g per 100 g) while food such as cheese contains more tryptophan per gram than turkey. What is actually making you sleepy after a big Christmas dinner is probably not the turkey, but alcohol, bad conversation, relatives and a carbohydrate-laden meal.

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