Health Myths

1. You're guaranteed to lose weight on a low -fat diet. Although you're wise to cut your fat intake, low -fat is not necessarily low-calorie. Once upon a time, a low-fat diet was one that consisted of a lot of fruits, vegetables and fibre -rich foods. It was easy to lose weight then because these foods not only are low -calorie but also fill you up. However, things have changed and supermarket shelves are now flooded with low -fat products, such as cookies and muffins, that are often high in calor ies from sugar. Low-fat processed foods don't contain the nutrients and fibre found in low -fat whole foods. As a result, you may feel hungry soon after eating them. To lose weight, you need to cut calories and increase your physical activity as well as cut your fat intake.

2. Sitting too close to the TV will ruin your vision. Being close to the TV won't ruin your eyesight, but sitting less than 1.5 metres from the set can tire the muscles that focus the lens of the eye, resulting in eyestrain and tired eye s that burn and water. Make sure you sit far enough from the TV set, have enough light in the room and give your eyes a break by refocusing your gaze during commercial breaks.

3. Herbs are harmless because they're natural. While many herbs have been aroun d for centuries, it's only recently that some of the problems associated with their use have come to light; for instance, kava popular for its ability to reduce anxiety has now been shown to be toxic to the liver. Ginkgo leaf extracts, promoted to improve mental clarity and treat dementia and peripheral vascular disease, are known to cause headaches, nausea and diarrhea. Echinacea, St. John's wort, German chamomile and ginkgo biloba have been reported to cause allergic reactions. It's a good idea to tell your family physician about any "natural" products or supplements you're taking or considering taking to find out whether they're compatible with your health

4. Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight. While this is one myth that parents around the world have loved for generations, it has very little scientific backing. Reading in the dark can cause a temporary strain on the eyes, but it rapidly goes away once you return to bright light. The practice has been blamed for increasing rates of myopia (nearsightedness), but Carroll says those claims don't align with the evidence we're living in the best -lit conditions the world has ever seen. "Seventy years ago we were reading by candlelight and weren't going blind," says Carroll. "There's no evidence for this whatsoever."

5. Using cell phones in hospitals is dangerous. Despite the signs in most emergency waiting rooms, studies have found little to no significant cell phone interference with medical devices. In 2005 the Mayo Clinic ran 510 tests with 1 6 medical devices and six cell phones. The incidence of clinically important interference was a mere 1.2 percent. A 2007 study on cell phones "used in a normal way" found no interference during 300 tests in 75 treatment rooms.

6. We use only 10 percent of our brains. The notion that our brains are not running at full speed simply doesn't hold up. "Numerous types of brain imaging studies show that no area of the brain is completely silent or inactive. Detailed probing of the brain has failed to identify the 'nonfunctioning' 90 percent," Carroll and Rachel Vreeman, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine, write in the British Medical Journal study. Carroll says the notion may go as far back as the snake -oil salesmen of the early 20th century, who used the myth to sell a tonic that would increase brainpower. 7. Children with asthma shouldn't play sports. Parents and doctors used to counsel children with asthma to stay away from all sports. Physical activity, the thinking went, increases breathing rate and could trigger asthma, a disease of the respiratory system characterized by coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest and shortness of breath. We now know that exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, can actually improve the lung power of a person with asthma. Studies show that when people with asthma exercise, they have fewer attacks, use less medication and miss less time at school. For this reason, children whose asthma is well controlled by medication and avoidance of triggers should be encouraged to take part in most sports and other physical activities even if they have exercise -induced asthma (EIA). While activities that are more intense and sustained, such as long periods of running, should be avoided, t here are many sports that are less likely to trigger EIA; they include walking, cycling, swimming and sports that require short bursts of energy, such as baseball, softball, volleyball, tennis, football, wrestling, golf, gymnastics and short -distance track-and-field events.

8. Becoming a vegetarian will ensure that you'll lose weight and be healthier. While a vegetarian diet can be nutritious, your food choices not whether you choose to eat meat will determine whether you'll lose weight. If you order t he dressing-soaked Caesar salad and french fries rather than grilled chicken breast and a lightly dressed green salad at a fast-food restaurant, you could be eating a meal that's actually higher in fat and calories than a meat-based one. Also, if you don't know how to eat to stave off hunger on a vegetarian diet, you may end up actually eating more. It's all about balance.