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Since I am the medical reporter, I hear about medical myths often. These really surprised me. Do you really lose 40% of your body heat from your head? That's why we push our kids to wear hats, right? And when your kids eat a ton of Christmas cookies they start bouncing off the walls? Hmmm.. This story from ABC might make you change what you say during these situations:
Parents routinely blame sugar for making their children hyperactive, but studies show sugar is not the culprit - in fact, much of children's supposed sugar high' may be all in the parents' minds, researchers find. They've busted the sugar myth along with 5 other common winter & holiday medical misbeliefs. How many have you fallen for?
Have your children been bouncing off the walls recently? Blame holiday excitement, not the holiday candy.
According to scientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine, at least 12 studies show that parents who expect their children to become hyper automatically perceive hyperactivity when they think their kids have consumed sugar - even when the kids actually ate sugar-free foods.
Other timely medical myths include the notion that suicides increase over the holidays; in truth, studies say suicides are LOWEST during winter months.
And did you know that poinsettia plants aren't particularly poisonous? While doctors don't recommend eating them, they can't find a single death attributed to the poinsettias. Most people don't even require medical treatment after consuming them.
Snacking at night won't make you fat, researchers find. Calories count the same morning, noon and night.
Also, we don't lose 40% of our body heat through our heads - the true figure is probably under 10 percent.
Last but not least: go easy on the alcohol at holiday parties because thus far, there is proven cure for hangovers.
Source: the BMJ
-NewsAnchorMom Jen
Methodist Medical Center's new online healthcare program, MyMethodist eHealth, is a proud sponsor of this blog post. MyMethodist eHealth is the secure link to your doctor's office that lets you request appointments, order prescription refills, update your personal health record, and more. Sign up for MyMethodist eHealth here.
3 comments:
"did you know that poinsettia plants aren't particularly poisonous" but they are very poisonous to pets.
I knew about that hat idea as my Mom use to holler at me to cover my head up ! LOL
Doh! I've been arguing with my five-year-old about wearing a hat and have used the "most of your body heat is lost through your head" stance.
Man I hate being wrong! lol!
I agree with study on sugar, it is not the sugar that makes kids hyper it is all the artifical food coloring. In March of this year the AAP's Grand Rounds published a report on ADHD and Food Additives Revisited. Check it out http://www.feingold.org/Research/PDFstudies/AAP08.pdf
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