The Medical Myths of Winter – Discredited

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A team from the British Medical Journal has debunked six commonly held Christmas-related myths after trawling through medical literature and the internet looking for evidence on a range of commonly held beliefs.

The six myths which they have now discredited are:

1. ALWAYS WEAR A HAT WHEN IT IS COLD

   Did your mother used to tell you to wear a hat in winter because most heat is lost through the head? Mine did me. A recent study showed that you are no more likely to lose heat through the head than any other uncovered part of the body.

   It seems this myth probably originated with an old military study where scientists put volunteers in arctic survival suits minus a hat and then measured their body temperature in extreme conditions. But the researchersnow claimed that if the experiment had been done with them wearing only swimsuits they would not have lost more than 10% of their body heat through their heads.

2. SUGAR CAUSES HYPERACTIVITY

   Another myth now debunked is that sugar causes hyperactivity in children but random tests were carried out on children, including those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the researchers were unable to detect any difference. Though they did find that when parents think their child has had a sugary drink they tend to believe their child’s behaviour is more hyperactive even when it isn’t, suggesting it is all in the mind.

3. DON’T EAT LATE AT NIGHT OR YOU WILL PUT ON WEIGHT

   Yep – it’s a fallacy: eating late at night doesn’t cause unwanted weight gain. It was thought that  you don’t burn off calories whilst you are asleep but this is not supported by the evidence. In study of more than 2,500 patients, eating at night made no discernible difference to weight gain whereas eating more than three meals a day did.

   It’s not quite as straightforward as that because an individual’s metabolism, exercise regime and general lifestyle all influence weight gain but eating late at night doesn’t. So there!

4. HANGOVERS CAN BE CURED

   Hangover cures have probably been around for as long as alcohol and in almost as many varieties though have you noticed that, from aspirin to bananas to Vegemite and water, none of them ever seem to work? And this appears to be backed up by scientific research failing to find any evidence of an effective cure or method of preventing hangovers, despite many trials on both traditional and complementary medicines. The researchers concluded there were only two surefire ways of avoiding a hangover: either not drinking at all or only in moderation.

5. POINSETTIAS ARE POISONOUS

   Poinsettias have long been a favourite Christmas decoration though many people believe them to be poisonous but in fact they are fairly harmless.

   Of over  twenty two thousand cases of poinsettia exposure reported in the States, none of them resulted in death and less than 5% required any medical treatment of which none resulted in more than mild poisoning. A study in rats found no discernible toxic level in the plant sap.

6. YOU’RE MORE LIKELY TO COMMIT SUICIDE AT CHRISTMAS

   This is probably the saddest of all the myths but is understandable given how Christmas time can magnify the effects of loneliness, dysfunctional families and depression combined with the seemingly never ending cold, dark winter months.

   But, despite this time of year being difficult for some, there is little evidence to suggest a peak in the number of suicides at Christmas. In fact people are less likely to commit suicide in the dark winter months – suprisingly, evidence from around the world suggests that suicides actually peak in warmer months.

Beware the highs of summer!

Only kidding.

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