More Myths

Posted on April 7, 2008

Over time we accumulate a lot of do’s and dont’s in life. Most of these we accept at face value because they come from trusted sources, our parents. Unfortunately, a lot of the things they told us, in the area of medicine especially, turned out to be a little off base. No blame on them, of course, they just passed on the accepted beliefs of the day. On that note, here’s a few more things not to worry about (sorry moms).

Feed a cold, starve a fever. Colds are actually caused by viruses (as most of us know by now, and viruses have to pretty much run their course. That means 7 to 10 days to get rid of most of the symptoms. Here’s a good rule of thumb - Have a cold, see a doctor and be over it in 7 days. Don’t see a doctor and be over it in a week. There’s no real evidence that diet matters. Fluids help because they thin mucus and loosen congestion.
Fresh is always better than frozen. Probably not, because in general fruits and vegetables are harvested and sent to a plant for quick freezing which actually locks the nutrients in. The stuff in the grocery store has been traveling for days most likely and has lost a lot of the nutrients due to heat, air, etc. The only exception would be food produced yourself or farmer’s market if sold the day it was picked.
Eggs raise your cholesterol level. For the last 40 years we’ve been told that foods high in cholesterol cause heart disease so eggs have become a definite no-no in the diet as they do contain a lot of cholesterol. Newer studies have shown that trans and saturated fats are more likely to raise heart disease risk than cholesterol in the diet. An egg has half as much saturated fat as a cup of 2% milk. So an egg for breakfast is fine, and even if you follow the recommended maximum of 300mg daily of cholesterol, you still have almost a hundred to play with after the egg at breakfast.
Get cold and you’ll catch a cold. Getting cold doesn’t hurt your immunity unless you’re so cold that your body defenses are destroyed and that would mean hypothermia. Truth is, you can’t get a cold unless you’re exposed to a virus that causes a cold. The reason people get more colds in the winter isn’t because of the temperature, but it may be a result of spending more time in closed spaces and being exposed to cold viruses.