[Lellu]

in the latest issue (6/08) of Tekniikan Maailma (a finnish technics magazine) I noticed an interesting article dealing with common myths and beliefs. These seven medical beliefs were originally presented in British Medical Journal. What you see below is my rough translation/referate of the article written by Erkki Kauhanen.

Seven mortal sins

If science knew the concept of mortal sin, it would definitely refer to myths and beliefs that persistently live although there is no evidence to support them. The seven statements listed below are not true, however even most of the doctors believe in them.

1. We only use ten percent of our brian
Research does not support this belief. This myth was probably born in the beginning of the 20th century when phoneys wanted to convince people that they were not using their full braincapacity and offered courses that would fix the problem

2. It is good to drink at least eight glasses of water in a day
"No research supports belief, that a healthy human being would need so much water in normal conditions." says doctor Rachel Vreemann from the university of Indiana. This myth probably comes from the recommendation given by the Nutrition Council of USA in 1945. It said that a human being should get daily a dosage of liquid that equals eight glasses of water. However this also includes all the liquid that one gets from food (vegetables and meat for example contain lots of liquid) and of course the water contained in coffee, tee and other beverages.

3. Nails and hair grow even after death
They dont. It might seem like they do when death skin first withdraws a bit as it dries.

4. Shaved hair grows faster, stronger and darker
Plenty of researches show that this is not the case. A hair might feel stiffer when it is short. Some tones of hair might lighten in sun and a new hair might look darker for a while. The amount of pigment does not increase with shaving.

Reading in dim damages eyes
It does not. Dim light does strain eyes but it is only temporary.

6. Eating turkey makes one sleepy (probably best known in the USA)
Turkey indeed contains a certain amino acid (tryptofaani in finnish) that makes one sleepy in large doses, but all other meats contain it too and for example parmesan cheese has lots more of it.

Cellphones disturb machines in hospital
No evidence has been found for this urban legend.

-Lellu

Ps. I tried to do my best but the text probably still contains masses of grammar bugs. I hope you enjoyed (the text not grammar bugs).