Physicians understand that with great knowledge comes great responsibility. As the ones who hold the most reliable information on the topics of biology and medicine, it is  their job to debunk the medical myths that have somehow spread across the world. Medical myths are a good reminder to us that humanity has made mistakes and we can be wrong, and consequently need to carry a healthy amount of scientific skepticism in hopes of verifying or disproving what the general public follows as a rule of thumb. 

• Myth: “Starvation Diet” is an effective method for losing weight.

Truth: It may seem like a good idea to drastically cut down on your daily calorie intake in hopes of losing some weight, however, a drastic change in your eating habit might actually lead to the opposite. As a matter of fact, regularly starving yourself for hours may actually slow down your metabolism, which in turn leads to weight gain, in the long run. Instead of following unhealthy and rather old-fashioned “starvation diets,” specialists in the field advise people to increase their physical activity and to heavily rely on healthy food options such as fiber, protein, and healthy fats. The Mediterranean diet is unarguably one of the healthiest eating plans out there, as there it is said to have a clear correlation with longevity. This diet is mostly plant-based. 

According to most studies, a healthy and sustained weight loss is around 1-2 pounds each week which is equivalent to 0.45-0.9 kilograms. After losing weight, it is even more important to be able to maintain it.

• Myth: Juice cleansers detoxify your body.

Truth: Although juice cleansers are trending and gaining popularity, especially nowadays on social media platforms. They are said to have detoxifying properties, claiming to cleanse your body from toxins. The truth, however, is that your body and organs can actually do the job. In fact, that is how they are designed. The entire function of the digestive system is to store the nutrients in your body and get rid of the toxins. 

• Myth: Antibiotics cure all diseases.

Truth: Antibiotics should be prescribed by doctors themselves and should be consumed moderately and strictly when they are needed. It is safe to say that these medications are not magic pills that cure all diseases. They only help to fight illnesses that are bacteria-based. 

• Myth: We only use around 10% of our brain.

Truth: As mind blowing as this may sound, evidence from multiple studies has shown that we use much more than merely 10 percent of our brain’s capability. It may not be 100 percent, but it is more than 10. 

The origins of this particular myth are quite unclear. Some say they come from the genius mind of Albert Einstein, but there have been no official records to back this. Most people believe that the myth can be traced to over a century ago, as early as 1907.  

• Myth: Food is fine to eat after touching surfaces for 5 seconds.

Truth: The classic 5 second rule. The one holding the power to instantly remove all guilt one has after they dropped their favorite food but ate it after picking it back up right away. By right away, we mean after less than or equal to 5 seconds. Kids do this all the time by simply yelling “5 second rule,” whenever they get caught out for doing this. We are sorry to burst your bubble though. Scientists actually tested out this beloved rule and it turns out it is far from the truth. Bacteria have the ability to cling to your food even if you pick it back up super fast. Also, keep in mind that clean looking floors can also contain many kinds of germs, which are not visible to the naked eye. This means, there is a great likelihood that your home kitchen or local cafeteria has some bacteria living on its floors. So, just accept the hardships in life and toss that precious food away. After all, it is much better to be safe than sorry. 

• Myth: Fingernails and hair continue to grow after you die.

Truth: The mysteries and uncertainty of death has sparked the human imagination quite a lot resulting in countless medical myths, one which is the claim that your fingernails along with your hair continue to grow after your death. It has even made its way into pop culture, when late night host Johnny Carson joked : “For three days after death, hair and fingernails continue to grow, but phone calls taper off.”

According to forensic anthropologist William Maples, “It is a powerful, disturbing image, but it is pure moonshine. No such thing occurs.” He, along with multiple other dermatologists and experts, explain how the body creates the illusion of this phenomenon happening. To put it in brief, after death, the body dehydrates and dries out causing a retraction of the skin around hair and nails. This ultimately leads to the appearance that it has increased in length when in reality, the soft tissues of the skin have in some sense relatively shrunken. In any case, the actual process by which hair and nails grow involves a hormonal regulation that is quite complex to be sustained after death.

• Myth: Shaving your hair causes faster, coarser, and darker hair growth.

Truth: We have all heard our parents telling us that if we shave our hair off, it will then grow back much faster, coarser, and darker. The fact of the matter is there exists solid scientific proof disproving this claim. A clinical study dating back to 1928 showed that shaving did not have any effect on the way hair grew back. In other words, it did not affect the thickness or speed of hair regrowth. More studies that followed also showed no correlation between the kind of hair regrowth and shaving. It is worth noting that shaving merely removes the section of hair that is dead and does not touch on the living portion that lies right below the skin’s surface. Therefore, it does not make any sense that it affects the type of regrowth. The impression of having darker hair is probably because the new hair has not yet been exposed to direct sunlight or other chemicals to become lightened.

• Myth: Pulling out gray or white hair causes more of it to grow.

Truth: Rest assured, the idea that your white and gray hair are coming after you for revenge is simply not true. 

Dr. Shaskank Kraleti perfectly describes the science behind this despised myth. He says “Plucking a gray hair will only get you a new gray hair in its place because there is only one hair that is able to grow per follicle. Your surrounding hairs will not turn white until their own follicles’ pigment cells die. When you pluck a hair, a new one will grow in its place and because the pigment cells are no longer producing pigment, this new hair will also be white.” This being said, Dr. Kraleti does not advise plucking your hair out for other reasons, including the fact that you may traumatize your hair follicles, which may eventually lead to issues like scarring, bald patches, and infection. He, instead, suggests that you cut your hair if you really wish to get rid of it. 

So, for all of you out there who have a habit of plucking out your white and gray hair, fear no more. This is one myth that you do not have to worry about anymore.

In addition to the above-mentioned examples, there are many more myths out there, which have not necessarily been disproved yet but have no good-enough evidence backing them up or confirming them. 

Thanks to the power of fast technology, these myths now make their ways to us much quicker! Hence, when coming across such medical myths, it is best to do our research and fact-check it, in order to prevent ourselves from making big decisions that might negatively impact our lives.