"The abnegation of reason is not the evidence of faith, but the confession of despair."
- J.B. Lightfoot
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
We've all heard most or all of these at one time or another. We may want to go ahead and call them old wives' tales (although I'm sure old husbands have perpetuated them too :-).
Myth #1: You can catch cold (or pneumonia) by being in the cold, especially when wet (or with wet hair).
Colds and pneumonia are caused by viruses, not temperatures or moistures. You have to catch them from someone or from an environment where the virus is lurking (places touched often). Simply being wet and cold will not make you sick. It'll just make you miserable.
Myth #2: There are more suicides over the holiday season.
The truth is that suicides actually hit an all-time low in December. They increase beginning in January but tend to peak in the spring and summer, actually.
Myth #3: Poinsettias can kill kids and pets.
You shouldn't feed your kid a poinsettia, of course, but even if he ate an entire plant, chances are he'd just end up with diarrhea and a really bad taste in his mouth. A little bit of sap from a munched-on leaf by a kid or pet should be safe, even if unsavory. Call the Poison Control Center, but they'll tell you to give 'em a glass of milk or something.
Myth #4: A roaring fire will keep you warm.
This is true only if you're sitting right up next to it. Open chimneys with roaring fires actually make houses colder, because they act like vacuums, sucking up the warm air from your room.
Myth #5: Turkey makes you sleepy.
Tryptophan is supposed to the culprit, but there's just as much tryptophan in the chicken you normally eat as there is most turkeys. Turkey actually only has slightly more tryptophan than pork or cheese. So, basically, you eat it all the time. The sleep-inducing culprit on Thanksgiving Day is usually the increased amount of carbohydrates consumed in one sitting. They release insulin, which makes the otherwise innocuous amount of tryptophan more concentrated, and therefore more potent, in your bloodstream.
(Source: Men's Health)
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Comments on "Five Holiday Season Myths Debunked":
2. Shrode
- 11/24/2010 3:50 pm CST
Had to comment here, just to answer the human check question about myself.
Cool post Jared.
Back to the old thinkling tradition of debunking. I like it.
3. Shrode
- 11/24/2010 4:16 pm CST
I'll be honest. I knew about #1 - but it still lingers with me...I tell myself it's because cold weakens the immune system once you meet a virus, but I dunno.
#2-actually surprises me a little. I'm pretty sure there are more funerals around holidays though. (I've always got 1-3 around this time of year.)
#3-Didn't know that either. I'm pretty sure I've perpetuated that myth. Whoops.
#4 - Not surprised. Blowers make a difference though right. Along with this, it's a myth that hot liquids warm you up. The body reacts to it and actually lowers your overall body temperature. At least that's what I read somewhere...
#5-Shocked. I consider myself debunked.
4. Bird
- 11/24/2010 6:09 pm CST
Awesome list!
A roaring fire will keep you warm.
Yes, a myth. Unless you use a wood-burning stove (not a cook stove) or a wood-burning stove fireplace insert. Last winter our home was heated about 80 percent of the time with wood, thanks to our wood-burning stove.
A wood-burning stove fireplace insert is cool because it takes an inefficient fireplace cavity and converts it into a heating maniac. Plus you still get the "look" of a roaring fire.
5. kenleonard
- 11/24/2010 7:27 pm CST
1. Yeah, I'd heard that before, but I still cling to it based on Shrode's same observation.
2. Huh. That's interesting. I wonder from where the mis-quoted facts came.
3. I still can't get anyone to eat my poinsettia salad, though.
4. That depends on how dim you make the rest of the lights and how much your wife likes roaring fires ... wait, maybe that's not what you meant. Never mind. ; - )
5. I knew that one, but I always figured that the tiredness simply had to do with basic overeating. I didn't know that carbs played into it.
6. Michele
- 11/24/2010 10:39 pm CST
Sorry, but I've heard the same on #1--Being cold can't make you sick, per say, but the when the body needs to put so much effort into keeping warm it's like going without sleep or something, setting you up for sickness. I think, but am not sure, I read this in Reader's Digest.
Thanks for the rest, though, I shall smugly share these at all my festivities. :)
7. the sentinel
- 11/25/2010 3:53 am CST
#1 The reason, I've heard, for increased illness in the winter time is actually warmth rather than cold. Our houses are warmed up and it is a breeding ground for germs. Add to that the fact that we spend more time indoors, in close quarters, breathing our funk upon one another, and it's really a recipe for illness.
9. Jared
- 11/25/2010 9:37 am CST
Add to that the fact that we spend more time indoors, in close quarters, breathing our funk upon one another, and it's really a recipe for illness.
Sentinel, the MH article does mention this as the factor for heightened illness in winter times. We spend more time indoors. Go figure. ;-)
10. Raindream
- 11/25/2010 11:23 am CST
There's got to be some give and take on the fireplace statement. I'll bet the fireplace room warms up a good bit while the rest of the house cools some, giving you an overall house cooling, but a warming of the fireplace room.
Aha! "[U]se glass fireplace doors. These radiate heat into your home, eliminate the vacuum effect, and shield you from smoke . . .
Read more: http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/winter-health-myths/Keep-Warm.php#ixzz16Jex279n"
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Wow. My whole world just came crashing down. Just kidding. But that was interesting. I feel like, more free or something, but feeling guilty that it was "Men's Health" that did the freeing. Yikes. -- Happy Thanksgiving by the way. Peace to you.