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Everything You Know About Health Is Wrong

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Should you wait an hour after eating before swimming? Do you lose most of your body heat through your head? Will lifting something heavy give you a hernia? Dr. Aaron Carroll, associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Center for Health Policy and Professionalism at the Indiana University School of Medicine and co-author of Don't Swallow Your Gum! Myths, Half-Truths, and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health, takes on some persistent medical misconceptions.

Guests:

Aaron Carroll

Comments [36]

Tim Reeves from San Francisco, Calif.

Oh yeah, and weight loss can happen from water loss, which can account for a lot of weight - 5 or 10 pounds! - just by taking a diuretic, or avoiding a food or substance that causes you to bloat..... Arggh... i can't stand guys like this!

Jul. 09 2009 10:47 PM
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Tim Reeves from San Francisco, Calif.

Brian! I agree with Peter from Queens, Rebecca from Astoria. This guy you had on is presenting scientism, not science. When you get that smug Science is right again! attitude, that's usually what it is. Who believes that, if you were to go out with no hat, shorts, and short sleeves on a cold day, and cover your head with a bandana, & note the difference in how you feel, THEN -- covering the same square inches with the same bandana, say, on your bare leg.... the difference is clear. Guys like these are the equivalent of fundamentalists!

Jul. 09 2009 10:45 PM
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obi2 from alabama

i really don't believe this guy and his interpretation of some research results. for instance, not many people could read a hundred years ago. you can't just compare the sight of the people then to our snow.the people don't spend 8 hours sitting in front of a computer monitor. another instance, weight loss is not just about calories. a friend of mine eats about as much as i do but weighs about twice of my weight. also the function of my body is quite sophisticated. your reduce the your food intake, more likely it's going to cause your body to consume less calories (preserve energy) but not drop a few pounds. this is well known by now.

he kind of over simplifies things.

Jul. 09 2009 10:24 PM
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Rebecca Tuffey from Astoria

Dear Brian and Producers,
I have loved your show for a long time, but the the opening soundbite ("workers, don't slouch at your desks") for this one was really off. It IS true that postural problems can lead to poor health. I teach Alexander Technique, which is a form of movement & posture re-education. Many of my students report benefits besides looking better for their social lives -- no more headaches, relief from insomnia, ease from joint pain, better digestion, much less anxiety/stress, and more. I can give you a snapshot of how this works. When you slouch (by the way, there is damage done to the bones, just not in the short-term....it shows up after years of slouching!), it absolutely creates chronic muscle tension. When muscles are holding on to the body too tightly, they squeeze your insides - taking away space for bones to move well in joints and for organs to function optimally. This squeezing and compressing affects your ability to breathe. Breath is the function that delivers fresh oxygen and evacuates poisonous waste from the lungs and bloodstream -- which means that every cell in your body pays the price for hours of slouching at your desk.
Hope this was helpful. Your doctor seemed particularly mal-informed on that topic.

Jul. 09 2009 12:25 PM
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Peter from Queens

Listening to Dr. Carroll, I realize once again that what's true is mostly true for individuals and not true across the board for all persons. Meaning: science will get a lot smarter when it finally realizes that everything is relative, and that medicine needs to become individually-oriented. Which of course means much more work and effort on their part...

His example of the so-called scientific tests used to assess the effects of cold water on the body and degrees of heat loss as not demonstrating that heat is lost through the top of the head, just makes it clear that various tests devised by scientists are often not the most appropriate ones.

A better test for me is this: sitting in a freezing air-conditioned NYC subway car, and you're on the thin side (like me), wearing shorts and a t-shirt, and when you take your cap out of your backback and put it on -- it makes all the difference, seriously.

So, I still find plenty of reasons to be doubtful of those scientific types, and not least when they liberally pepper their speech with that give-away word "absolutely" in reference to their positions.

Jul. 09 2009 12:04 PM
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galvo from galvo

listening to show, have to re-listen on podcast
as far as holding your urine too long, it can cause harm if done frequently.
it will stretch out you bladder wall.
i am not sure what happens in addition to the harm to your bladder as far as kidney and high pressure, but pee when you get t thenurge.
normal urge to pee nerve signal usually happens around 350cc, at above 600cc your not doing your body good.
you shoulds be emptying your bladder below 500cc.

Jul. 09 2009 11:59 AM
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the truth from bkny

Dr. Carroll should write some of these down and bring the answers when he returns next week..all except that one about "chlorine curing aids" I will take that one, yes it will cure aids b/c you will be dead....I mean really people come on!...lol

Jul. 09 2009 11:51 AM
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anonyme

grass fed beef IS health food!!!

Jul. 09 2009 11:44 AM
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Lisa from CT

Your guest is so dismissive. I agree on a lot of what he says, but there are things that just work... does not have to be over thought... some things just WORK!

Jul. 09 2009 11:43 AM
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stephanie from nyc

i went to the swiss town where a boyfriend was born and we had fondue with a group of people. they would not allow me tap water, they said that it would cause the cheese to harden in my stomach which could lead to death. i went to the bathroom and drank from the stink....i didn't die.

Jul. 09 2009 11:43 AM
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em-brooklyn

my mother always told us that if you go to bed with you hair wet, a cold breeze gets you you will have a facial paralysis TRUE??????

Jul. 09 2009 11:41 AM
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kate

Does chocolate give you zits? What about if you get grease on your face?

Jul. 09 2009 11:40 AM
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Jeanie from Glen Head, NY

Swimming immediately after eating a meal will cause paralyzing cramps and you' drown! ?

Jul. 09 2009 11:40 AM
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the truth from bkny

What about this one: Wait 30 mins after eating before going into the swimming pool? True or False?

Jul. 09 2009 11:40 AM
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Diane from Manhattan

My grandmother always said that if I went out in winter with my hair wet that I would get a cold. Is that true?

Jul. 09 2009 11:39 AM
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Lisa from Rockville Centre, NY

I’ve read that there is actually no study that proves a relationship between high cholesterol alone and heart disease. Could you comment on this?

Jul. 09 2009 11:39 AM
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anonyme

yes and the light is causing us problems - light pollution. Australian aborigines could see stars we needed telescopes to see (drew pix of them

Jul. 09 2009 11:39 AM
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Caitlin from Jersey City

I've heard conflicting reports on whether or not sugar actually gives you a "buzz."

You could probably write a whole separate book on misconceptions relating to sexual health and stds; the other day I overheard some guys discussing whether or not drinking chlorine will cure AIDS.

Jul. 09 2009 11:37 AM
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the truth from bkny

Thank you for that, as a naturally slim person, people don't realize it is NOT because I excersice more it is because I burn more calories than I consume also!

Jul. 09 2009 11:37 AM
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anonyme

hey all milk isn't the same milk! with cows and chickens fed by gmo grain lots of strange things are happening to people -

also cholesterol being dangerous and even causing heart diease is a big myth

this guy is not a good guest either. All manner of things go on in a metabolism - stress hormones can keep you fat or thin

he's full of baloney

Jul. 09 2009 11:37 AM
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thatgirlinnewyork from manhattan

would love to know how much pharma $ the guest takes to "study" such "myths".

Jul. 09 2009 11:36 AM
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Jason from Brooklyn

What about drinking alcohol while on anti-biotics? Does it reduce or cancel out the effectiveness of the medicine? A friend of mine told me about this and I am a bit incredulous.

Jul. 09 2009 11:36 AM
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N from Brooklyn

But why are hats so effective at keeping you warm? I can't not believe that one.

Here's another myth:

When you are cold and you have goosebumps, the hair (like on your legs) will grow back faster. True? Always seemed ridiculous to me but many friends swear by this.

Jul. 09 2009 11:36 AM
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Andy from Brooklyn

What about orange juice? I always feel phlegmmy after drinking organge juice.

Anything about it's impact on teeth-brushing?

Jul. 09 2009 11:36 AM
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Hector A. from NYC Manhattan East Village

My mom always tells me to never go straight to the refrigerator right after a warm shower... she thinks that my face will freeze??? This cant be true can it?

Jul. 09 2009 11:35 AM
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Sue from New Jersey

Is it true that changing up one's aerobic exercise regimen results in more calories burned than just sticking with a routine?

Jul. 09 2009 11:35 AM
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Matthew from Brooklyn

How about some of the nutrition myths?
Food combining matters
you should eating for your blood type
Colon cleansing expels plaque
etc

Also, isn't it a myth that we only use a small percentage of our brain?

Jul. 09 2009 11:35 AM
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HB from brooklyn

is there any truth in "starve a cold, feed a fever?" Or is it supposed to be "feed a cold, starve a fever?"

been wondering a long time.

Jul. 09 2009 11:35 AM
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Jeanie from Glen Head, NY

Here are two I've always heard:

If you cross your eyes, they'll stick!

Cracking your knuckles will result in arthritis later on in life.

I don't believe the first one, but I have to say, I notice mmy knuckles are a bit stiffer than they ever used to be, and I was a knuckle cracker as a kid.

Jul. 09 2009 11:34 AM
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Che from Soho

WHAT ABOUT AN APPLE A DAY!!! DOES IT REALLY KEEP THE DOCTOR AWAY???

Jul. 09 2009 11:34 AM
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anonyme

got the 1st one wrong - if you slump you can hamper circulation around your heart - what is this doctor's specialty?

Jul. 09 2009 11:34 AM
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Matt from UWS

Can the good Dr. explain the disconnect between cold weather and sickness?

Jul. 09 2009 11:34 AM
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thatgirlinnewyork from manhattan

chewing gum was, historically, made with natural latex. this would be challenging to digest, and probably warranted the original belief that you shouldn't swallow it.

Jul. 09 2009 11:34 AM
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lucy from brooklyn, ny

regarding colds:
wearing less clothing when it's cold out will give you pneumonia.

and

why is it that if you have a fever, they tend to get worse in the evening?

Jul. 09 2009 11:33 AM
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Hooper from NYC

Does shaving body hair cause it to grow back thicker and darker?

Jul. 09 2009 11:32 AM
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simpsonsmovieblew

What evidence do people have who persist on saying that tap water is better (for the drinker as opposed to Mother Earth) than bottled water?

Certainly not the water testing. This is done by private water marketers (biggest is American Water Co.) who are required to only test regionally (for example, northern New Jersey, southern New Jersey). And the tests do not include post-test results for the sometimes rusted, cracked 80-150 year old pipes at the core of our regional water system. Frankly, consumers of local water monopolists should not assume their water is clean enough to shower in let alone consume.

Some leading bottlers, on the other hand, can offer very specific water tests conducted by independent labs which quantify exactly what is in their water -- at the bottling plant. So which is better -- health wise?

Jul. 09 2009 09:35 AM
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