On Demand
Everything You Know About Health Is Wrong
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.
- About the Brian Lehrer Show »
- Staff Bios »
- Contact Us »
- Tapes and Transcripts »
- Latest Episode »
- Show Archive »
Features & Series
Podcast
Stay up to date.
Subscribe to the Podcast
YOU PRODUCE The Brian Lehrer Show
Be a listener-producer with facts, questions and people you'd like to hear on the air.
More
The Brian Lehrer Show Scrapbook
Visit the scrapbook for daily photos and miscellany from The Brian Lehrer Show.
More
Shop at Amazon!
The Brian Lehrer Show picks
Start your Amazon shopping on WNYC.org and a portion of your total purchase goes to WNYC.
More
Comments
Refresh
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?
Does shaving body hair cause it to grow back thicker and darker?
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?
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.
Can the good Dr. explain the disconnect between cold weather and sickness?
got the 1st one wrong - if you slump you can hamper circulation around your heart - what is this doctor's specialty?
WHAT ABOUT AN APPLE A DAY!!! DOES IT REALLY KEEP THE DOCTOR AWAY???
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.
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.
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?
Is it true that changing up one's aerobic exercise regimen results in more calories burned than just sticking with a routine?
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?
What about orange juice? I always feel phlegmmy after drinking organge juice.
Anything about it's impact on teeth-brushing?
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.
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.
would love to know how much pharma $ the guest takes to "study" such "myths".
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
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!
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.
yes and the light is causing us problems - light pollution. Australian aborigines could see stars we needed telescopes to see (drew pix of them
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?
My grandmother always said that if I went out in winter with my hair wet that I would get a cold. Is that true?
What about this one: Wait 30 mins after eating before going into the swimming pool? True or False?
Swimming immediately after eating a meal will cause paralyzing cramps and you' drown! ?
Does chocolate give you zits? What about if you get grease on your face?
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??????
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.
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!
grass fed beef IS health food!!!
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
Leave a Comment
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Back to EpisodeEmail addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. WNYC reserves the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the WNYC.org Comment Guidelines before posting.