Myth Busting

Hi I thought this might be a cool way to exchange some knowledge. We all hear this stuff from time to time in conversations, urban legends, old wives tales, modern myths, I am going to bust a few here, anyone who reads this is welcome to add their own to the post.

Myth: Reading in low light causes eye problems

Fact: Not true, anymore than listening to something at lower volume strains your ears, there is no medical evidence to support this assertion, read in whatever light is comfortable for you

Myth: Premium gas is cleaner, gives my car more power and better gas mileage, so it’s worth the money.

Fact: Only about 10 percent of cars on the road derive any benefit from the added octane, mostly either older cars or high performance luxury brands ( Acura, Cadilac, Ferrai etc.) This one comes down from the days of carburetion and primitive engine management systems, cars today are very different. Check your owner's manual and go with the recommended octane, if your car does have an occasional "knock" try using fuel injector cleaner( 3 dollars for one bottle) every couple of months. This could save a lot of people a lot $$$$, every year.

Myth: Farm subsidies are needed to save the poor family farmer

Fact: Congressmen who continue to feed this pig, will often hold up a picture of a dilapidated farm house ala "Grapes of Wrath" the truth is that the vast majority of this money goes to Multi-Billion dollar corporations, such as Archer Daniels Midland or absentee Millionaire owners (Doctors, Athletes etc. who own farms as an investment) There are a few lower income folks who get the tiniest pittance of this money but they are very few and far between. Next time you are outraged at paying too much for food at the local supermarket, fire off an email or letter to your state representative.

Myth: "Premium" Dog and Cat Food provides better nutrition than grocery store brands.

Fact: Save your $$$$ all you pay for is the fancy brand name and a label, veterinary studies have shown that these so-called formulated foods provide no more nutrition or health benefits than so-called generic, or grocery store brands

That was a few, I will have more of these later, again anyone who wants to add to this post feel free to do so!

> Myth: "Premium" Dog and Cat Food provides better nutrition than grocery store brands.

Look at the list of ingredients on both store brand and premium brand foods. If the first ingredient is meat, then I say that is better than if it is cereal or meat by-products. Some premium brands have meat first and some do not. I do not think the store brands have meat first.

Knowing the pet food labeling "rules" helps rather than just blindly buying all one or the other.

http://www.fda.gov/cvm/petlabel.htm

My favorite myth is people being sensitive to the formalgahyde in certain beers (my husband won't drink Budweiser because it gives him a headache and he claims it's from the formalgahyde). Formaldehyde is a poisonous gas and is not used in the making of any commercial beers, US or foreign.

just reading your post and trimming the hair from the palms of my hands.......................

Interesting post about the beer I have not heard that one! thanks TJ

Yes, if you're a beer drinker there's a neat myth page on myths just about them:

http://www.lewbryson.com/formaldehyde.htm

MYTH: Your heart stops when you sneeze.
REALITY: When a person sneezes, he/she increase his/her intrathoracic pressure and can decrease venous blood flow back to the heart. The heart may compensate for this by a slight change in its beating rate, but the heart and its electrical activity should not stop during a sneeze.

MYTH: Using a cell phone in a hospital is dangerous.
REALITY: Despite the signs in most emergency waiting rooms, studies have found little to no significant cell phone interference with medical devices. In 2005 the Mayo Clinic ran 510 tests with 16 medical devices and six cell phones. The incidence of clinically important interference was a mere 1.2 percent. A 2007 study on cell phones "used in a normal way" found no interference during 300 tests in 75 treatment rooms.

The cell phone in hospital thing is still controversial, not wholly a myth:

http://www.hps.org/publicinformation/ate/q3730.html

I have used a cell phone in the hospital (in the ER even :-) because I didn't know of the rule. I'm sure some of the ruling isn't because it is dangerous but because it's annoying.

ah a good reason to ban cell phones forever!

Very interesting.

i had heard the one about sneezing, good post thank you for the info

Thank you! Here are a few more to keep this going:

Myth: You should not swim right after eating

Fact: While it is true that physical capability diminishes slightly due changes in bloodflow after eating, there is no medical evidence that swiming after eating causes harm to a normally healthy person.

Myth: We need tax subsidies to keep Public Broadcasting on the the air

Fact: PBS only derives 15 percent of its funding from tax dollars, the remaining funds come from private donations and the sales of millions of dollars in licensed mechandise ( Elmo, Seasome Street, etc) If the government pulled its support PBS would still continue to function

Myth: Urban sprawl is consuming all the land in the US

Fact: According to the department of the interior all 300 million of us live on about 10 percent of the land in the US. Less than 15 percent of the lower 48 has a man made structure of any sort sitting on it. 80 percent of the population live on the east and west coasts with the remaining 20 percent spread out in the middle.

Myth: We have a constitutional right to a jury trial

Fact: Trial by a jury of peers originated from old English law and carried through to the colonies, however it has never been codified in the constitution, the words "trial by jury", do not appear in the document.

I thought I would repost this one