Stories handed down through the generations are often no more than old wives’ tales with little truth or scientific evidence to back their claims.
Given today’s advances in medicine and technology, we know now that some things could have been a product of their time or culture, or even just said to scare children from indulging in silly behaviour.
For instance, Chinese women during confinement are subject to many taboos but knowing what we know now, and how some of these hand-me-down so-called “nuggets of wisdom” came from abroad, they may not apply to us as we live in the tropics and have easy access to modern hospitals and treatments.
While we don’t want to dismiss everything we hear, it’s probably best to take things with a pinch of salt. Here are some common myths:
Grapefruit go with diet plans. — Filepic
1 Grapefruit helps you lose weight
There’s some truth to this as the fruit has many nutrients and increases metabolic rate. A member of the citrus family, grapefruit is high in vitamin C and minerals, and contains naringenin, an antioxidant that helps the body with the breaking down of insulin. Those looking to shed some weight often add grapefruit to their diet as they believe it improves calorie burn. While it’s a step in the right direction towards a healthy diet, it’s not about to make you lose kilos overnight.
2 Cranberry juice helps prevent UTI
Urinary tract infection can be a real pain and women are often told to drink cranberry juice to ease or even prevent the symptoms. While cranberry juice may be overall good for bladder health, it doesn’t work for everyone. And certainly, if you’ve already got a full-blown infection, it’s best to consult a doctor to alleviate the symptoms before it gets worse and affects your kidneys. Research has shown that cranberries are thought to have properties that make it harder for bacteria to stick to the urinary tract walls. But you really have to drink a lot to to have a real effect.
Carrots are said to promote better eyesight. — Filepic
3 Carrot can improve your eyesight
Every child growing up has probably been told this some time or other. It sounds like a tall one but there is an ounce of truth to it. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene which can help the body with vitamin A and nourish the eye. But to see a real difference (pun intended) in your eyesight, you really have to eat a truckload of carrots, by which time your skin will probably turn yellow first due to the natural pigmentation.
4 Chewing gum stays in the stomach for seven years
One of the silliest dares kids used to do (or maybe still do) is to challenge each other to swallow chewing gum. And it’s horrifying as we’re told it’ll stay in the tummy as a lump for seven long years! But that’s not possible as most likely it’ll just pass through the body system along the way.
5 Expectant mothers should avoid spicy food
Mothers-to-be have the hardest time as there’s a whole list of taboos which they have to adhere to, otherwise their offspring will suffer for it, or so they’ve been told. Besides the old wives’ caution that expectant mothers should not harm scaly animals or else their child will have scaly skin, pregnant women have been told to avoid spicy food as it might trigger early labour. Now, this doesn’t sound so far-fetched and may have a tiny element of truth, no? Wrong! Spicy food is 100% safe and won’t harm the baby at all, though there’s a chance it might trigger heartburn or indigestion for the mother.
Don’t leave grains of rice on your plate. — Filepic
6 Leftover rice will give you a pimple-faced spouse
Hands up all of you who were told as children to finish all your rice, otherwise your future husband/wife will have a face full of pimples! A superstition handed down by your grandmother and probably your grandmother’s grandmother, there’s absolutely no truth to this as we all know acne and pimples are a result of hormone imbalance, one’s diet and skin that hasn’t been cleansed properly. Rice is a staple in most typical Asian households and during hard times, leaving food on the plate was a habit that wouldn’t have been tolerated. Nowadays, we live in societies that are trying hard to curb food wastage and many are cutting rice from their daily diet to reduce carb intake.
Watermelon seeds, anyone? — Filepic
7 Swallow seeds and a tree will grow in your stomach
Another old wives’ tale probably fed to children to make them be more careful when eating watermelon, oranges and other fruits that have small seeds. There’s no truth whatsoever to this silly piece of advice. Although, in 2009, it was the strangest thing when a Russian man who was coughing badly and experiencing chest pains discovered a fir tree growing in his lungs! But it was a medical abnormality not to be repeated, so we should stop scaring kids with this!
