Medical myths
updated
Tags: debunkery, medicine, water, controversy
original abstract†Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
Summary of the evidence against (or lack of evidence for) several medical myths "espoused by physicians and the general public, based on statements we had heard endorsed on multiple occasions and thought were true or might be true":
- People should drink at least eight glasses of water a day
- We use only 10% of our brains
- Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death
- Shaving hair causes it to grow back faster, darker, or coarser
- Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight
- Eating turkey makes people especially drowsy
- Mobile phones create considerable electromagnetic interference in hospitals.
related content
These two articles on PainScience.com cite Vreeman 2007 as a source:
- PS Water Fever and the Fear of Chronic Dehydration — Do we really need eight glasses of water per day?
- PS A Historical Perspective On Aches ‘n’ Pains — We are living in a golden age of pain science and musculoskeletal medicine … sorta
