Health

Doctors Are Tired of Having to Bust these Medical Myths

Myth: Ingesting GMOs Can Cause Cancer Truth: GMOs can in no way cause cancer and aren’t as scary as you think. GMOs, or genetically modified organisms,… Trista - September 21, 2022

Myth: Ingesting GMOs Can Cause Cancer

Truth: GMOs can in no way cause cancer and aren’t as scary as you think. GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are crops modified for some reason or another. Perhaps to be bigger in size or to withstand harsher temperatures, but these modifications do not make them nutritiously different from normal crops. Nothing changed within them would have any disposition to cause cancer to develop inside the body.

They make the most common modifications to make them more pest-resistant so that there’s less of a need to use pesticides and to increase crop yields so that there is increased food security in developing countries. So having GMOs can be pretty beneficial when you think about it. In fact, humans have been practicing GMO practices for centuries by crossbreeding certain plants with each other in order to improve their yield or create bigger crops.

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Myth: You Should Workout At Least An Hour A Day For Optimal Health

Truth: People believe they have to exercise for at least an hour a day to be the healthiest. It sounds like an easy goal to accomplish, but not everyone has an hour of free time in their day, so they don’t even try. The truth is that you don’t have to exercise for a full hour to be healthy. Even something as short as a 15-minute walk is better than nothing at all.

By telling yourself that your goal of exercising more is more attainable. Short walks in the morning and afternoon can do wonders to boost your metabolism. Moreover, if you feel like missing out on one day, that’s fine too. The body needs to rest occasionally, just as long as you don’t backslide into not doing daily walks anymore.

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Myth: Being Cold Increases Your Risk of Catching A Cold

Truth: This myth has been around since the time of our grandparents, and before then, it was the belief that if you’re exposed to too much cold air, you can get sick. But this myth is completely false. In fact, one study looked at healthy men who spent several hours in temperatures just above freezing and caused the opposite. There was an increase in virus-fighting activity within the immune system.

In actuality, you’re more likely to get sick staying inside during the winter because of all the germs living inside your home. Furthermore, without open windows for air to escape, you’re trapped with all those germs for an extended period. The old things you can “catch” from being in a cold area are hypothermia, weakening your immune system, and making you more susceptible to becoming sick. However, that requires prolonged exposure at very low temperatures.

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Myth: Eating Chocolate Causes Acne

Truth: For a long time, it was believed that eating chocolate would cause zits to appear on your skin. Many people think this is due to the oil content in chocolate, but the truth is even stranger. Chocolate doesn’t cause acne at all. A study looked at high school students and provided them with candy bars, some with a lot more chocolate than the normal amount and others with no chocolate. The study revealed no discernable difference between the two groups regarding the appearance of acne.

Acne depends on your skin type, how often you clean your skin, and your genetics. Females tend to have acne more than males when it comes to puberty, mostly because of the changes in hormone levels. So even women after the age of 18 will still have acne during their monthly cycle. Acne should no longer be treated as a stigma and should be accepted as a natural occurrence that everyone goes through in life.

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Myth: Doing Crunches Will Give You a Six Pack

Truth: Crunches are one of the most basic exercises that almost anyone can do. But if you think that doing these alone will give you the abs you’re looking for, then you’re sorely mistaken. Crunches work your abdominals, but they’re not going to be the sole exercise you have to do to achieve them. You have to look at building your core strength with specific ab exercises in mind.

First, if there is a layer of body fat over your abs, you have to work on getting rid of that because then you’ll never see your six-pack. Develop a routine of core strengthening exercises along with a healthy nutrition plan so that you can improve your results and have a healthier lifestyle by the time you start seeing your abs.

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Myth: Having A Six-Pack Means You Have Optimal Health

Truth: Many people strive to get that six-pack set of abs that they can show off to everyone, but that doesn’t mean you’re healthy if you attain one. Popular media has made this one of the most important goals for health, but those movies and photos depicting six-packs are actually the results of dehydration to tighten up the skin and make the abs look better.

Six-packs can also result from a too-restrictive diet, meaning that someone is starving themselves to look this way. Having a six-pack is also indicative of having a strong core. And not everyone’s body type can support a six-pack, either. Some are more genetically able to attain a six-pack than others, which can be a low blow to some people’s self-esteem. Instead, focusing on feeling healthy is more important than wanting to look healthy.

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Myth: Microwave Ovens Can Cause Cancer

Truth: Microwaves emit electromagnetic radiation that is used to excite the water molecules in your food so that it is heated up. But cancer? Not in any way. This radiation is no different from the waves that are emitted from your cellphone, and that doesn’t give you cancer, either. This is because the radiation waves aren’t strong enough to affect the structure of your cells, leaving them completely unaffected.

Safety measures minimize any damage to you or the appliances in your home. The radiation stays within the walls of the microwave itself and not out of the door of your microwave. Even the pattern on the microwave door will help keep all the radiation in. If it wasn’t there, all of the appliances in your home would turn off.

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Myth: Weight Training Makes You Bulky and Manly

Truth: This myth has caused some women to avoid going to the gym because they don’t want to become bulky and appear “less attractive.” However, the truth of the matter is that women cannot naturally produce as much testosterone as men do, so it’s more difficult for them to create the same muscle mass from lifting the same amount of weight.

When looking at images of female weightlifters, they are likely to use anabolic steroids to achieve a particular look. However, without steroids, women can achieve a firm cellulite-free appearance and not the super-muscular bulky looks you may have seen on the Internet.

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Myth: Antiperspirant Causes Breast Cancer And Other Health Issues

Truth: Recent studies have tried to demonstrate that deodorants and antiperspirants can cause breast cancer when used daily, but that isn’t the case. Just because the skin in your armpit absorbs it doesn’t mean that it will affect breast tissue. However, even the National Cancer Institute has stated that there is no evidence linking the use of antiperspirants to breast cancer rates. Sweat glands are in no way connected to the lymph nodes in your armpits, so there’s no reason for the two systems to interact.

Since there is no conclusive evidence, other steps can be taken to minimize your risk of breast cancer. These include quitting smoking, practicing healthy habits, being more active throughout your day, and having a nutritious diet. Of course, if you have a family history of breast cancer, it’s essential to schedule an annual mammogram so that suspicious findings can be caught early and treated.

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Myth: You Only Need Sunblock When The Sun’s Out

Truth: You don’t usually put on sunblock in the middle of winter or on a rainy day because there’s no sun out to burn your skin. But that could be your biggest mistake. Just because there are clouds in the sky doesn’t mean that the sun’s powerful rays can’t reach your skin. It also doesn’t mean you can’t get sunburned just because the temperature is cold; the sun is still bright and will burn you.

That’s why it’s important to wear sunblock whenever you go outside during the day to help protect your skin. A broad-spectrum sunblock works best, and it should be applied to all exposed areas of your skin. If you’re going to be out for long periods of time, it should be reapplied every two hours to reduce your chances of getting sunburned.

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Myth: Addiction Affects Everyone in the Same Way

Truth: Whether it’s television shows or movies, addiction is pretty much depicted the same way. That’s why there are so many people who are addicts, but not even their close friends or family members know because they don’t look like the “typical” addicts they’re used to seeing on TV. There’s also the fact that people react to addictions differently, and some people are more predisposed to addiction than others. Some people will not even become addicted to substances and can quit cold turkey afterward.

That’s why not everyone should be treated the same when it comes out that they have an addiction. Using the same rubric to treat people with addictions can lead to backsliding and even giving up because they feel like it’s not working. Finding out the root cause of addiction and treating those roots produce better results than just trying to get someone off of addictive substances alone.

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Myth: Having More Saturated Fats In Your Diet Will Cause Heart Disease

Truth: There is more to consider than just how much-saturated fat you have in your diet. It shouldn’t be the only factor you think, despite all medical literature saying to stay away from it. A study in 2017 actually proved that it wasn’t saturated fats that caused clogged arteries but the amount of bad cholesterol (LDL) present in one’s diet.

This isn’t to say that you can eat all the saturated fat you want; it should still be limited in your diet, but you don’t need to avoid it altogether. Practicing healthier eating habits and exercising regularly should be added to your daily routine to help counteract any saturated fats you may have on a given day.

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Myth: You Should Apply Deodorant in the Morning

Truth: It makes a lot of sense that you should put on deodorant when you get out of bed and are ready to tackle the day. Especially if you shower in the morning, you want to be able to smell clean and fresh throughout the rest of your workday. Nevertheless, dermatologists have stated that it would be better if you started putting on deodorant the night before you go to sleep. Why? Because it gives your skin more time to absorb so that it can work longer.

Moreover, if you miss that clean, fresh smell, you can constantly reapply a little in the morning when you get out of bed. It’s not necessary, of course, but more for your own comfort level than anything else. It even says right on the label that it’s a good idea to apply before going to bed, but it doesn’t seem like everyone knows about that handy little tip.

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Myth: Sugar Makes Children Hyperactive

Truth: Too much sugar generally isn’t good for you, but it was the belief that children having too much sugar would end up being hyperactive, do worse in school, or be unable to focus on tasks they were given. However, this isn’t actually true. Too much sugar will make you drowsy after a while because of digestion. Those children who acted out were already primed to be like that.

When you ingest too much sugar, the brain releases a feel-good chemical called dopamine. You’ll also get a quick burst of energy because your blood sugar levels go up fast. However, then you get a sudden drop or “sugar crash” afterward. The pancreas also pumps out more insulin to help digest this sugar. Suppose you overeat sugar for a long period of time. In that case, your pancreas will no longer respond to create insulin. Your blood sugar levels will remain elevated, leading to type 2 diabetes.

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Myth: Bottled Water is Better for You Than Tap

Truth: Bottled water is depicted as the best choice out there because it is taken from all-natural spring reservoirs rich with natural minerals that our bodies need. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but those are just selling points to make you buy the product so that you can believe you’re healthier. The truth is that tap water is just fine if you live somewhere that has safe municipal water practices.

The presence of fluoride in water is just fine and actually isn’t toxic; it’s only poisonous at high levels, which is difficult to attain in just tap water. In fact, bottled water is much less healthy, especially when it comes to the planet. It creates a ton of plastic waste that often isn’t recycled by enough people, resulting in landfills and the ocean, creating a dangerous environment for aquatic life.

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Myth: Drinking Juice Cleanses Will Make You Have Optimal Health

Truth: People would like to think that having a juice cleanse is a great way to get all the impurities and toxins out of your system, but that’s not the case. That function is already completed by the liver and kidneys and excreted your waste. Having cleanses does not provide anything else to help your liver and kidneys. In fact, they can actually do a lot of harm.

A juice cleanse forces your body to purge (also known as diarrhea), which essentially sweeps all the essential nutrients out of your body. The process can also leave you feeling dehydrated, and that’s not a good state to be in. If you want to keep your body as “clean” as possible, exercise regularly, drink enough water, and minimize how much processed foods you eat. Your body will thank you for it.

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Myth: Addiction is a Choice

Truth: Popular media has depicted addiction as something people choose to do “when things get tough,” but that could not be farther from the truth. Addiction is a highly complex thing with no concrete explanation, and there are several complicated reasons why people turn to certain substances. What’s worse is that these media stories depict people overcoming their addictions through the sheer power of will and determination.

These stories tend to simplify the overall process, which ends up setting unrealistic expectations for real people in the world with addictions, that they can just overcome if they just try hard. Without the right support system in place, addiction fundamentally changes a person’s brain chemistry to the point that it sometimes becomes the only choice people have left in the world.

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Myth: Energy Drinks Contain Special Alertness-Boosting Ingredients

Truth: Many people turn to energy drinks instead of coffee to help them get through their days. They need that extra boost of energy, either because they didn’t sleep well or didn’t get enough. Either way, they believe that there are some healthy choices of energy drinks out there, especially the ones that have tons of vitamins and minerals in them. The truth, however, is that caffeine is the main ingredient to help boost energy, the same amount found in coffee.

All those vitamins and minerals can be found by eating a healthy diet, anyway, so don’t think you’re supplementing your diet with energy drinks. A real addiction can form to the point that without a drink, you can experience headaches and twitching. You would be better off having a balanced diet and a cup of coffee than relying on energy drinks daily.

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Myth: Eating Before Bed Makes You Overweight

Truth: It is the belief that because you’re eating right before bed, your stomach isn’t going to have time to digest it all and will choose to store it instead, leading to weight gain at an accelerated rate. However, that is not the case. There is no magical time you stop eating before bed; the real problem is what you eat before bed and how much. People tend to eat more junk food in the evenings instead of snacking on something healthy.

It doesn’t help to starve yourself before bed if you’re hungry. You may find falling asleep a little harder if you go to bed hungry. Just look at eating small healthy snacks, such as a protein bar or protein shake, to help boost your metabolism but still keep your calorie intake moderate before bed. You’ll have better results than eating a whole bag of potato chips before bed.

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Myth: Touching Toilet Seats Can Make You Sick

Truth: Of course, in any public restroom, the last thing you want to touch is the toilet because of the… functions that take place on them. But to say they’re the dirtiest part of the bathroom is entirely wrong. You’re less likely to get sick from the toilet than if you were to touch the bathroom doors or stall handles in a public restroom, and that’s because those bathroom areas are touched by hands that haven’t been washed yet.

And hands tend to be part of the body covered with the most bacteria when they’re not washed regularly. It’s best to use a paper towel to open doors and stalls before and after using the bathroom. Then, apply some hand sanitizer, just to be sure. Sure, toilets might look and smell gross, but they’re not the dirtiest part of any public bathroom.

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Myth: You Should Remove Sugar Entirely From Your Diet For Optimal Health

Truth: Sugar is touted as a big bad villain that you should completely eliminate from your diet. People believe that it is terrible for them in every way and avoid sugar altogether. However, there are different types of sugar, some of which are actually good for you. The fruits you find in vegetables, fruits, and dairy are good for your health and, combined with the other vitamins and minerals, make the sugar worth it.

The problem is that people focus on refined sugar as being bad and apply that to all kinds of sugar. They also indulge in too much-refined sugar, which is mostly responsible for the bad habits associated with sugar. If moderation is exercised and sugar intake is reduced to a healthy amount, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with having some sugar in your diet.

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Myth: If You Stop Weight Training, Muscles Turn to Fat

Truth: Wouldn’t it be nice if fat turned into muscles? Of course, if you believed that, you’d probably believe that muscle can turn back fat if you stop working out. But fat and muscle are two different kinds of tissue that don’t really interact with each other. So, what’s really going on when you stop working out? Why do you look softer and less defined?

You’re losing muscle mass due to a lack of activity, and it’s not actually turning back into fat. If you stop working out and start delving into bad eating habits, then fat accumulates around the muscle, depending on the area of the body. So, if you care about your muscle definition, maintain your exercise routine when possible.

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Myth: You Should Have More Organic Foods In Your Diet

Truth: There’s no objective evidence to show that organic foods are inherently better for you than other foods. You can grow them with no synthetic pesticides or other non-organic means. However, that doesn’t mean that they’re more nutritious in any way. You’ll not get more vitamin C from an organic orange than an orange grown with conventional farming practices.

It’s not even evident if lowering pesticide residue on foods has any impact on human health whatsoever. Of course, that can be difficult to measure, but there have been no serious health impacts from eating foods raised using pesticides, as long as they’re washed first. So if you feel like you need to save money by not going organic, then don’t feel guilty about it.

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Myth: Carrots Give You Night Vision

Truth: It was often told to everyone as children that they should eat more carrots, as it would improve their night vision. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Carrots are pretty good for your eyesight, but they’re not that good. Vitamin A, which the body creates after eating carrots, helps the eye to convert light into a signal that can be sent to the brain.

The downside to this is that vitamin A is fat-soluble, which means that it’s stored in fat and isn’t easy for the body to get rid of, so if you continue to eat too many carrots, you’ll end up with an overdose. This appears as a yellowish coloration to the skin and changes in your bowel movements. It’s better to have a varied diet instead of bingeing on a lot of carrots just to improve your eyesight. They work well, but they’re not a miracle cure.

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Myth: Starve a Fever, Feed a Cold

Truth: Even though you may not have heard this adage, it couldn’t be more wrong. There’s no reason to starve yourself when you’re sick or trying to lose weight because your body is working overtime to fight infection. That means it doesn’t hurt to provide a little more fuel to help it during this challenging time by eating as much of a regular diet as possible.

This is especially important even if you don’t feel hungry at all. Of course, if you’re constantly feeling nauseous, it’s best to avoid solid foods and focus on warm liquids such as soups and tea, so they’re easy to digest and easier on your stomach. Calorie-dense foods are also a good idea to help replenish your electrolytes and keep your energy levels up as much as possible.

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Myth: Our Fingernails Keep Growing After We Die

Truth: When you die, all of the body’s processes stop. That means that your hair and your fingernails don’t continue to grow after you die. What’s really responsible for their “longer” appearance is the dehydration of the skin, causing it to shrink and pull back around the fingernails and on the scalp so that they look longer.

A chemical called biotin is responsible for hair and nail growth, which is part of the B complex vitamins. It helps the body convert food into energy to metabolize fats and proteins and promote healthy hair and nail growth. Without biotin, you can have brittle nails and thinning hair. So if you’ve passed away, there is no new introduction of biotin into the body, so your hair and nails cannot keep growing.

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Myth: You Need To Take A Multivitamin Every Day For Optimal Health

Truth: Multivitamins have become synonymous with good health, but that’s not necessarily the case. Multivitamins are proposed as “that little extra” that you need when you’re not taking specific nutrients in your diet. But if you’re eating a pretty well-balanced diet, you don’t need multivitamins. The only time you should be taking them is if your doctor recommends them to you. For example, if you’re a pregnant woman, you’ll need some extra vitamins to ensure the health of your fetus as it grows.

Otherwise, you can save money and just invest in a healthier diet with all the necessary vitamins and minerals. Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy oils. It can take a lot of willpower to make the change, but it will be worth it if you don’t have to pay for a bottle of multivitamins every three months.

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Myth: The Flu Shot Gives You the Flu

Truth: It can feel like you’ve gotten the flu after getting your flu shot, but these are expected side effects. The most common ones are redness and swelling at the injection site, overall soreness, low fever, and some muscle aches, all symptoms that are similar to the flu. However, unlike the flu, these side effects will pass quickly instead of lingering around for a week or more.

And yet, the myth persists, leading people to believe that the shots don’t work. They think the government created shots that make you feel sick instead of preventing the flu. However, most flu shots use an inactive virus or no virus at all, so there is no way for you to actually get the flu from getting your flu shots every year. Don’t avoid it; you can cut down on the spread of the flu by getting vaccinated every year and slowing down its mutation so that more people are protected next year.

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Myth: Natural Sugars Are Better Than Refined Sugar

Truth: Many believe that the refinement process of creating white sugar makes it less healthy for you. They think that coconut sugar, agave sugar, and raw brown sugar are healthier options. However, to be quite honest, they’re still all sugar and should be treated the same way. You should consume them in moderation. They’re all simple sugars processed the same way, so even molasses and honey are still a little unhealthy for you.

The best choice for a source of sugar is fruit. You are also getting a ton of other vitamins, minerals, and fiber along with the sugar. It makes them more nutritious. So, if you ever feel a sugar craving, reach for something sweet plucked from a vine or tree. Skip the sugary snacks that come in a wrapper.

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Myth: Chocolate is an Aphrodisiac

Truth: Although chocolates make a great gift for Valentine’s Day, don’t think they’ll get you some luck before the night is out. It has been a common misconception that chocolate is an aphrodisiac, meaning it can make you ready for sexy time after eating a few pieces. However, this isn’t the case at all. Studies have shown that chocolate has had no effect on the sexual response in men, and there is only preliminary evidence as to improved libido in women. However, there’s not enough information to go on.

Chocolate, in and of itself and in small moderation, can actually be pretty good for your health. Dark chocolate, in particular, has been known to lower blood pressure, increase blood circulation, and reduce the risk of clotting. So a little bit every day can work wonders for your health. Just as long as you’re not indulging in too much every day, because there is a lot of sugar and calories in chocolate, so you can make all the beneficial properties not worth it.

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Myth: Eating Breakfast Helps You To Lose Weight

Truth: Having breakfast in the morning is a great way to jumpstart your metabolism so that it’s ready for the day but having breakfast doesn’t guarantee losing weight. It’s really dependent on the kind of breakfast that you have and what your metabolism is really like. Having breakfast can also help you to minimize your snacking throughout the day, but it’s not a guarantee that you’ll lose weight.

In fact, some studies have shown that some people who don’t eat breakfast tend not to overeat at lunch and dinner and actually ingest fewer calories during the day than those who eat breakfast. So it’s a personal choice to see what works for you when it comes to losing weight because not every plan will work for everyone.

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Myth: “Starving Yourself” Can Be Effective for Weight Loss

Truth: After all, if you’re not taking in calories, you’re not gaining weight, right? It should be the easiest solution for hitting your target goal weight. Unfortunately, starving yourself can have the opposite effect of what you’re looking for. As the body starts to get hungry, it starts to hold on to the calories and fat you do have left. The body uses it for fuel to maintain the body’s other functions. That means that it’s going to hold on to a certain weight for a longer time.

That means when you’ve hit your goal and start eating again, the body will hold on to all that nutrition even harder. Your body doesn’t want to endure another moment of starvation again, hence it holding onto nutrients. That’s why starvation or low-calorie diets don’t work at all. It’s much better to focus on eating a healthy diet with moderate exercise to help keep the weight off.

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Myth: Drinking Coffee Can Stunt Your Growth

Truth: Coffee does not contain chemicals that will diminish your height as you grow older. Your genetics entirely determines your height, and coffee is not strong enough to change your genes. It’s unclear where this old myth came from, but people probably used it as a scare tactic to stop children from trying to drink coffee.

Otherwise, no scientific evidence shows that coffee will stunt your growth. The only medical condition coffee relates to is a slight increase in blood pressure. However, coffee addiction becomes a real thing if drunk in high quantities. In addition, you can have high blood pressure, dizziness, headaches, and an abnormal heartbeat, just to name a few of the symptoms. Limiting your coffee intake to no more than six cups a day is best.

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Myth: You Need To Get Eight Hours of Sleep Every Night To Have Optimal Health

Truth: Although eight hours is a goal some people strive for, not everyone is the same. Some people feel well-rested after getting less sleep or require a lot more. It really depends on people’s personal metabolisms and the quality of sleep that they have. For example, if someone’s day has a lot of heavy work that makes them extremely tired, they might require a lot more sleep every night to feel energized the next day.

Everyone has a different circadian rhythm that determines optimal sleep time. It could be anywhere from six to nine hours, so always aiming for eight might not work for some people. Sleep should be treated like exercise and hydration: get enough so that you feel your best and don’t give yourself some unattainable goal that doesn’t make you feel healthy.

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