Debunking Myths

I've heard some pretty wild claims lately, giving me the feeling that a lot of Westerners will believe any health related thing anybody tells them. Yesterday, I saw a pamphlet for magnet therapy as an alternative to prescription drugs. Really? Magnet therapy? Also, my coworker's girlfriend bought a bracelet to help with digestive issues. Of course it came with herbal tea - like the weight loss pills that recommend diet and exercise. I've also heard that meat is bad for you, drinking warm water is better than cold water, milk is bad for you, and running is bad for you.

I'm not even going to waste my time arguing for meat. It's good. If our ancestors didn't eat it, we wouldn't be here. As for warm water vs. cold water, it's one I've heard before. The argument here is that your body can only absorb warm water, and you have to "work" to warm up that cold water. Now, I don't like ice cold water when I'm really thirsty just because I can't drink it fast, but I certainly prefer cool water to warm water. I can see how warm water may hydrate you slightly faster, but in terms of staying cool, cold water wins hands down. Your body doesn't use energy to heat the water, your stomach is already hot. Don't believe me? Read more here.

Another claim I've heard is that milk is not a good source of protein. The argument was that the protein is from another animal, and therefore, useless to humans. Unless you're a cannibal all meat is protein from another animal. We use it just fine. There was another argument against the calcium. I don't know enough about that to argue well, but I drink lots of milk and have pretty strong finger nails and bones as far as I can tell. My favorite milk myth is that it's bad to drink milk before you go work outside in the heat. In high school I drank milk everyday at lunch, then marched outside in band for an hour and a half. Never got sick. Why? Your internal temperature stays the same regardless of outside temperature, or at least it should.

I've also heard that running is bad for your joints. It's certainly a higher impact activity than cycling or swimming, but even in the peak of my running days, I was getting beat by 80 year olds in a 10k. Their joints seemed just fine. Again, if our ancestors never ran, we wouldn't be here. In any case it's better than sitting on the couch.

I'm really getting tired of hearing these things, and now that I've done a little research, maybe I can set some people straight. Most people around here are pretty fit, but it seems that some health nuts are always looking for the new thing. Personally, I think life is too short to eat healthy all the time.