Living More Healthily: Five Myths About Personal Health

_{Photo by Anna Tarazevich}

There has never been a time when misinformation has been as abundant as it is today. Just open up Facebook, and chances are, you’ll be immediately deluged with posts and comments talking about something inane and obviously untrue. Try this, and you’ll be thinner tomorrow! you might read. Don’t eat rice, or you’ll never grow taller than 4 feet! another might say. Misinformation is everywhere. It’s on the internet, and it’s in the news. It’s in the texts you get, and it’s in the posts you receive. How do you even wade into it…?

There’s no place safe from misinformation–especially with AI models running amok across the virtual landscape–and the world of health is no outlier. Myths on how to live healthily have always existed. Even before the internet was willed into existence by Al Gore (this is a joke), but it’s gotten more pronounced and concerning now that everyone can just say anything without fear of reprisal.

There’s a whole sea of misinformation concerning healthy living.

In this article, we’ll be talking about five of them.

Five Myths About Personal Health

If the landscape of health and wellness is a large and beautiful forest, misinformation is a raging wildfire. From fads spun out by social media to old but suspicious traditions, there’s a lot of ideas about how to live healthily that obviously don’t come from any scientific or rigorous observation of the facts. A lot of what we think of how to live healthily is underscored by myth and superstition and heap of misunderstandings. And it doesn’t take an Einstein to see that that’s a bad idea.

_{Photo by Alex Green}

Living More Healthily: The Myth of Eating Eggs

Now, no one here is saying that you shouldn’t eat eggs. Eggs are life, and we say that with all seriousness. But, there are some circles that avoid eggs like it’s the plague–and not because of allergies or anything reasonable–but because they see it as an ungainly source of cholesterol.

While eggs do have cholesterol–a lot of “healthy” foods do–the type that they contain won’t really add up to your heart problems if you have any.

Not all cholesterol is bad. If they all were, nature would have already found a way to flush it out of everything. As with everything concerning health, it really depends on the ratio.

And actually, eating eggs helps with cholesterol.

Living More Healthily: The Myth of Carbohydrates

The low-carb diet is a staple in the healthy living package, and while it’s indeed important to limit your carbs, the idea is founded on really shaky ground. First of all, it presumes that all carbohydrates are bad–which is not the case. It’s never the case. If you want to lose weight, simply avoiding carbohydrates is an extreme simplification.

Don’t get sucked into partaking in lots of white bread and sugary drinks–that’s a good idea–but there are complex carbohydrates out there that are actually nutritious!

_{Photo by Yan Krukau}

Living More Healthily: The Myth of Drinking Water

The idea of drinking eight glasses of water a day is a pervasive myth. Now, while it is really important to drink water every day, limiting it to eight is a very stark generalization. The amount of water that your body needs varies, depending on your body type, how much activity you do and where you live.

If you live in a desert, it’s probably a bad idea to just take eight glasses a day. What you actually have to do is just listen to your body. If you feel thirsty, grab a drink or two or more until you’re satisfied. It’s as simple as that.

Debunking Myths and Living A Healthy Life

Myths about how to live healthily can be very persistent. They’re like weeds that way. You debunk one, and maybe two more will grow to take its place. Hopefully, it doesn’t come to that with this article–but you never know.

To stem the tide of misinformation of any kind, not just about healthy living, it’s important that everyone, from individuals to groups to governments, promote the necessity of learning how to think critically and looking for evidence.

A good way to start thinking consciously about health is with My COVID-19 Diary and The Happy, Healthy Revolution by Dr. Theresa Y. Wee, M.D.

Click the link above to take a look at her website!