Seven Myths About Our Body
As we have seen before in other fields, the study of the human body allows us to debunk many misconceptions that we have. In this article, we’ll tell you more about the seven most popular myths about our body–that really aren’t true.
Globalization and social networks have given rise to the amount of fake news and information from low credibility sources. This has led to a popularization of myths about our body that have nothing to do with truths. For centuries, people have also passed on these myths from generation to generation, even though there are no theories to support them.
Seven myths about our body
In some cases, the truth may seem somewhat disappointing. However, it’s always necessary to separate fact from fiction and expose the truth. Here are the explanations for the myths surrounding our body:
1.- “Our brain only uses 10 per cent of its capacity”
How many times have you heard this quote as an irrefutable truth? Well unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Except in the instance of pathology issues and diseases, where the person that suffers from this genuinely can’t use their full brain capacity. In these rare cases, this can happen.
Human beings use practically all of their brain resources throughout each day. Therefore, there are no secret techniques to ‘activate’ any dormant potential.
2.- “If you shave your hair, it grows back thicker”
Our hair is constantly growing. Cutting or shaving it doesn’t alter this quality, which by the way, is determined by genetics.
The myth comes from the fact that, when hair begins to grow, it looks thicker. As time goes by, elements like the sun and wind discolor and wear down the hair and that’s why we perceive it as thinner.
3.- “Sugar causes hyperactivity”
This is a surprising statement. For years we’ve witnessed parents who don’t allow their children to consume certain products, in order to avoid the stimulating effects that sugar can have on their behavior.
Well, it seems that this myth doesn’t actually have any scientific basis. On the other hand, sugar -that has unquestionable risks for different reasons- increases the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter substance that has calming properties.
4.- “Humans have five senses”
It may surprise you to know that a lot of scientific evidence suggests that humans have two other senses. They’re called nociception and thermoception. They allow us to feel pain and detect temperatures, respectively.
5.- “You should drink coffee if you’re drunk”
You’ve surely drank a cup of coffee in order to mitigate the effects of too many alcoholic drinks at some point? However, doing this doesn’t have the result that you may think.
Furthermore, coffee could even have the opposite effect to what you’re looking for. In reality, coffee returns our body to the alert state that the alcohol suppressed. However, this doesn’t help to alleviate the negative effects that alcoholic beverages have on our cognitive processes.
In conclusion: coffee will help you to feel more awake, but you’ll still be drunk! To eliminate alcohol faster from your body, you should drink a lot of water.
6.- “Reading in a dim light is damaging for your eye sight”
This typical statement that mothers and grandmothers tend to say, has no empirical foundation. Reading in a dim light causes eye fatigue, but that won’t ruin your eye sight. Just a few hours after you’ve taken a break, your sight will be back to normal.
7.- “You need to drink two liters of water a day”
We can debunk this myth from various perspectives. First, it’s necessary to point out that not all bodies are the same; therefore, not all of us have the same needs.
Second, we can’t only focus on drinking water. We have to consider all liquids. These are present in infusions, meat, fish, eggs, vegetables and fruits. Of course, drinking water does provide the biggest amount of liquids that we consume daily.
Finally, we must also say that the amount of liquids we have to consume isn’t exactly two liters. There’s no universal quantity and no one has proved the benefits of over hydration. The best advice is to listen to your body. It has almost foolproof sensors to prevent dehydration.
So, if you feel thirsty or if you have lost or are going to lose a lot of water during a workout, drink up. But if you don’t, nothing will happen. Your body will certainly let you know when it’s necessary to drink more.
As you can see, many of these popular fallacies are deeply rooted. However, just a little bit of scientific data is enough to debunk them totally. From now on, these myths about our body with will no longer deceive you.
