Truth Telling : Health and Wellness Issues

Jamie Brown
Myth: You catch something bad from a toilet seat.

Most doctors agree that you cannot catch something from a toilet seat because hard porcelain surfaces like toilet seats don't carry germs well. The only way you could "catch" something is if you had a cut on your butt and sat in some type of bacteria, which is very rare, or touched the seat with your hands and then put your fingers in your mouth.

Some Truth: Anti-perspirant deodorant can be bad for you.

There was a news item going around that anti-perspirant deodorants cause cancer due to the fact that an anti-perspirant prevents toxins from leaving your armpit as they should naturally. The toxins instead deposit themselves in the lymph nodes and can lead to cancer. The truth of this claim has not been determined with 100% assurance, but the concept has merits. A study by Dana K. Mirick at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center concluded that there is no link between antiperspirants and breast cancer. Other studies state that there is a connection, but only when the antiperspirant user shaves under their arms too much.

Truth: You can do situps all the time, but your stomach won't get flatter.

Many people incorrectly believe that doing situps and crunches alone will flatten their tummies. In actuality, all that sit ups do is tighten up the muscles around your belly. They do not burn the fat around your midsection. In order to lose belly fat, you have to do cardiovascular exercises; running, walking, jumping, step exercises, to burn calories and fat, in coordination with sit ups and crunches . You also have to change your diet and eat the right foods.

Myth: All of the minerals in the vitamins I take are being absorbed by my body.

Many people think that they are getting all of the nutrition they need from a standard multi-vitamin . The truth is that you only get under 10% absorption from the average multi-vitamin found on the shelves of your local vitamin shop or supermarket. The other 90% passes right through your system and leaves in your waste.

Truth: Margarine is bad for you.

Margarine is extremely high in trans fatty acids and increases your cholesterol levels in leaps and bounds. What's even worse is that margarine is just one molecule from being officially classified as plastic. Yea, that stuff that they sell side by side with real butter. No wonder they sell four sticks of this stuff for 75 cents! They say that margarine is so artificial and gross that even fruit flies avoid it. That's because it is not a real food.

Sources:

Judy Foreman, "Health Answers," The Boston Globe

Dr. Kris McGrath, European Journal of Cancer Prevention, Dr. Kris McGrath

Katrina J., "Doing Crunches Won't Make Your Stomach Flat," Associated Content

Ben Goldacre, "Is there a link between breast cancer and antiperspirant?" The Guardian

http://www.melaleuca.com

http://journalofhealthyliving.com/is-margarine-better-than-butter.htm

Published by Jamie Brown

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