Eggs are unhealthy. Carrots can improve night vision. Toilet seats can transmit STIs.
These are just three online-circulating medical myths.
However, do you wish to know the true truth?
According to Google trends data from 2022, we’ve analyzed six of the most prevalent medical myths.
Egg yolk is harmful to you
Eggs have been stigmatized for decades due to their high cholesterol content. Which studies have linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Recently, health-conscious diners have favored egg-white omelets, muffins, and other egg-free foods.
But are egg yolks truly so bad? Google saw a 673 percent spike in searches for the solution in 2022, according to Vaping.com.
Despite this, egg yolks have many positive qualities.
While one large yolk contains approximately 185 milligrams of cholesterol. More than half of the recommended daily intake of 300 milligrams — they are low in saturated fat.
Protein, vital fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals are also abundant.
According to the British Heart Foundation, research indicates that for the majority of healthy individuals, cholesterol in the diet has a significantly smaller impact on blood levels, especially when compared to butter and other high-saturated-fat foods.
The organization says that a moderate egg consumption of up to one per day does not increase the risk of heart disease in healthy individuals and may be incorporated into a balanced diet.
However, those with familial hypercholesterolemia, which affects around 1 in 500 individuals, are recommended to consume no more than three or four eggs each week.
Antiperspirants cause cancer
Do antiperspirants promote cancer? Google searches for this query increased by 647 percent in 2022, according to an analysis.
However, the response is a strong no.
According to Cancer Research UK, while some have questioned whether the aluminum in some deodorants and sprays could raise the risk of cancer, there is no solid evidence to support this claim.
On the day of a breast screening, the NHS advises against the use of deodorant sprays, as they may interfere with the mammography and screening findings.
Instead, roll-on deodorants should be utilized, according to the health service.
The toilet seat can cause STIs.
Despite the alarming nature of this claim, it is extremely uncommon to contract a sexually transmitted illness (STI) from sitting on a toilet seat.
The World Health Organization believes that more than one million STIs are acquired daily, while Google searches for this term increased by 525 percent.
However, as bacterial STIs can only survive on surfaces for a limited period and viral STI causes cannot stay outside the human body for long, they would likely die before they could spread on hard surfaces.
Although the chances of obtaining a sexually transmitted disease or infection like chlamydia from a toilet seat are exceedingly tiny, there are others you could pick up in the bathroom.
Norovirus can spread by feces released into the air when a toilet is flushed. Whereas E. coli can be found in feces.
Butter soothes burns.
Butter as a treatment for burns is centuries-old folk medicine. Yet Google recorded a 347% spike in searches for the term in the past year.
Applying cool material to a burn will indeed help alleviate the pain, but the respite is temporary.
Butter could make it worse. Sealing the air out by applying viscous ointments such as butter, could trap heat causing the skin to continue to burn.
The dairy product is teeming with bacteria, so if you apply it to burns, you risk triggering an illness.
Instead, the NHS recommends removing any nearby clothing or jewelry, except anything that is adhered to the skin. And cooling the burn with cool or tepid running water for 20 to 30 minutes.
However, the level of care required for a burn varies on the extent of tissue damage. Burns that are more severe require medical intervention.
Carrots improve night vision
Some have long held the belief that eating carrots daily can improve one’s vision and even enable one to see in the dark.
But do they genuinely improve night vision? The brief response is no.
During World War II, English soldiers utilized newly developed radar technology to detect and destroy German aircraft.
Not wishing to expose their secret, the British Air Ministry started to put out false information that carrots would help a person see in the dark, and that the carrot-filled diets of their men were giving them a tactical advantage.
While numerous studies have demonstrated that vitamin A-rich vegetables are beneficial for eye health due to their high antioxidant content, the idea that they can improve night vision is exaggerated.
The vitamin protects the cornea, the transparent filter in front of the eye, against debris and grit.
It is also a component of rhodopsin, the photopigment in the eye rods that enables a person to see in dim light.
According to the World Health Organization, vitamin A insufficiency is the greatest preventable cause of childhood blindness around the globe.
Eye dryness, throat, and chest infections, poor wound healing, cataracts, clouding of the cornea, and macular degeneration. Which blurs the center of a person’s vision, can result from a deficiency in vitamin A. Each of these conditions can impair vision or lead to blindness.
Arthritis is caused by cracking one’s knuckles
Cracking your knuckles may annoy those around you, but it will not increase your risk of developing arthritis.
Recent studies have not linked knuckle cracking to the development of arthritis, despite a 180 percent increase in Google searches for this issue in the past year.
Persons with arthritis may indeed have cracking joints due to damage to the cartilage on the surface of the joints.
Nonetheless, it is more likely to be a result of injury than a cause.
If you experience an injury when you’re young or rupture a ligament, that puts you at higher risk for arthritis when you are older.
Age, heredity, physical inactivity, smoking, and work are some of the most frequent risk factors for the development of arthritis.
