Sure, we used the word "stupidly" in the headline, but, we'd like to clarify that in no way should you be ashamed of yourself for still believing any (or all) of the health myths you might read below. Nowadays there's so much health and fitness mumbo-jumbo on the internet, it's hard to know what's real and what's complete and total garbage — if anything, it's no different than the rest of the mainstream media. Sigh, #FakeNews is still alive and well, guys.
With that, we decided it would be useful to share this survey from MedicareSupplement.com. They showed over 1,000 Americans a list of nearly 50 health myths and facts (all confirmed as such by at least three reputable sources) and asked them to select the statements they believed to be true. The results were pretty, erm, startling. Take a look, and remember, you're not alone, y'all.
Human Health Perceptions
- All myths studied were broken into five health-related categories: medicine, nutrition, fitness, sex, and miscellaneous. Overall, Americans bought into nutrition myths more easily than any other health category.
Medical Beliefs
- Neurologist Barry Gordon at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine calls the myth that we only use 10% of our brains “laughable.” Instead, Gordon insists, “we use virtually every part of the brain.”
Fitness Fallacies
- Thirty-two percent of Generation X and 29 percent of women felt their fat would convert into muscle if they paused their fitness regimen at any point. The truth is, muscle and fat are entirely different tissue types, neither of which are interchangeable. Men were the most likely to believe that a workout is only successful if muscle soreness occurs the next day. In reality, soreness can be a poor or false indicator of a work out’s benefits.
STD Myths
- Men were the most likely to believe that a woman could not get pregnant while on her period. While it is less likely for a woman to become pregnant during this particular time in her cycle, it is certainly not impossible.
So, guys, what have we learned here today? Most importantly, we'd like to stress that if your sexual partner is on her period, use freakin' contraception. Again: yes, it's unlikely that she'll get pregnant, but not impossible. Secondly, we're sorry, but your fat is never going to turn into muscle. Lastly, you use all of your brain, every damn day. We know that last bit might be upsetting, but, it's true. Here's hoping 2018 is a year of knowledge, exploration, and #RealNews.
To read the full study, head over to MedicareSupplement.com.
Lead Image via Getty
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