10 Biggest Health Myths

Found this article and thought it made some greats points (many of which we have already touched on in other threads, lolol!):


http://preventdisease.com/home/tips88.shtml

Originally Posted by sesheta

Found this article and thought it made some greats points (many of which we have already touched on in other threads, lolol!):
http://preventdisease.com/home/tips88.shtml

Great article Sesheta! A nice summary of much of what ails us! Several segments could be easily quoted but this one pretty-much says it all!

<snip>

Edited by SF Staff

Exactly :)
I grew up in a family that was never big on doctors, so going to a Dr. or the hospital was reserved only for extreme illness or if our own conventional/natural methods weren't working!
So, even now I hardly ever go the Dr. unless I really need to. My family doctor bugs me each time I do see him that I should go in for check-ups, a physical, etc, etc.....more often....I told him point-blank "well, doc, I hate to bother you if I don't need you!" lolol. I fail to understand the reasoning behind getting check-ups, tests, etc. if you don't need to. If I'm feeling absolutely great, and have no complaints, then obviously my system is functioning as it needs to.
If, however, something starts to "go wrong" or I feel that there's something majorly "off" with me, I will go see him and say "OK, something's wrong here - help me figure out what it is!"

**As an interesting side note - here's something I've often wondered about:

As I've posted here before, I developed a kidney issue 3-4 years ago, which resulted in my low-sodium diet...
Anyway - before that started, I had severely sprained my ankle, and it took quite a while to heal. Then, within 6 months of that, the same ankle that I had sprained started to swell up....the swelling spread from there, up that leg, and into other areas. This is what caused me to see the doctor, and the testing began, until they discovered the swelling was caused by my kidneys malfunctioning. I told every doctor/specialist I saw that it all seemed to start with that sprained ankle - but they all dismissed it, saying one had nothing to do with the other.....but I still wonder - it seemed like more than coincidence to me that the exact place I had sprained is where the problem started.... ?????

You really have to take articles liek that with a grain of salt. For instance:

10 - Any excersise is beneficial, but its right when it states we need vigerous physical activity.

9 - The soy thing is a bit new. Im keeping my eye on that one.

8 - That one is hotly debated within the scientific community. Im sure it effects things, but conspiracy theorists take the stories way out of context

7 - THis one is completely absurd. I personally knopw 3 people who proper screening was done, and it saved their lives. The studies pertaining to the prostate cancer are questioned by many doctors, and it deals witht he TYPE of screening. The media are the ones stating "screening does not prevent cancer", NOT the doctors themselves.

6 - I believe it IS the wine and beer to a sence, de to the HIGH levels of antioxidents available. People jsut dont know when to say no.

5 - Flouride is in our tap water. Its NATURALLY availale in our food and waters. We do only need minute portions of it, which are closely monitored. The ONLY thing that I have not seen properly backed up pertaining to flouride, is the bio accumulation of it - the amounds being absorbed and stored in rocks plants and the ground. There is NO source of water that is flouride free.

4 - Again, missing the context. Sure, diet fads are horrible, but low "bad" cholestrol is good to kow about, other wise trans fats would be verywhere (which arent th ebest to eat in the amount we usually do in the west). The focus should be on the proper amount of fats to eat, not WHAT ones.

3 - The only vaccines which are "sketchy" are flu shots. The autism studies are debated now, and the Dr who wrote them is no longer practising.Small pox and measels are not nearly as big of a problem as they were, stickley due to vaccines for th emost part.

2 - There are very few actual studies that arent extremely bias in regards to this. So far what I have read has been disterbing, including ingredients that "change DNA strands at random". Sure there is such thing as TOO much sun, but liek diseases, you need to get sick to be immune. You should shelter young kids from the sun until they get used to it, but really, we NEED solar radiation to some degree.

1 - It does help sick people. Its helped me, and family, and friends. It isnt nearly as efficiant and run as proper as it should. This article clearly is written by an american writer, who is using the US healthcare system as a borometer for the rest of the world, which is nothing even close to being fair. Sure, there is an over abundance onmedicine, rather then treating in some cases, but you CANNOT paint everyone with such a broad brush like that. GIving some one oxycontin for a broken leg is stupid - Giving some one opiates after major invasive surgery is not.

Originally Posted by Time

You really have to take articles liek that with a grain of salt. For instance:

It would take far too long to detail where you're off on most all of your examples... I appreciate your concerns in this matter, but much of the article is in line with many of the doctors who have broken rank with the industries approaches to health care, and are now on-board with the more natural approaches! True, American healthcare is in the toilet... and it's also true that many countries will watch the effects of new medications on the Yanks before adopting them themselves... Americans are currently the global medical lab rats for the testing of new formulas ... but eventually habits here will be exported, so the problems we're having will eventually seep into your system as well...

Originally Posted by sesheta

**As an interesting side note - here's something I've often wondered about:

As I've posted here before, I developed a kidney issue 3-4 years ago, which resulted in my low-sodium diet...
Anyway - before that started, I had severely sprained my ankle, and it took quite a while to heal. Then, within 6 months of that, the same ankle that I had sprained started to swell up....the swelling spread from there, up that leg, and into other areas. This is what caused me to see the doctor, and the testing began, until they discovered the swelling was caused by my kidneys malfunctioning. I told every doctor/specialist I saw that it all seemed to start with that sprained ankle - but they all dismissed it, saying one had nothing to do with the other.....but I still wonder - it seemed like more than coincidence to me that the exact place I had sprained is where the problem started.... ?????

My wife as been a nurse for quite a few years now and noticed a long time ago the innate value of nurses.... nurses tend to ~listen~, while doctors often resist intimately doing so... doctors tend to have a lot on their mind so they're only partly there with you and often go with what readily comes to mind... while a "good" nurse will generally let-go of pre-assumptions and put things together in direct relation to feed back.... In the clinical setting my wife has caught many things that the doctor had missed.. some doctors didn't mind her input, while other doctors took offense... strange world this medical system is.... :^)

[Sapphirez]

Originally Posted by StephenK

It would take far too long to detail where you're off on most all of your examples... I appreciate your concerns in this matter, but much of the article is in line with many of the doctors who have broken rank with the industries approaches to health care, and are now on-board with the more natural approaches! True, American healthcare is in the toilet... and it's also true that many countries will watch the effects of new medications on the Yanks before adopting them themselves... Americans are currently the global medical lab rats for the testing of new formulas ... but eventually habits here will be exported, so the problems we're having will eventually seep into your system as well...

I'm glad you posted this, I was a little concerned after reading Time's post.. no offense Time, but I have to disagree with you.
I am still naive about many things, but much of this rings true with me.. and I live in the U.S. so I see the scary things that are actually going on.. and I've been researching why they are allowed to; it's all very clear once you get a glimpse..
it's sad, but information like this is refreshing and comforting to know.
it's important to not believe everything you hear, but there comes a point when the naysayers and disbelievers or unconcerned throw too many wrenches in.. yesterday I was trying to tell somebody about this sort of stuff and they were completely oblivious and said it was all fantasy..

I'm getting off topic here, sorry, but I just think this sort of information is very important. if you don't live in the U.S. then you may not be aware of certain things.. but stuff such as fluoridated water; they're fluoridating our water with toxic waste, and the concentrations are far too high. the amount they warn you to contact poison control if swallowed on the toothpaste container is about the dosage that's in an 8 oz glass of water.. and how many glasses of this fluoridated water are we encouraged to drink on a daily basis?

well, I'm sure that StephenK could dissect the other supposed misconceptions in your post much better than I could, but he chose not to.. so I shouldn't either. I just wanted to add a little of my opinion though, I mean as somebody who is newer to the reality of our current situations, I could be easily impressionable and believe everything that you said and second guess all the valuable information I've learned.
of course everything you said is not likely untrue, but there are just certain things you should be more clear, like what fats we intake are much more important than the amounts.. I mean some fats are necessary for us and most people don't get enough of the healthy fats, whereas some fats are useless or just detrimental to us, etc.. or yes alcohol does have antioxidants and the relaxation it promotes has health benefits as well, but there are tons of other alternative antioxidants we can take, and more productive and fulfilling ways we can learn to relax
yes some of it is subjective, but please be more careful with what you conclude and tell others, cuz you never know who is looking up to you and relying on your information

Wow that article was pretty surprising... I may to research on those though...

Originally Posted by StephenK

It would take far too long to detail where you're off on most all of your examples... I appreciate your concerns in this matter, but much of the article is in line with many of the doctors who have broken rank with the industries approaches to health care, and are now on-board with the more natural approaches! True, American healthcare is in the toilet... and it's also true that many countries will watch the effects of new medications on the Yanks before adopting them themselves... Americans are currently the global medical lab rats for the testing of new formulas ... but eventually habits here will be exported, so the problems we're having will eventually seep into your system as well...

I could post links that contradict everything that the article in question, especially the "medicine does nothing" one.

Trust me, im way more into natural methods then medical. I have a garden filled with medicinal plants, and I very rarely take medication. I usualy even obstain from advil. Without a Dr, I wouldnt know I tore liguaments in my knee. My mom wouldnt have found out she had a toumor between her spine and aeorta. My uncle wouldnt have found patches on his liver, or my grandpa wouldnt have found out he had colon cancer. My friend wouldnt be able to walk due to hip problems.

THe problem isnt the medicine we use and types of things we practice, is the corperations that make the medications, and red tape associated with such studies. Drs perscribe opiates like they are candy, so much so they are banned for the most part in my area of canada now. I went in for back pain, the first thing they offered me was morphine. The ignorance toward natrual and different options is the problem as well.

The same thing goes for advocates of natrual medicine. They ignore the benefits of certain innoculations or tests that can literally save problems down the road. Anti biotics save millions of lives from pnumonia alone every year. Screening tests save lives as well. Im pretty sure the articles about the prostate screening tests, talked about a specific test. They did not say "screening doesnt save lives". What doctor in their right mind would say "looking for problems doesnt save lives"?

I totally agree with you that modern medicine has its place! I am a cancer survivor - and may not be if it hadn't been for chemo & radiation :)
But I do think that many people rely far too heavily on medications, doctors, vaccinations,etc....for minor things that are easily prevented and/or remedied through natural means!
There will always be situations where doctors, medications, etc are very much needed...but like the old saying goes: "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." An ounce of natural prevention is certainly worth a pound (or more) of modern medical cure for most day to day things