It is clear that we were not always taught the truth in high school years ago. To be fair to our teachers, a lot of things they taught us were the known truth or belief at the time. On top of this, things changed just like how we had 9 planets in the solar system and now kids learn of just 8. However, we were taught several myths about the human body too. While some of the myths we know more about today than we did in the 80s or 90s, some were never actually true. In fact, many things we believed to be true were based on zero evidence. As much as it is painful to hear, we also base some medical knowledge on racist ideology too. Some of it is still in use today! The world’s worst myth bringer about the human body was a Greek Physician named Galen who literally wrote the book on anatomy. His teachings of the human body were the believed science for more than 1,000 years!<\/p>\n
Yet he never actually opened up a human body nor even bothered to do anything with humans to make his theories viable. He actually worked on various animals, including dogs. Eventually, then-doctoral student, Andreas Vesalius, wondered if Galen was right. When Vesalius opened up a body and learned about what everything truly did, he found more than 200 instances where Galen was completely wrong. This changed anatomy forever! Galen is not the only one who made mistakes. In fact, Aristotle once assumed the heart was the holder of intelligence and the brain was merely a radiator for the body. Sometimes, myths of the human body are easy to look back on and laugh at. However, some myths are still believed to this day. Let’s change that now!<\/p>\n
For many years, we assumed that the Appendix was just that part of the body that randomly started hurting many people. In fact, we thought it was so useless that surgeons even removed it if they were already cutting you open for some surgeries. It was actually believed that the appendix was so useless that medical professionals thought it was an evolutionary plague.<\/p>\n
However, through thousands of years of evolution, we have been able to cut or keep parts of our bodies around. The things left behind naturally offer something useful to us. The appendix was kept for a legitimate reason. What does it do? It actually helps to store “good bacteria”<\/a> and even distribute it out to the gastrointestinal system when needed. In fact, it helps gut flora along with the overall health of your colon and intestines.<\/p>\n
Concussion<\/a>, an injury caused by a blow to the head or violent shaking of the head and\/or body, was completely misunderstood for decades. When people had concussion issues, everyone assumed they would slip into a coma if they fell asleep. This led to the conclusion that you shouldn’t sleep with a concussion. However, it’s not true at all. When you have concussion issues, it’s likely you’ll visit a doctor.<\/p>\n
These medical professionals will do tests to determine if you have any swelling or internal bleeding. Those are the types of things that cause comas to occur in people with a concussion. Yet if neither are present, you’re actually fine to sleep for the most part. In fact, sleep is a common way our bodies recover from a lot of stuff. Some people with Traumatic Brain Injuries are even put into medical comas to heal. Thus, sleep is actually encouraged for a concussion.<\/p>\n
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One of the most common myths about the human body people seem to believe is that men are unable to get breast cancer. In some thought, it makes sense to assume this is true. Men do not have the types of breasts that women have. However, men do have breasts too. The difference between men and women here has to do with mammary glands and extra tissue. While some men have these due to a condition known as gynecomastia, it’s pretty rare.<\/span><\/p>\n
Either way, larger breast size or not, men can still get breast cancer. Of course, women are 100 times more likely to get it than men. However, that does not mean it is impossible for men to have it. In fact, the American Cancer Society<\/a> claims for 2019 alone, new cases of breast cancer in men are expected to reach 2,670. On top of this, they expect around 500 men to die from this cancer in 2019 as well.<\/p>\n
Likely one of the most common playground myths about the human body has to do with chewing gum. You may have heard that if you swallow it, the gum will be inside your system for 7 years because it will not digest until then. This is not technically true. Chewing gum<\/a> does not completely digest but you will pass the very same chewing gum within 24 to 48 hours.<\/p>\n
Just because something does not completely digest, it does not mean it cannot pass through your system. Your intestines and colon will still push it into your bile and you’ll pass it like everything else. If constipation occurs as a result of it, typically this will also pass sooner rather than later. However, if you’re backed up for days, then it’s likely you swallowed a lot more than 1 piece of gum in one day or your constipation has nothing to do with the gum.<\/p>\n
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A lot of myths about the human body seem to start from the weirdest places. One such myth seems to revolve around not swimming 30 minutes<\/a> to an hour after you eat, yet this is completely untrue. Essentially, if you eat a big meal then any strenuous activity you involve yourself in may have weird reactions. People are often sluggish after big meals and since swimming uses most of the body, you could get sick.<\/p>\n
However, you’re more likely to upchuck than have cramps. The idea of this myth began with places like the YMCA and other public swimming areas that wanted to keep food out of their pools. If people were allowed to eat and swim, pools would be harder to keep clean. On top of this, drinking alcohol can cause some cramps in the water due to dehydrating the body. This is why alcohol is often banned from many public pools too.<\/p>\n
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Some of the biggest myths about the human body that we hear about quite often have to do with things that happen after people die. A lot of this comes down to misunderstandings more than anything else. The common one you’ve heard is that both fingernails and hair grow after we die.<\/a> Yet again, it’s easy to see why people believe this but it’s not really true. The reason for the misunderstanding has to do with skin and decomposing.<\/p>\n
After we die, our bodies slowly begin to dehydrate and most of our insides will begin to rot away. The process of embalming already removes the organs, to begin with. The dehydration makes your skin tighter and that, in turn, makes everything sort of shrivel or bunch up. When this happens, your hair and nails appear to grow. What actually happened was that they remained in place while everything around them tightened. Since they did not move, it looks like they grew but simply did not.<\/p>\n
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One of the most common myths we seem to hear a lot growing up has to do with shaving<\/a>. A lot of this has to do with old wives’ tales that are passed down through generations. For the young ladies, moms do not want them to shave as quickly in life so they said things like this to them growing up. It then caught on and even made its way over to the male side of things. It is true that the older you get, the faster your hair will grow back. However, this has nothing to do with shaving.<\/p>\n
This became so believable due to people shaving so often and even getting stubbles shortly after. They did not get the stubble as quickly when they were younger, so shaving obviously had to do with this right? Not exactly. This is mostly a hormonal thing that increases as we age. On top of this, the hair grows back at the same thickness and will not get any darker unless your hair elsewhere does too.<\/p>\n
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A lot of people believe that there is such a thing as an Alpha personality. This is an assertive person who typically likes to take things over. They’re always wanting to be the leader and tend to take charge even if they aren’t the best for the job. The concept of Alpha personalities came from packs of wolves studied by L. David Mech in 1977<\/a>. Mech was a wildlife biologist who popularized the term of the “Alpha Wolf.”<\/p>\n
This concept drifted over to other animals where people assume the Alpha is the leader. Mech’s research was massively popular, and then people felt some of us had an “Alpha Personality.” One problem though. Mech realized that he was wrong and found that wolves who often led packs were mothers and fathers of the younger wolves they led. He then renounced the entire concept<\/a>. Meaning the very man who popularized the term “Alpha, Beta” and so on, realized it was crap!<\/p>\n
Sometimes, myths about the human body are started from an understandable place. Either people believe or assume something to be true based on their own theories. The concept that brain cells never regenerate mostly comes from some understandable science. We cannot often fix the brain like we can other places in our body. When mind-altering drugs like cocaine, acid, ecstasy and even marijuana became popular on the street, something had to be done.<\/p>\n
The spreading of brain cells not being able to grow back was popularized as a scare tactic. It came from some truth in that we did not believe, at the time, the brain could be truly corrected if damaged. However, researchers at Cornell University<\/a> proved that brain cells regenerated. In fact, cells all over our body regenerate. While you still should not do drugs as they can still harm your brain, they won’t affect any cells at least.<\/p>\n
In theory, the myth about your eyes popping out if they stay open during a sneeze does make sense. Every time you sneeze, massive pressure builds up. So much so, by the time you sneeze, the “stuff” from your mouth\/nose is exiting at upwards of 200 MPH. With all that pressure building up in the sinuses, it’s not a wonder we need to close our eyes, right? Not exactly.<\/p>\n
While we can get some symptoms of eye issues when our sinuses are going nuts on us, this is actually unrelated to the overall effect of a sneeze. The pressure of the sneeze affects your nose, throat, sinuses, and even your lungs. However, your eye socket is not connected to the nose like this. Therefore, any pressure from this area won’t cause your eyes to pop out.<\/a> Think about it, if something is going near 200 MPH on a sneeze, how could your simple eyelids actually stop it?<\/p>\n
Yet another understandable thing to believe. This is one of those myths about the human body that people will swear to be true but won’t really be able to prove. Some believe if you give a child sugar of any kind, they will be more hyperactive as a result. This is not entirely true. Whenever we eat something sweet, it often affects our brains differently than other foods. In fact, it begins to start up a mood-changing mindset. We’re happier even!<\/p>\n
Whenever we’re hungry, we eat. The longer we do not have the food, the worse our moods become. For kids, this concept is an even bigger issue. Without food for a half a day, their moods will suddenly change drastically. Naturally, sweet stuff makes humans happy. For kids, why wouldn’t the reaction to this also be similar to other dramatically different reactions that differ between children and adults? Thus far, there is no scientific evidence<\/a> that proves sugar makes kids hyperactive.<\/p>\n
One of the biggest myths out there may very well be one that you’ve heard your mother say for decades. Perhaps it was something like “alright little Bobby, eat your carrots so you can have great vision and not need glasses!” It is true that carrots contain Vitamin A<\/a>, a nutrient that is great for your eye health. Yet loading up on carrots won’t suddenly make your vision better.<\/p>\n
Sure, eat them all you want if you like them. That is totally cool. However, the health of your eyes can be amazing yet you may still have eyesight that is terrible overall. Remember, just because you need classes, it does not mean your eyes are in bad shape from a health perspective. All it means is that your eyesight has problems, which is often a hereditary issue. Therefore, carrots cannot possibly help.<\/p>\n
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One of the biggest myths about the human body for more than a decade started simply over greed. Drinking water is very good for you, so long as it’s not filled with a lot of germs and bacteria that we cannot handle. However, the concept that you need to drink the equivalent of 8 glasses of water a day is absolute garbage.<\/p>\n
Hydration is certainly important, especially when involved in strenuous activities or if you’re outside under the hot sun a lot. Yet you still do not “need” 8 glasses of water in a day. Sometimes, you run the risk of overhydrating. This is actually quite deadly to humans. There is no scientific proof that you need that much water in a day. Experts just say to drink when you’re thirsty<\/a>, which should be pretty obvious. However, the myth of hydration needs has led to people needing to hear logic more often.<\/p>\n
The common cold, as well as multiple viruses, are likely going to affect humans a lot in their lives. We’ve likely all had a cold or some type of virus, so you know how horrible it is to get them. At the time, you’d visit a doctor hoping they could just give you medication and send you home. In fact, you may have been expecting them to give you antibiotics.<\/p>\n
However, antibiotics do not treat viruses or colds of any kind.<\/a> We do have some antiviral medications now and even medications. Antibiotics, however, are only for treating infections. Sadly, major pressure is put on doctors far too much when it comes to these meds. Many just give people a prescription for some “just in case” and that results in people taking antibiotics they do not need. The worst part? This can build up antibiotic resistance in a person, which would be horrible!<\/p>\n
One of the most popular myths about the human body we’ve heard a lot lately might be this weird obsession with people telling others to not pop their fingers. The reason for this is that people assume this will give your hands arthritis, especially as you get older. Popping fingers, cracking knuckles, whatever you call it. None cause arthritis<\/a> or give you a higher risk of it.<\/p>\n
There is not a shred of evidence that proves it. Yes, people can develop arthritis in their hands. However, this does not mean that cracking their knuckles led to it. If anything, it is a mere coincidence more than anything else. There are numerous people who do this that never see one issue with arthritis in their hands. People seemed to only assume this was the case because it’s a popular thing everyone tends to do. Therefore, the only connecting factor is present, yet it’s a weak one at best.<\/p>\n
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One of the most common myths about the human body going around today involves mysterious “toxins.” Many companies prey on this and sell various juices to help with a proper juice cleanse.<\/a> You may even see other cleansing tactics around as well, such as those done via enema. However, the entire idea of toxins is completely made up and a huge marketing ploy.<\/p>\n
None of it is true. Toxins are in your body but they’re filtered out like normal via your liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract. In fact, everything considered “toxic” to your body ends up exiting this way. Your blood and other parts of your body filter it out into the liver and kidneys and the remaining often gets taken care of by the GI. So harmful enemas or juice cleanses are complete crap and terrible for your body. Why create new problems for yourself?<\/p>\n
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This particular issue<\/a> began in the early 2000s when a small study was done that truly did not have all of its data right. In fact, it was misinterpreted by most and it led to the assumption that you need to eat much less with a fever and eat more with a cold of some type. Others assume it means to eat more with colds that aren’t accompanied by a fever than with one.<\/p>\n
Regardless of how you may take it, both are wrong. Not having any food is actually very harmful to your immune system. With colds, you cannot just take medication to get it to pass. This means your immune system is the major key to helping you survive it. You weaken the system without any food. Doctors tell us that we should eat if we can, mostly because that constant refueling helps our immune system operate at its highest capability.<\/p>\n
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To understand this myth, you should first know what lactose intolerance actually means. This involves problems of any kind that people have with dairy products. This could be anything related to milk, cheese, etc. A food allergy to dairy products is different and often life-threatening. Almost everyone is lactose intolerant because our bodies were not meant to consume as many dairy products as we do.<\/p>\n
In fact, most people do not have the ability to digest lactose products much if at all. Some have a genetic variant or abnormality with Lactase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down these products. These people are the only types without a lactose intolerance problem of any kind. That means that most people are lactose intolerant, not “some” people. Obviously, Dairy Allergies are real and can cause people to have life-threatening issues with it. Lactose intolerance isn’t the same thing<\/a>.<\/p>\n
This is the type of thing that seems pretty lazy and the reasons for it are completely illogical. Myths about the human body like this make us wonder if people are actually thinking about stuff fully. The concept here is that body heat escapes mostly through our heads. In fact, the number is as high as 90% among those who truly buy into this myth. In reality, this is technically untrue.<\/a><\/p>\n
Think of it like this, What is the most common area of your body that you leave uncovered? Usually, your head and face region. Even when it’s cold out, we wear socks, shoes, pants, shirt(s), and a jacket. However, unless you’re wearing a toboggan, you’re leaving your head uncovered for body heat to escape. Thus, body heat escapes in areas left open to the elements. The same thing would occur if you wore shorts or a short-sleeve shirt. Body heat would escape from your legs & arms then!<\/p>\n
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One of the most commonly held misconceptions about sickness is that the elements play a role in nearly all of them. In reality, they only play a small role. Typically, a sickness exists first and then the elements can make its symptoms of it worse. In the case of a cold<\/a>, you cannot in any way catch a cold if you go out in the cold or in the rain. Furthermore, ladies, you cannot catch a cold if you go outside with wet hair either!<\/p>\n
Colds are caused by numerous viruses in the air that spread from person to person. The reason you’re more likely to catch a “cold” in the winter is due to being inside more. If you’re inside with other people who are infected with a viral issue, chances are, it’ll be easier for you to catch something. Your decision to walk into the rain or the cold had nothing to do with it. In fact, you have a bigger chance to catch one staying in!<\/p>\n
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Probably one of the most commonly believed myths ever is the concept that you do not use more than 10% of your brain. In reality, you actually use far more of it. This myth is usually credited to Albert Einstein, yet he never said this. This myth<\/a> got started years ago when we did not understand as much about the brain. We felt that only part of it was in use.<\/p>\n
This was a misconception of the time. In fact, people used to believe that only certain portions of the brain handled every little thing and we could chop off the rest if needed. Now that we have brain mapping to prove to us that every part of the brain has a critical function, we know we use more than 10% of our brain. Technically, we may not use all 100% of it at the same time, but that does not mean we have 90% of brain capacity going unused daily. Sorry, Limitless<\/em>!<\/p>\n
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Yet another misunderstanding when it comes to our brain is the concept revolving around those who are left-brained or right-brained<\/a>. Everyone feels they are one or the other, in that they feel their best skills are on one side or the other. This concept began when we began to realize certain parts of the brain were mostly responsible for certain things.<\/p>\n
For instance, we found that our language abilities involve the left side of the brain. However, this is not completely true. While yes, a large portion of it occurs on that side, both your right and left side are responsible for this completely. The left side is responsible for grammar and pronunciation while the right handles intonation. Both sides are needed, which means the entire concept of people being left or right-brained is complete nonsense. You use both for everything.<\/p>\n
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Out of all of the myths about the human body on our list, this might be the one that is repeated the most. However, we are luckily starting to see people get wise to the issue and it’s thankfully dying off. Although very slowly! The idea of this is that you need to tilt your head back when you have a nosebleed. It’ll cause the blood to stop draining out and clot back in your system, right?<\/p>\n
Oh heck no. First and foremost, it does not actually stop the blood from flowing. It merely redirects it to your throat<\/a> because that is how the sinus cavity works. Due to this, the blood going into this area can actually choke you! Even worse, it could make you sick and begin to upchuck blood. Never fun! Instead, sit down, pinch your nose closed, and lean forward. This is the best way to stop a nosebleed.<\/p>\n
Okay, this is probably the funniest myth on the list because it should seem obviously untrue. Today, this myth is not as believed as it used to be. This has made its way into television shows and movies, so it makes sense that people began to believe it as truth. However, no, peeing on a jellyfish sting<\/a> does not help stop the pain of a jellyfish sting.<\/p>\n
The entire idea is that ammonia from someone’s urine is supposed to kill the stinging cells. Combined with the freshwater side of things to neutralize the saltwater jellyfish, it makes sense that both of these would work. However, jellyfish stinging cells are actually activated by freshwater, not saltwater. This means peeing on a jellyfish sting would actually make a person’s pain even worse!<\/p>\n
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This particular issue was actually assumed to be true medically for many years. However, today is known as one of the biggest myths about the human body in medicine. Heart attacks in the movies usually involve a person holding their chest with their left arm stiffening up as they go to the ground. While chest pain, as well as arm issues, can happen with heart attacks…it’s actually less common to see this.<\/p>\n
In fact, as high as 40 to 60% of heart attacks go unnoticed.<\/a> Not every single heart attack is fatal nor painful, so people tend to not even realize they are having one or even had one. Those with pain don’t even have to involve the chest or even the arm and can be as simple as some severe tooth pain or heartburn. That said, do not assume chest pain is the only sign of a heart attack. There are numerous!<\/p>\n
This myth is understandable for people to mistake. The issue comes down to many scientists and doctors not understanding mobility in the human body. Essentially, no one is now nor ever been double-jointed. This term comes from the idea that any person who has tremendous flexibility anywhere on their body has two joints where one should be. This is untrue.<\/p>\n
Instead, a person is known to have extra-mobile joints or have something known as hypermobility<\/a>. Basically, it means a person’s joints in particular areas or all over can simply bend more than they normally should. We know today that this can actually accompany some problematic pain trouble for some. Things like Ehlers Danlos Syndrome<\/a> can also be a huge issue for some of these people too.<\/p>\n
Some people assume once they feel better while taking an antibiotic, they can stop taking it. With medications like painkillers, you can think like this and not take them if you feel okay. However, this isn’t the same with antibiotics. When doctors prescribe medications, they go with a length that is best for you. Their decade of study is better than your 2-minute Google Search.<\/p>\n
If you feel better a few days in, that means the antibiotic is doing its job, which is fantastic. This does not mean you should just stop taking it. The World Health Organization<\/a> claims that research has been done into the shortest amount of time an antibiotic must be taken to rid you of infection. Your doctor knows this information. Therefore, stopping on Day 5 when you need to take a medication for 2 weeks may risk a powerful return infection. You even risk antibiotic resistance issues!<\/p>\n
You’d be completely forgiven if you assumed that the flu was likely causing you to upchuck like crazy. Afterall, nausea and upchucking are possible and even expected with it. However, violent vomiting that causes you to taste what you had a week ago is not something the flu typically is known for. You’ll often hear the term “stomach flu” when this happens.<\/p>\n
That makes you assume flu, right? Sadly, it’s a colloquial term and not a proper one. The Stomach Flu<\/a> is actually known by doctors as gastroenteritis. In fact, it isn’t related to Influenza at all and very different. In fact, gastroenteritis is a bacterial infection treatable with antibiotics. Meanwhile, Influenza is a virus and only treatable with some antiviral medications. Doctors usually have to run a number of tests to confirm how to treat people as the signs can be similar.<\/p>\n
We all know that a person’s smile says a lot about them. Due to the feeling that white teeth look best, the invention of bleaching teeth came to be. Not everyone has white teeth, even if they are healthy in another color. Some actually do not have healthy teeth yet whiten them to give the assumption of it. Basically, this means that not all white teeth are healthy.<\/a><\/p>\n
According to the American Dental Association<\/a>, bleaching is fine to do when done in proper moderation. However, this obsession to turn yellow teeth into white has led people to overdo it. This actually causes the teeth severe damage over time. In fact, one study<\/a> was able to determine that 43% of people who had their teeth whitened often had teeth sensitivity issues.<\/p>\n
While having six-pack abs was not expected of people for centuries when it comes to attraction, it seems to be a trend nowadays. The reason is animalistic as women see muscles and six-pack abs as useful things for procreation and overall protection. Even if a woman is not considering any of this, it is ingrained in a female’s system to do so. For men, the role of a six-pack is not as high on a list for procreation as much as other areas.<\/p>\n
Men find abs on women attractive nonetheless. However, none should assume<\/a> they are in the best shape because of their six-pack abs. The fact that they are showing means you have a low body fat percentage. Humans actually need body fat and a lack of a proper percentage can be dangerous. This is especially true for women, as they can have severe hormonal and\/or reproductive problems from a lack of fat. Amenorrhea among other things can be problematic!<\/p>\n
You’ve likely heard the idea that you should never wake up someone who is sleepwalking. However, this is untrue<\/a> and actually began from a pretty weird concept. People used to think that their souls left their bodies when they slept. This ancient belief led to the concept that waking a sleepwalker could doom the person to wander soullessly forever. It’s not uncommon for ancient beliefs to led to myths about the human body.<\/p>\n
According to the National Sleep Foundation<\/a>, it is perfectly okay to wake a sleepwalker. It can actually be dangerous to let a person sleepwalk at times. They may try to drive, take medication, or even hurt other people. There have actually been cases of sleepwalkers killing people<\/a> for real. It is said you should try to guide a person back to their bed if they are sleepwalking. If you cannot, it is perfectly okay to gently wake them up.<\/p>\n