If you crack your knuckles you’ll get arthritis.There is no link between bending or pulling on your knuckles until they make that popping sound, and arthritis -which is often due to wear and tear.However, you should still heed your mum’s advice not to do it because it isn’t good for you. Cracking your knuckles can increase the risk of damaging the soft tissue around your joints and causing inflammation and pain. In serious cases you may need surgery to repair it. It’s possible to dislocate or even break a finger while cracking your knuckles and it can also lead to a loss of strength in your hands, weakening your grip.By the way, that sound you hear isn’t actually your knuckles cracking, it’s the noise made by gas bubbles in the lubricating fluid between your joint and your joint capsule when they burst.
Swallowed chewing gum sits in your stomach for seven years.Swallowed chewing gum won’t sit for years in your body, swell up or do any of the things your mother warned you about.Yes, it’s true that you shouldn’t swallow the gum base (which makes chewing gum chewy) but if you do, it should go through your digestive system as normal. However, the body doesn’t have the ability to break down the gum base and when it exits your body, it will look pretty much the same as when it went in.
You should feed a cold and starve a fever.This saying has long been considered a myth, with doctors advising that if you feel like eating – whether you’ve got a cold or a fever – you should, to make sure you’re getting enough nutrients. They point out that when you’re sick, the most important thing is not food but fluids – it’s vital to drink enough so that you don’t get dehydrated.However, Dutch researchers have found that eating a meal may boost the type of immune response that destroys the viruses responsible for colds, while fasting may stimulate the response that tackles the bacterial infections responsible for most fevers.
Sitting too close to the TV will damage your eyes.While getting close to the screen may give you a headache or make your eyes tired, it won’t cause permanent damage to your sight. Neither will watching TV for hours on end or reading in dim light.However, oum was right when she warned you not to look directly at the sun – its powerful rays can damage your vision.
You mustn’t go swimming for an hour after you’ve eaten.Generations of kids the world over have been told that swimming within an hour of eating a meal could give them cramp, which could cause them to drown.There is actually some truth to the theory that you can get cramp. This is because when your body begins the digestion process, blood is diverted to your stomach and away from the muscles you use for exercise.These muscles can then be deprived of oxygen, leading to the build-up of lactic acid which can cause cramp. But not everyone will get cramp and if even you do, the chances of drowning as a result are very small.However, if you have just eaten a meal – especially a large one – it’s wise to wait a short while before going swimming because it may leave you feeling bloated and uncomfortable and less able to cope if something goes wrong in the water.It may also increase your chances of vomiting if things do go wrong.
n You’ll catch a cold if you go outside with wet hair.Being cold doesn’t cause a cold – viruses do. However, there is some evidence that a chill can lower your body’s resistance to infection. So while going out in the cold with wet hair won’t give you a cold, it may make you more susceptible to one if you come in contact with the virus.
n Sitting on a cold floor will give you piles.Piles (haemorrhoids) are caused when blood vessels stretch and swell thanks to increased pressure in the abdomen or rectum. This pressure can be due to constipation and straining to go to the toilet, pregnancy and childbirth, strenuous physical exercise or being overweight.While sitting down for long periods of time can increase your chances of getting piles, the temperature of whatever you’re sitting on doesn’t have any effect.
n Eating carrots will help you see in the dark.This idea apparently dates back to World War II, when the British military pretended its pilots were eating carrots to help them see in the dark, rather than reveal to the Germans that they had developed a radar to pinpoint enemy planes.In fact, carrots are a good source of beta-carotene which can help prevent your eyesight getting worse as you age. Research has shown that it may help hold the age-related eye condition macular degeneration at bay. There’s also evidence that if you have a lack of vitamin A, it may affect your ability to see in dim light, so eating foods rich in beta-carotene (which the body converts to vitamin A) may help. However, for most people, eating carrots won’t help you to see better in the dark.
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