"myth" news and stories

While some may have gained some weight during their first year at college, new studies are showing that the phenomenon known as the "freshman 15" doesn't have much more than word-of-mouth behind it. The term first appeared in the mid 1980s in the Chicago Tribune, where the fact that it was a large enough number to inspire worry, but not so large that it seemed unbelievable, kept it going. So will students entering college really gain 15-pounds in their first year? A study from Rutgers that was published last month showed that 25% of students (Rutgers students) lost weight during their first year, while 75% gained an average of 7 pounds. "Nobody gained 15 pounds," said the professor behind the study.

Of course, some students will go overboard and binge on pizza and vending machine snacks without any supervision but their own, but many students will not. College eating halls are offering healthier options all the time, so students are more likely to see organic, vegetarian and vegan options, along with lean meats and plenty of healthy veggies, rather than just greasy, fried fare.

Perhaps the "freshman 15" is really just a reminder to try to keep kids on a healthier track and, if so, perhaps the fact that most students aren't seeing that kind of weight gain is reason enough to keep it going.

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In the past week, several news sources have run stories about a group of Hungarian builders that drank dry a barrel of rum, only to find a human body in it. Yesterday, MSNBC ran this correction, stating that the story they originally ran, based on a Reuters story, was untrue. Apparently, once the story began to circulate, people recognized it for the urban legend it was. Snopes has several variations on the theme of people (and animals) being pickled in barrels of booze. The current story claimed that the man's body had been stashed in the Jamaican barrel by his wife in an attempt to avoid the cost and paperwork of actually shipping her husband's body home properly.

One of the most popular and long-lived old wives' tales is known as the "5-second rule". The "rule" stipulates that food that has fallen on the floor is still safe to eat if you pick it up within five seconds of it hitting the ground. It has been around for many, many years, propagating itself on school playgrounds across the country and possibly even the world. Variations exist, shortening the rule to 3 seconds or expanding it to 10, but the basic theory remains. Unfortunately, it isn't true, as the Sacramento Bee's Lisa Heyamoto found out.

While some people, from 3 to 93, will continue to believe in the truth of this tale, the reality is that most surfaces are covered with germs and bacteria and floors are no exception. Drier foods, like cookies or a bagel, are less likely to pick up unsavory particles than wetter foods, like meat and cheese. Of course, we are all coming into contact with bacteria every day, whether we're cleaning our counter with a kitchen sponge (bacteria breeding ground) or giving our pets a pat. There is very little that can be done to avoid all contact. Ms. Heyamoto reminds us not to believe that we're "safe" when we follow the rule, but that your comfort level with what your food comes into contact with is subjective. The kitchen floor? Sure. The sidewalk outside your office? Perhaps not.

You can't go wrong following the other food rule: "When in doubt, throw it out!"

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There was an interview conducted recently with a self proclaimed autotroph. In the context of plants, an autotroph is an organism that gets its energy from the sun--basically, a producer with respect to other organisms that eat the produce from the earth itself. However, in the context of humans, its a person that lives without eating food or drinking water. There have been records of fasts that last hundreds of days, but this particular women who was interviewed claimed she had not eaten or drank anything in the past four years.

She claimed her weight started out at about 90 kilos, which is now down to 74 kilos. Also, she says her lungs have adapted to getting water from the atmosphere. Besides brushing her teeth and taking showers, she gets no other water intake.

I can maybe (just maybe) believe the lack of food intake. But no water for four years? This has to be a hoax. Right?

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A detox diet is almost exactly what it sounds like: a diet designed to cleanse your body of toxins. Proponents of detox diets believe that seemingly ordinary foods – from meat to processed sugar – contain toxins that build up in your body and prevent it from functioning normally.
According to new studies, though it has previously been suspected by many people, detox diets don’t work. At least, they do not work in the way that they are purported to. The general way the diet works is that you eat large amounts of fruits, vegetables and drink huge quantities of water, which will flush out, or detoxify, your system, removing toxins and improving your skin, preventing headaches, reducing cellulite, helping you lose weight and raising your overall level of heath.
Since many people do not drink nearly enough water to remain thoroughly hydrated, it is no shock that drinking much more water would help people feel better and experience fewer headaches. The high levels of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables probably improve skin and add to a general feeling of well being. And the feelings of lightness that people report after several days on such a diet are most likely from insufficient calorie intake. But the most misleading part of the diet is simply the claim that meats and fish have a large amount of naturally occurring toxins, while in fact, vegetables like cabbage and onions can have far more. The liver is the most vital organ for detoxification, and it processes meats and proteins most effectively, in addition to metabolizing carbohydrates and fats.
Substituting healthier foods, like fruits and vegetables, for overly processed junk food will make you be healthier and feel better, without having to give up cooked foods or meat.

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