Myths: Decide If They're Confirmed, Busted or Plausible?

Chewing Gum Stays In Your Stomach For Six Weeks After Swallowing

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Chewing gum sticks to everything - park benches, desks, and even shoes. Indeed, it's so sticky that a persistent myth has been stuck to it for decades that swallowed gum remains in the stomach for seven years.

There is absolutely no truth to this. Rather than staying in a person's body for the lifespan of a mosquito, gum moves through the digestive tract, just like virtually anything else we consume. The only difference is that it doesn't get broken down and digested - it just stays a gummy wad the whole way. 

Registered dietician Beth Czerwony estimates it takes gum around 40 hours to move through the digestive tract and exit the body via a bowel movement.

Eating Turkey Causes Drowsiness

• True

• False

Answer explanation

It's a tradition as common on Thanksgiving as stuffing and pumpkin pie - after a hearty meal, every family member starts to doze off in front of the TV. Why? According to popular perception, it's the turkey's fault, because the star of the feast contains tryptophan, which the human body converts to serotonin, and ultimately to sleep-inducing melatonin.

Scientists have discredited this idea, as tryptophan can only cause drowsiness if it's consumed alone. Turkey contains tryptophan, but also contains several other amino acids. 

If the bird isn't to blame, why do many people get sleepy after a Thanksgiving meal? It's likely because they've eaten a large, carbohydrate-rich meal, which can often lead to energy crashes.

Eating Celery Actually Burns Calories

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Maintaining a healthy weight can be hard work. So, who wouldn't love a shortcut by eating food that helps you reach your goals? According to one oft-repeated myth, a stalk of celery can actually burn calories.

There's some logic behind this. Some people claim celery is a “negative-calorie food,” which means that digesting it burns more calories than what the body gains from the vegetable. Hence, if the human body uses, say, 10 calories to digest a 5-calorie snack, that would make the snack a negative-calorie food.

But, as nutrition scientist Tim Garvey told the BBC, “In actuality there are no negative-calorie foods." Indeed, Healthline pointed out that digesting celery doesn't burn a significant number of calories. And as scientist Luis Villazon estimated: “Chewing and digesting [celery] will only take half a calorie."

Eating Raw Cookie Dough Is A Severe Health Hazard

• False

• True

Answer explanation

For many people, part of the joy of cookie-baking isn't just eating a warm, oven-fresh treat; it's also sneaking bits of raw dough as your mother shoos you out of the kitchen and admonishes, “You'll die from eating raw cookie dough!” 

Although maternal wisdom is seldom wrong, it isn't totally correct in this case. Eating raw cookie dough generally is not deadly. 

It's true that uncooked dough could potentially harbor Salmonella bacteria, thanks to its core ingredients of raw eggs and flour. But the odds of developing 

a Salmonella infection from raw cookie dough are small, and if people do get sick, they typically recover without treatment. Still, the odds are enough to prompt some scientists to advise avoidance, especially for people who are immunocompromised, as they might require hospitalization for antibiotics and IV rehydration.

The good news is that not all cookie dough puts consumers at risk of illness - specially prepared edible raw cookie dough is perfectly safe to eat, and is now available in most supermarkets.

You Have To Wash Chicken Before You Cook It

• True

• False

Answer explanation

According to some cooking experts - like Julia Child - one of the essential steps in prepping raw chicken is to rinse it under the faucet. This, they claim, will wash away unwanted bacteria and make the bird safer to eat. 

Food safety experts disagree. Rather than making the chicken safer to eat, it actually increases the risk of foodborne illness. Water droplets containing salmonella can rain down all over a sink area and potentially spread bacteria.

 

The US Department of Agriculture has ramped up its messaging on the topic in recent years. According to Dr. Mindy Brashears, USDA Deputy Undersecretary for Food Safety: ”Even when consumers think they are effectively cleaning after washing poultry, [….] bacteria can easily spread to other surfaces and foods. The best practice is not to wash poultry.”

Carmen Rottenberg, administrator for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, concurs: …”children, older adults, and those with compromised immune systems are especially at risk. Washing or rinsing raw meat and poultry can increase your risk as bacteria spreads around your kitchen, but not washing your hands for 20 seconds immediately after handling those raw foods is just as dangerous.”

Froot Loops Are All Different Flavors

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Froot Loops bring color to an otherwise plain bowl of cereal. Each colorful circle represents a different flavor, right? Red for cherry, yellow for lemon, purple for grape, and so on.

It turns out that the colors are simply decorative, with no connection whatsoever to the flavor of each toroid cereal piece. In fact, Froot Loops is designed so that every piece tastes the same. Although the loops come in different colors, the dye only serves to make a more aesthetically dynamic bowl of cereal.

Coffee Stunts Children's Growth

• False

• True

Answer explanation

When they ask if they can try a parent's cup of coffee, generations of children have been turned away with the same rebuff: “Coffee will stunt your growth.”

It turns out there is absolutely no scientific evidence that coffee directly affects a person's height in any way.  Where did the myth originate?

Harvard Medical School opined it may have stemmed from another belief: that drinking coffee can cause osteoporosis. Although some studies have linked high caffeine consumption with calcium loss, others have suggested that coffee consumption is actually associated with stronger bones. 

Eating Carrots Can Improve Your Eyesight

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Fuzzy eyesight or poor night vision? Chomp on a carrot! At least that's what conventional wisdom recommends - carrots, so the myth goes, can improve people's eyesight.

It turns out carrots can't magically sharpen someone's vision. To be fair, the connection between carrots and eyesight isn't entirely made up; the root crops contain a lot of vitamin A, which is beneficial for overall ocular health, and if you have a major deficiency of the nutrient, your night vision may suffer. However, someone would need to eat an impossibly large amount of carrots to see any meaningful vision benefit. 

In addition, carrots aren't the only foods high in vitamin A. Liver, sweet potatoes, winter squash, kale, mackerel, salmon, spinach, mangoes, and cantaloupe are also good sources.

Eating Chocolate Causes Acne

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Diet has always played a role in acne. Poor diets have been known to trigger and exacerbate outbreaks. Some people have even blamed chocolate for causing acne. But it turns out there's no scientific consensus about the role chocolate plays in outbreaks. Studies have shown that chocolate alone doesn't increase a person's risk for developing acne.

Scientists are quick to point out that other factors go into how severe an acne outbreak is, including hormones, hygiene, and genetics. As dermatologist Dr. Patricia Farris explained to CNN: ”The pathogenesis of acne is complicated… It's not just one thing. There's a buildup of skin cells at the opening of the hair follicle that causes sebum to be trapped inside. Bacteria proliferate in the sebum and triggers inflammation around the hair follicles. You've got this four-pronged pathogenesis, and that's what makes it so complicated to tease out independent variables. But nutrition plays a role. I think we can safely say that avoiding chocolate addresses only one piece of a very large puzzle.”

Brown Eggs Are Healthier Than White Eggs

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Protein-packed eggs are a nutritional choice for breakfast. But are some eggs healthier than others? According to conventional wisdom, brown ones are better for you than white ones.

Science has disproven that belief. Nutritionally, there's no difference between brown and white eggs. In fact, the only difference is shell pigmentation. Certain hen breeds produce shells of varying colors, but this has no impact on the flavor or nutritional composition of the egg.