Six Myths About Health During the Holiday Season

TreeHugger loves exposing myths. We have written about energy myths, wind turbine myths and global danger ones. Now here are a few health myths that may surprise you.

l. Wear a Hat to Keep in the HeatEveryone knows that you wear a hat in winter to keep in the body heat. Right? Wrong. A new study reported in the British Medical Journal claims that keeping one part of the body covered has just as much effect as covering any other. So when it is cold outside, wrap up, but wearing a hat won't make a big difference.

2. Sugar Makes Children Hyper-ActiveThere is a common belief that parents should cut back on the sugar for the children because it makes them hyper-active. This seems to be a figment of parents' imagination--the study says that tests show that there is no difference in the behaviour of those children that had sugar and those that didn't. This includes sugar from candy, chocolate and natural sources.

3. Hang-overs are CurableThe third myth is hangovers--there is no cure for hangovers. Never mind the aspirin, bananas, water--the only cure is drinking less.

4. Late Night Snacks are FatteningHere's a delicious surprise: Late night snacking is not more fattening. It's just a matter of how much and how often you eat, not when.

5. Suicide Rates Jump at ChristmasMore suicides over holiday periods? No again; there are fewer before, more afterwards. And surprisingly, the numbers are lower in the winter and higher in the summer.

6. Poinsettias are PoisonousAnd lastly, bring on the poinsettias....they are not toxic. An analysis of all the so-called poisoning by the flowers showed that no one died from eating them and more than 96 percent of the cases didn't even need hospital treatment. Guardian

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