REVIEW  |  By Archie D'Cruz » Eating sugary snacks makes kids hyper. Starve a fever and feed a cold. Stress causes your hair to go grey. Dining on turkey makes you drowsy. We’ve all grown up with beliefs like these and have come to accept them as fact. But are they based on scientific evidence or are they just old wives’ tales?

In his new book 25 Ways To Cure The Hiccups: Uncovering The Truth Behind 101 Common Myths And Misconceptions, Wisconsin professor Brian Udermann does a marvellous job of putting commonly held beliefs under the scanner to examine if they do indeed stand up to deeper scrutiny.

Udermann, who has an undergraduate degree in sports medicine and a Masters and PhD in Exercise Physiology, combines personal anecdotes with published research on each topic to deliver a thoroughly enjoyable – and educational – read. Each subject is presented in bite-sized pieces that make it easy to open the book at pretty much any page and get the facts on something you always believed to be true.

Test your knowledge below with some of these commonly-held beliefs. Myth or fact? You decide, then scroll down to check if you were right.

As for the “facts” we stated at the beginning of this piece… true or not? Well, you’ll just have to read the book to find out.

• 25 Ways To Cure The Hiccups: Uncovering 101 Common Myths And Misconceptions, by Brian Udermann, PhD, paperback, 216 pages, price $12.99, available at Amazon.com.

Myth or fact?

Answers below

1. Reading in low light damages vision.

2. Spicy foods cause heartburn.

3. Frozen fruit and veggies are often as nutritious as fresh ones.

4. Individuals who multitask are more productive.

5. Chocolate is good for you.

6. When you stop exercising muscle often turns to fat.

7. A cut will heal faster if you uncover it at night.

8. Morning workouts elevate your metabolism more than evening workouts.

Answers

1. Reading in low light damages vision. It simply isn’t true. It also isn’t true that sitting too close to the TV will damage your vision. Reading in low light or sitting too close to the TV can cause eyestrain, which may lead to your eyes becoming red and irritated, but these activities will not damage vision, and the eyestrain will usually correct itself in 20 to 30 minutes if you stop reading or watching TV.

Verdict: MYTH

2. Spicy foods cause heartburn. It is commonly believed that eating spicy foods like jalapenos and chili peppers causes heartburn, not necessarily true. Smoking, alcohol, eating beyond the point of being full, certain medications, and sleeping in certain positions are much more likely to cause heartburn.

Verdict: MYTH

3. Frozen fruit and veggies are often as nutritious as fresh ones. Many people have the misconception that frozen fruits and veggies are not as nutritious as fresh. Not true. What many people consider to be “fresh” produce has actually travelled hundreds or even thousands of miles to get to their grocery store and has likely sat in storerooms and on grocery store shelves for a number of days or weeks. Frozen fruits and veggies are often frozen soon after being harvested, thus locking in most of the produce’s nutrients.

Verdict: FACT

4. Individuals who multitask are more productive. Research might tell us otherwise. Turns out that when we try to do two things at once (e.g. reading your physics textbook and updating your Facebook profile) we are less productive than if we would do each task individually.

Verdict: MYTH

5. Chocolate is good for you. Are you a chocolate lover? Do you sometimes feel guilty after indulging yourself? Well, researchers are now telling us that chocolate has many positive health benefits. Some of those benefits include reducing our risk for heart attacks, strokes, and even cancer. Cocoa and chocolate contain compounds called flavonoids, which have strong antioxidant properties and help improve health. Chocolate does contain a fair number of calories, so eat it in moderation, just one to two ounces a day should do.

Verdict: FACT

6. When you stop exercising muscle often turns to fat. The truth is that fat and muscle are two separate tissues and one never turns into the other.

Verdict: MYTH

7. A cut will heal faster if you uncover it at night. We have all had our share of scrapes over the years and most of us have been told by our parents to take a bandage off our wounds when we go to bed to let them “air out” or “breathe”. Turns out that keeping your cuts and scrapes covered will actually increase healing rates, usually two to four days faster! Wounds that go uncovered and dry out tend to form hard scabs, which will slow healing. Keeping a wound covered and moist will promote new cell growth and healing.

Verdict: MYTH

8. Morning workouts elevate your metabolism more than evening workouts. If you set your alarm clock for 5:00 a.m. to get your daily workout in thinking it will result in you burning more calories throughout the day, feel free to hit the snooze button and stay in bed. Burning 500 calories from a workout at 5:00 a.m. is exactly the same as burning 500 calories from a workout at 5:00 pm. So, if you prefer exercising in the evening, feel free to stick with that routine!

Verdict: MYTH