When Gail Schalizki was a child, her mom made her wait 30 minutes after eating to get back in the swimming pool.
Schalizki said that was torture. The mother of three lets her children get in after eating because there’s really no basis for that rule.
Now a certified nutritionist and owner of Nutritional Education Center in New Salem, Schalizki has more knowledge about food and health and how it affects the body.
But she did learn a lot as she searched the Internet trying to debunk a few old wives tales and food myths.
“There were a lot more that had truth to them than I thought there were,” she said.
Schalizki said that old wives’ tales are mostly false and were used to discourage children from unwanted behavior. But some more recent subjects thought to be myths are really true.
The York Daily Record/Sunday News asked Schalizki, Marcia Feehan, registered nurse and manager of Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department and registered dietitian Jami Ackerman of Memorial Hospital to weigh in on 12 wide-spread myths to see how much truth there really is in staying out of the pool until after food is digested and if eating crust will actually give you curly hair.
If you swallow a watermelon seed, a plant will grow inside of you.
Schalizki: False. Seeds need four things to germinate; moisture, the right temperature range, oxygen and light. In the dark, gurgling depths of the stomach these needs are not met, so a seed
could never grow in there.
Feehan: False. If you eat watermelon seeds, they will not grow inside of you. Some people eat the seeds as well as the flesh of the watermelon. I recommend seedless, though seeds are sure fun to spit.
Ackerman: False. This passes through our systems usually undigested.
If you eat enough sweet potatoes you’ll have twins.
Schalizki: Partially true. Sweet potatoes are often seen as a form of progesterone — a hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle — but apparently the way the potatoes are digested precludes them for use in many fertility situations. No one is quite sure why, but the Yoruba tribe in West Africa has the highest rate of twins in the world. A study concluded that the mother’s diet was cause, being high in cassave, a type of yam or sweet potato. The peelings of the vegetable are thought to contain a chemical that causes hyperovulation.
Feehan: False. I never heard of this one. Twins come from two fertilized eggs or from one fertilized egg dividing into two. What you eat has nothing to do with having the blessing of twins.
Ackerman: False. No medical proof, however, a West-African tribe attributes their 5 percent twin birth rate to a diet rich in yams.
If you eat too many carrots you will turn orange.
Schalizki: True. Carrots contain beta-carotene. Carotene is what gives carrots color. A high carotene consumption will build up in your blood stream. Before long, the skin will take on a sickly yellow pallor that resembles jaundice. If you eat enough, the skin will turn orange, but you have to eat a lot. Carotene has a similar effect as a self-tanning lotion.
Feehan: False. I eat carrots all the time and have never had this response.
Ackerman: Some truth. If you intake large amounts of Vitamin A, your skin will gradually start to develop a yellow or orange tint.
Don’t swim right after you eat, you’ll cramp up and drown.
Schalizki: False. According to the American Red Cross, it’s usually not necessary for you or your child to wait an hour before going into the water. However, it is recommended that you wait until digestion has begun, especially If you’ve had a large, fatty meal and you plan to swim strenuously. The Red Cross also advises against chewing gum or eating while in the water, because both can cause choking.
Feehan: False. As children we were always told to sit out of the pool after we eat and spent lots of time waiting to get back in. Bottom line, digestion does take place after eating, but I think mild to moderate exercise after food intake is OK, but it depends on the individual.
Ackerman: Some truth. If you are training for a triathlon, yes. Otherwise, for the everyday individual no, not really. I found this quote, “avoiding swimming for one hour after eating is much like the advice don’t run with scissors.” Both are general safety precautions but not dire rules.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
Schalizki: True. As well as direct health benefits, eating fruits and vegetables can help achieve other dietary goals including vitamin and fiber intake, reducing fat intake and helping maintain a healthy weight. Fruits and vegetables are also a perfect substitute for foods with added sugars, which contribute to health issues such as tooth decay — so you can keep the doctor and dentist away.
Feehan: True. Eating fruits, vegetables and a balanced diet is one way to make sure you stay healthy.
Ackerman: True. You are getting vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants when you eat an apple, which can help reduce your risk of a stroke, heart disease, and cancer. But you can get the same vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in other fruits and vegetables. Include a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables daily.
If you eat bread crust, your hair will be curly.
Schalizki: False. Generations have attempted to persuade their children that eating bread crusts will encourage a healthy looking mop. There is no medical evidence to suggest this.
Feehan: False. The texture of hair is genetic, but can sometimes be modified after certain medication therapies such as chemotherapy.
Ackerman: False. I have curly hair and don’t care too much for the crust. I have never heard this one. But in a recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry they showed that the crust contains eight times the amount of cancer fighting antioxidants found in the middle section.
Eating burned bread makes you bald.
Schalizki: Unknown. She couldn’t find any information to address this myth.
Feehan: False. Lots of guys burning toast these days? Ha, just kidding. Nope, does not happen.
Ackerman: False.
Chicken soup cures a cold.
Schalizki: Partially true. Studies have shown that broth contains anti-inflammatory properties that help reduce congestion. For sick people who don’t feel like eating much, soup can be a good way to take in fluids.
Feehan: False. Chicken soup does not cure a cold but it can taste yummy and is soothing and warm when you do not feel well.
Ackerman: Some truth. There is no hard evidence as to why chicken noodle soup seems to cure the cold but it can’t hurt. One theory discovered through research showed that certain chicken noodle soups help to decrease congestion. Chicken noodle soup from a nutrition stand point contains all the macronutrients, fat, protein, and carbohydrates, fluid and sodium so when your appetite is poor this is a great choice to keep your strength up.
Spinach makes your muscles strong.
Schalizki: False. The Popeye effect is the belief that eating spinach will give you big muscles. Unfortunately, this is a myth. It is, however, true that people with weak muscles have a variety of vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
In 1870, Dr. E. Von Wolf misplaced a decimal point and wrongly estimated the iron content of spinach to be 10 times more than any other green vegetable. The mistake was corrected in 1937, but by then it was too late. The first Popeye cartoons appeared in 1929 and the spinach-muscle-strength legend was already born.
Feehan: False. Spinach is a green leafy vegetable-filled with iron, but does not build muscle per se.
Ackerman: True. It’s the nutrient folic acid that is in the spinach. This nutrient is needed to build and strengthen lean muscle tissue.
Cranberry juice prevents urinary tract infections.
Schalizki: True. A urinary infection is caused by bacteria in the bladder. It’s important to drink a lot of water during and after treatment of UTI so the bladder can cleanse itself. Cranberry juice has also been shown to have positive effects on UTI. Make sure it’s 100 percent juice and not juice cocktail.
Feehan: False. Urine infections can be prevented by washing hands before and after urinating, wiping from front to back and drinking plenty of fluids each day. Cranberry juice does not prevent UTI.
Ackerman: True. 100 percent pure cranberry juice (no sugar) will help to prevent UTI’s, however, you will need to drink about three glasses every day.
It takes seven years to digest gum.
Schalizki: False. Chewing gum is excreted like any other undigested piece of food or stray object swallowed. As sticky as chewing gum might appear to be outside the body, once it’s sent down the alimentary canal, it’s no more remarkable than anything else we swallow.
Feehan: False. Seven years to digest gum — wow — I would bet a lot of kids are still working to digest theirs if that is the case. Does not seem to be accurate to me.
Ackerman: False. Typically gum will pass on through the digestive track.
If you’re sick, drink orange juice.
Schalizki: True. The major nutritional content of oranges is vitamin C. The antioxidant neutralizes harmful elements within the body.
Feehan: True. Increasing fluids during colds/flu exposure is great. OJ has Vitamin C which can enhance healing.
Ackerman: True. Orange juice is a great source of Vitamin C, which through many studies have shown to help support the immune system.
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IS IT TRUE?
Certified nutritionist Gail Schalizki started researching other food myths and wives tales. Decide if the saying is fact or fiction, then check your answers on page 3D.
1. Feed a cold, starve a fever.
2. Coffee stunts your growth.
3. Fish is brain food.
4. Chocolate causes acne.
5. Spicy foods can cause ulcers.
6. Eating carrots will improve your eyesight.
7. Put butter on a burn.
8. Eat parsley to cure bad breath.
9. Drink warm milk to make you sleep.
10. Drink brandy for frostbite.
11. Put frozen steak on a black eye.
12. If you consume Pop Rocks followed by a carbonated drink, your stomach will explode and you’ll die.
13. You can get cancer from barbecued food.
14. Low-fat diets are a healthy way to lose weight.
15. Bananas are fattening.
16. Eating faster will make you fat.
DISCUSS
Have you heard of your own food myths? Join the discussion at exchange.ydr.com under “Other Yummy Food Discussions.” The topic title is, “Food Myths.”
LEARN MORE
The Nutrition Education Center, 332B N. Main S., New Salem, offers classes and consultations on health and nutrition.
For details, call 718-5033 or visit www.necoy.com.
ANSWERS
1. False. Both high fevers and colds can cause fluid loss. Drinking plenty of liquids such as water, fruit juice and vegetable juice can help prevent dehydration. And with both fevers and colds, it’s fine to eat regular meals — missing nutrients will only make a person sicker.
2. False. Coffee won’t affect growth, but too much caffeine doesn’t belong in a child’s diet. Excess caffeine can prevent the absorption of calcium and other nutrients.
3. True. Fish is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids that have been found to be very important in brain function. The Food and Drug Administration suggests pregnant women and women of child-bearing age decrease exposure to mercury by either not eating swordfish, shark and tuna, or limiting it to once per month.
4. Partially false. Although eating too much sugary, high-fat foods is not a good idea for anyone, studies show that no specific food has been proven to cause acne. Caffeine contained in many chocolate products can cause increased stress which may temporarily increase the manifestations of individuals already affected with acne.
5. False. Spicy foods may aggravate ulcer symptoms in some people, but they don’t bring out ulcers. A bacterial infection or overuse of pain medications such as aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs is the usual cause. Stress also causes ulcers.
6. Partially false. Vitamin A deficiencies can cause blindness, and carrots, and many other vegetables high in vitamin A, do help maintain healthy eyesight, but eating more than the recommended daily allowance won’t improve vision.
7. False. Butter will trap the heat in the skin and prolong the pain.
8. True. It’s rich in vitamins A and C and antioxidants. Flat-leaf works better since it has a stronger flavor.
9. True. Milk contains tryptophan and meltonin, natural sleep aids.
10. False. Drinking alcohol can actually be dangerous in this condition as it decreases blood circulation, which enhances heat loss and impairs shivering.
11. Partially false. The cold and pressure helps, but so does ice and elevating your head.
12. False. It’s a very popular legend among children, but Mikey is alive and well.
13. Partially true. There’s a persistent feeling that anything enjoyable must be bad for health. Cooked meat contains a compound that is carcinogenic, but there is no evidence that links barbecued food to cancer because you couldn’t eat enough to cause DNA damage that is central to cancer development. To reduce the carcinogens, marinate the food before grilling.
14. False. Cutting all fat from your diet can damage your health. Exercise combined with a balanced diet is more likely to reap rewards in the long run.
15. False. They are low in fat. There is 1/2 gram of fat and 95 calories in a banana.
16. False. This could be because of the fact that eating fast is thought to make you less full than if you eat slowly.
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