Did your grandma ever warn you against going out in the cold with wet hair because “you’ll catch your death”? Or have you ever tossed a few more carrots into your shopping basket in the hope that they’ll improve your vision? There are countless health myths about how to prevent or treat disease, what food will give you superhuman powers or turn your kid into a whirlwind of energy. But is there any truth to them? Let’s find out. In this episode, we review a handful of the most popular health myths, exploring their origins and scouring them for any scrap of truth. Tune in to learn whether these myths are fact, fiction, or somewhere in between!
| History | Biology |
| General | |
| Dalmiya, Vrinda, and Linda Alcoff. “Are “old wives’ tales” justified?.” Feminist epistemologies. Routledge, 2013. 217-244. | |
| Ehrenreich, Barbara, and Deirdre English. Witches, midwives, & nurses: A history of women healers. The Feminist Press at CUNY, 2010. | |
| Fox, Adam. Oral and literate culture in England, 1500-1700. Clarendon Press, 2000. | |
| Wet hair/weather will make you sick. | |
| Jacobson, Carolyn Anne. Contagious transmissions and charged atmospheres: Disease theories and narrative in early Victorian novels. University of Pennsylvania, 2008. | Moriyama, M., Hugentobler, W.J. and Iwasaki, A., 2020. Seasonality of respiratory viral infections. Annual review of virology, 7(1), pp.83-101. |
| Waugh, Joanne Sarah. Talking about the weather: climate and the Victorian novel. Diss. University of York, 2008. | Reiman, J.M., Das, B., Sindberg, G.M., Urban, M.D., Hammerlund, M.E., Lee, H.B., Spring, K.M., Lyman-Gingerich, J., Generous, A.R., Koep, T.H. and Ewing, K., 2018. Humidity as a non-pharmaceutical intervention for influenza A. PLoS One, 13(9), p.e0204337. |
| Orton, Reginald. An essay on the epidemic cholera of India. Burgess and Hill, 1831. | Andrup, L., Krogfelt, K.A., Hansen, K.S. and Madsen, A.M., 2023. Transmission route of rhinovirus-the causative agent for common cold. A systematic review. American Journal of Infection Control, 51(8), pp.938-957. |
| Buchan, William. Domestic medicine. Sowler & Russell, 1800. | Moriyama, M., Hugentobler, W.J. and Iwasaki, A., 2020. Seasonality of respiratory viral infections. Annual review of virology, 7(1), pp.83-101. |
| Haviland, Alfred. Climate, Weather, and Disease: Being a Sketch of the Opinions of the Most Celebrated Antient and Modern Writers. J. Churchill, 1855. | Stewart, P.D.S., 2016. Seasonality and selective trends in viral acute respiratory tract infections. Medical hypotheses, 86, pp.104-119. |
| Douglas Jr, R.G., Lindgren, K.M. and Couch, R.B., 1968. Exposure to cold environment and rhinovirus common cold: failure to demonstrate effect. New England Journal of Medicine, 279(14), pp.742-747. | |
| Mourtzoukou EG, Falagas ME. Exposure to cold and respiratory tract infections. The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. 2007 Sep 1;11(9):938-43. | |
| Jaakkola, K., Saukkoriipi, A., Jokelainen, J., Juvonen, R., Kauppila, J., Vainio, O., Ziegler, T., Rönkkö, E., Jaakkola, J.J., Ikäheimo, T.M. and KIAS-Study Group, 2014. Decline in temperature and humidity increases the occurrence of influenza in cold climate. Environmental Health, 13(1), p.22. | |
| Liener, K., Leiacker, R., Lidemann, J., Rettinger, G. and Keck, T., 2003. Nasal mucosal temperature after exposure to cold, dry air and hot, humid air. Acta oto-laryngologica, 123(7), pp.851-856. | |
| George, T., Hall, D., Davis, T. and O’Shea, N., 2025. Seven cautionary tales we tell our children: a brief literature review. British Journal of General Practice, 75(751). | |
| Eccles, R., 2002. Acute cooling of the body surface and the common cold. Rhinology, 40(3), pp.109-114. | |
| Korzeniewski, K., Nitsch-Osuch, A., Chciałowski, A. and Korsak, J., 2013. Environmental factors, immune changes and respiratory diseases in troops during military activities. Respiratory physiology & neurobiology, 187(1), pp.118-122. | |
| Johnson, C. and Eccles, R., 2005. Acute cooling of the feet and the onset of common cold symptoms. Family Practice, 22(6), pp.608-613. | |
| Ikäheimo, T.M., Jaakkola, K., Jokelainen, J., Saukkoriipi, A., Roivainen, M., Juvonen, R., Vainio, O. and Jaakkola, J.J., 2016. A decrease in temperature and humidity precedes human rhinovirus infections in a cold climate. Viruses, 8(9), p.244. | |
| Foxman, E.F., Storer, J.A., Fitzgerald, M.E., Wasik, B.R., Hou, L., Zhao, H., Turner, P.E., Pyle, A.M. and Iwasaki, A., 2015. Temperature-dependent innate defense against the common cold virus limits viral replication at warm temperature in mouse airway cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(3), pp.827-832. | |
| Vreeman, R.C. and Carroll, A.E., 2008. Festive medical myths. BMJ, 337. | |
| Burch, D.M., 1964. Incidence of Colds among College Women Who Swim During the Winter Months. | |
| Carrots give you night vision. | |
| Carrot, Wild. “Carrot: history and iconography.” Chronica 51.2 (2011): 13. | Richer, S., Novil, S., Gullett, T., Dervishi, A., Nassiri, S., Duong, C., Davis, R. and Davey, P.G., 2021. Night Vision and Carotenoids (NVC): A randomized placebo controlled clinical trial on effects of carotenoid supplementation on night vision in older adults. Nutrients, 13(9), p.3191. |
| Carrot History – Carrots in the Second World War, World Carrot Museum. Accessed September 27, 2025. | Smith, W., Mitchell, P. and Lazarus, R., 1999. Carrots, carotene and seeing in the dark. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Ophthalmology, 27(3‐4), pp.200-203. |
| WW2 – “Carrots Help you see in the dark”, World Carrot Museum. Accessed September 27, 2025. | Christian, P., West Jr, K.P., Khatry, S.K., Katz, J., LeClerq, S., Pradhan, E.K. and Shrestha, S.R., 1998. Vitamin A or β-carotene supplementation reduces but does not eliminate maternal night blindness in Nepal. The Journal of nutrition, 128(9), pp.1458-1463. |
| Carrots Can’t Help You See in the Dark. Here’s How a World War II Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth, Smithsonian Magazine. August 13, 2013. Accessed September 27, 2025. | Byun, S.S. and Spaide, R.F., 2021. Carrots, Blueberries, and Spinach—Vision Superfoods. Retina, 41(5), pp.895-897. |
| Flood, V., Smith, W., Wang, J.J., Manzi, F., Webb, K. and Mitchell, P., 2002. Dietary antioxidant intake and incidence of early age-related maculopathy: the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Ophthalmology, 109(12), pp.2272-2278. | |
| Cooper, D.A., Eldridge, A.L. and Peters, J.C., 1999. Dietary carotenoids and certain cancers, heart disease, and age-related macular degeneration: a review of recent research. Nutrition Reviews, 57(7), pp.201-214. | |
| Chong, E.W., Wong, T.Y., Kreis, A.J., Simpson, J.A. and Guymer, R.H., 2007. Dietary antioxidants and primary prevention of age related macular degeneration: systematic review and meta-analysis. Bmj, 335(7623), p.755. | |
| Age-Related Eye Disease Study Research Group, 2001. A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of high-dose supplementation with vitamins C and E, beta carotene, and zinc for age-related macular degeneration and vision loss: AREDS report no. 8. Archives of ophthalmology, 119(10), pp.1417-1436. | |
| Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) Research Group, 2013. Lutein+ zeaxanthin and omega-3 fatty acids for age-related macular degeneration: the Age-Related Eye Disease Study 2 (AREDS2) randomized clinical trial. Jama, 309(19), pp.2005-2015. | |
| Trumbo, P.R. and Ellwood, K.C., 2006. Lutein and zeaxanthin intakes and risk of age-related macular degeneration and cataracts: an evaluation using the Food and Drug Administration’s evidence-based review system for health claims. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 84(5), pp.971-974. | |
| Sugar rush. | |
| Feingold, Ben. Why Your Child Is Hyperactive: The bestselling book on how ADHD is caused by artificial food flavors and colors. Random House, 1985. | Krummel, D.A., Seligson, F.H., Guthrie, H.A. and Gans, D.A., 1996. Hyperactivity: is candy causal?. Critical Reviews in Food Science & Nutrition, 36(1-2), pp.31-47. |
| Kawash, Samira. Candy: A century of Panic and Pleasure. Macmillan, 2013. | Kinsbourne, M., 1994. Sugar and the hyperactive child. New England Journal of Medicine, 330(5), pp.355-356. |
| Krummel, Debra A., et al. “Hyperactivity: is candy causal?.” Critical Reviews in Food Science & Nutrition 36.1-2 (1996): 31-47. | Benton, D., 2008. Sucrose and behavioral problems. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 48(5), pp.385-401. |
| Del-Ponte, B., Anselmi, L., Assunção, M.C.F., Tovo-Rodrigues, L., Munhoz, T.N., Matijasevich, A., Rohde, L.A. and Santos, I.S., 2019. Sugar consumption and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A birth cohort study. Journal of affective disorders, 243, pp.290-296. | |
| Hoover, D.W. and Milich, R., 1994. Effects of sugar ingestion expectancies on mother-child interactions. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 22(4), pp.501-515. | |
| Wender, E.H. and Solanto, M.V., 1991. Effects of sugar on aggressive and inattentive behavior in children with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity and normal children. Pediatrics, 88(5), pp.960-966. | |
| Kim, Y. and Chang, H., 2011. Correlation between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and sugar consumption, quality of diet, and dietary behavior in school children. Nutrition research and practice, 5(3), pp.236-245. | |
| Yu, C.J., Du, J.C., Chiou, H.C., Feng, C.C., Chung, M.Y., Yang, W., Chen, Y.S., Chien, L.C., Hwang, B. and Chen, M.L., 2016. Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is adversely associated with childhood attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. International journal of environmental research and public health, 13(7), p.678. | |
| Kim, S., Shin, J., Cha, H.R., Ha, E.K., Kim, J.H. and Han, M.Y., 2024. Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages before 2 Years of Age and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism, 80(5), pp.276-286. | |
| Ginger ale cures tummyaches. | |
| Donovan, Tristan. Fizz: how soda shook up the world. Chicago Review Press, 2013. | Ernst, E. and Pittler, M.H., 2000. Efficacy of ginger for nausea and vomiting: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. British journal of anaesthesia, 84(3), pp.367-371. |
| Wondrich, David, and Noah Rothbaum, eds. The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails. Oxford University Press, 2021. | Thomson, M., Corbin, R. and Leung, L., 2014. Effects of ginger for nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy: a meta-analysis. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 27(1), pp.115-122. |
| Prance, Ghillean, and Mark Nesbitt, eds. The cultural history of plants. Routledge, 2012. | Giacosa, A., Morazzoni, P., Bombardelli, E., Riva, A., Bianchi Porro, G. and Rondanelli, M., 2015. Can nausea and vomiting be treated with ginger extract?. European Review for Medical & Pharmacological Sciences, 19(7). |
| Isa, Mari. Thirsty Throwback Thursday: A History of Ginger Beer, MSU Campus Archaeology Program. April 27, 2017. Accessed September 28, 2025. | Marx, W., Ried, K., McCarthy, A.L., Vitetta, L., Sali, A., McKavanagh, D. and Isenring, L., 2017. Ginger—Mechanism of action in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: A review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 57(1), pp.141-146. |
| Zhu, W., Dai, Y., Huang, M. and Li, J., 2021. Efficacy of ginger in preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 53(6), pp.671-679. | |
| Chaiyakunapruk, N., Kitikannakorn, N., Nathisuwan, S., Leeprakobboon, K. and Leelasettagool, C., 2006. The efficacy of ginger for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting: a meta-analysis. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology, 194(1), pp.95-99. | |
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