Health & WellnessJAN 30, 2024

30 Dangerous And Outdated Health Myths That Are Still Believed

Mindaugas Balčiauskas and Kornelija Viečaitė

It’s always useful to know if that new health trend is just a fad. Can you really detox your body with a juice cleanse? Or can it seriously damage our health? According to a 2021 review article, misinformation about health online is becoming a "public health concern." Researchers at the University of Cadiz in Spain found that the most common topics susceptible to misinformation are "vaccines, drugs or smoking, noncommunicable diseases, pandemics, eating disorders, and medical treatments."

However, some online spaces care for debunking health myths. And one of the people interested in this topic is the Reddit user u/imadepyramids. He asked other Redditors: "What are some [of the] most accepted health myths?" People shared misconceptions about health they no longer believe, and you can check them out below!

Bored Panda also had a chance to chat with the OP. u/imadepyramids told us more about why he decided to ask other Redditors this question and shared some health-related myths he used to believe in himself.

#1

30 Dangerous And Outdated Health Myths That Are Still Believed

That everyone is capable of breastfeeding. I'm going to get a lot of thumbs down, but so many of the myths associated with breastfeeding are harmful to babies and bad for mother's mental and physical health.

Far_Status705, Wendy Wei / Pexels

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181points

The Redditor imadepyramids often posts questions on r/AskReddit. Aside from learning new things, he says he likes it because of that sweet, sweet dopamine rush. "I always post questions on r/AskReddit because I love [the] engagement it gets me," the Redditor says. "It's just great to [wake up] in [the] morning to a 500+ notifications symbol."

However, it's not just selfish reasons that drive this user's curiosity. "I try to always ask thought-provoking questions which will benefit both me and the people who are reading the post," imadepyramids tells Bored Panda. And this post is one of such – there are plenty of things to learn from what the other netizens have shared.

#2

Addiction is just lack of willpower. Couldnt be further from the truth. Addiction is a very complex physiologic, psychological and psychosocial process. It takes an enormous effort on the afflicted person as well as support from doctors, family, friends and sometimes mental health counselors to overcome.

SensationalSasquatch, Reza Mehrad / Unsplash

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167points

#3

Homeopathy.

Pure-for-life, Khawar1994 / Wikipedia

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109points

This thread on r/AskReddit got pretty popular: it now has almost 6.5k comments and 5.3k upvotes! The author says he didn't expect the post to get so popular. The Redditor is honest with us and our readers, he admits he didn't read all the comments.

However, some still stood out to him. "People here and there claim that small quantities of alcohol can be helpful but all the comments were against it!" the OP says. "I also [got] to know about superfoods and how they are also a myth." He thinks that such popularity with a post like this indicates that this generation is quite conscious about their health.

#4

"All natural" implies it's healthy.

frankduxvandamme, openfoodfacts-contributors

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108points

#5

Oh my god how are chiropractors not the top answer. They are not doctors. It is not science. People can be permanently injured or unlived by them. F*****g stay as far away from those quacks. (My sister works at a chiropractic office and swears by them btw)

kctiger93, Ivan Radic / Flickr

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107points

#6

Fat makes you fat. The tide is turning and this isn't as prevalent as it was, but people still believe this to be true. I know most people here are too young for this, but back in the 90s a company called Snackwell introduced a line of fat free cookies. Suburban moms bought them en masse and we all ate them like crazy. They were loaded with sugar, but hey "no fat!".

pablo_the_bear, Thomas Park / Unsplash

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99points

When we ask him whether there are any health myths he used to believe in the past but no longer does, the Redditor mentions two. "Detox programs are not what they claim and yoga and homeopathy can't cure big diseases," the Redditor shares.

I really get him on this one – I have to admit, I did believe in 'cleansing juices' for a short while too. And as for yoga, I'm still not missing my weekly class, but I don't think it will magically cure all my problems.

#7

"You're too young to have ______"

I feel like people under the age of 40 are told this so often. When I had abdominal pain a few months back, with the location and type of pain I was in, when I did some research it sounded exactly like diverticulitis, despite never having a diverticulosis diagnosis. When I shared my thoughts at urgent care I was told I was "too young" to have that kind of problem - I'm 29. Went to the ER the next day where they did a CT scan and yep, diverticulitis.

DumpsterPuff, César Badilla Miranda / Unsplash

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97points

#8

That you can lose fat on certain body areas with certain excercizes. Nothing more stupid than that. As a person in the eating-disorder community, I know millions of these myths.

kaesekrebs, Andres Ayrton / Pexels

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96points

#9

That BMI equates to health.

A very muscular person will have a BMI that says they're obese.

Budakra

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92points

#10

Essential oils cure illnesses. Too many people die because of this misconception.

Duckbutterdrawers, Christin Hume / Unsplash

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91points

#11

The Food Pyramid we were all taught in school.

flotsam_knightly, U.S. Department of Agriculture

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90points

#12

That having a tan is healthy. You’re just wearing your skin damage

swbf-evenito

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82points

#13

Oh oh oh! I'm a health care provider, here is my most common ones.

Thinking that being mildly cold in isolation will make you get sick.

Thinking people (45+) don't need to work out

Letting scabs dry out on purpose

Vastly overstating the effects of turmeric, blueberries, cherries, etc.

Thinking pain level has anything to do with injury severity.

Believing that tan skin is healthier than pale skin.

Believing that diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, hypertension etc are "cured" by medicines. Nope just managed. I could go on all day.

Bearacolypse, Maarten van den Heuvel / Unsplash

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78points

#14

Weed cures everything and has no downsides. I have nothing against cannabis use and it's clearly the least harmful recreational drug in common use but it's not without downsides. If you want to 420 blaze it all day despite that all the power to you but don't pretent inhaling burning plant matter and taking in copious amounts of thc doesn't have negative effects on physical and mental health.

acesarge

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73points

#15

"Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis." It does not.

GaryNOVA, Jaysin Trevino / Flickr

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71points

#16

GMOs are bad... No Karen GMOs don't mutate you or mess with your body's balance. They mean we can feed more with less and crops are more resilient to natural disasters. It also means less pesticides that do cause harm.

siggy1986

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68points

#17

Morning sickness ends within a specific time frame, solutions include: saltines, ginger ale, and Gatorade. Also, that your next pregnancy won’t involve morning sickness.

I vomited for 9 months straight and that includes hours before my child was extracted thru the sun roof via emergency c-section.

I had HG. No one believed me. I suffered, I struggled, and before my daughter was even born, people (including nurses and doctors) were already talking about my “future pregnancies” not being so bad.

HG in a subsequent pregnancy has over a 75% recurrence rate. You could have serious health complications, and so could your baby. It is dangerous, and it used to kill women (and still could in bad enough circumstances).

It is not f*****g morning sickness and there is no cure, and no OTC remedy is going to make it go away.

imacatholicslut, Yuris Alhumaydy / Unsplash

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66points

#18

“Tilt your head back if you have a nosebleed.”

Do not do this because the blood could drain down your throat and make you sick or into your airways and obstruct them.

Instead you should sit upright, hold a tissue under your nose, tilt your head slightly forward, pinch the soft part of your nose just forward of the bone, and keep pinching for 10-15 minutes.

foodio3000, Brittany Colette / Unsplash

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63points

#19

“Ulcers are caused by stress.” Nope, the vast majority are caused by a quickly curable bacteria, and the rest are usually caused by chronic NSAID use.

_artbabe95, engin akyurt / Unsplash

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62points

#20

That almost everyone with Type 2 diabetes just ate way too much sugar and didn’t look after themselves.

Genetics play a role too, even if you do your best to prevent it

Obvious-Name352

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62points

30 Dangerous And Outdated Health Myths That Are Still Believed

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Poll Question

Which aspect of widely accepted health myths would you like to learn more about to determine their validity?

Poll Question

Which aspect of widely accepted health myths would you like to learn more about to determine their validity?