Don't Cross Your Eyes...They'll Get Stuck That Way!: And 75 Other Health Myths Debunked (26 page)

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Once an individual has started a course of antibiotics, he is no longer contagious

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An apple a day keeps the doctor away

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Boyer, J., and R. H. Liu. “Apple Phytochemicals and Their Health Benefits.”
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Eberhardt, M. V., C. Y. Lee, and R. H. Liu. “Antioxidant Activity of Fresh Apples.”
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Knekt, P., R. Jarvinen, A. Reunanen, and J. Maatela. “Flavonoid Intake and Coronary Mortality in Finland: A Cohort Study.”
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Knekt, P., R. Jarvinen, R. Seppanen, M. Hellovaara, L. Teppo, E. Pukkala, and A. Aromaa. “Dietary Flavonoids and the Risk of Lung Cancer and Other Malignant Neoplasms.”
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Knekt, P., J. Kumpulainen, R. Jarvinen, H. Rissanen, M. Heliovaara, A. Reunanen, T. Hakulinen, and A. Aromaa. “Flavonoid Intake and Risk of Chronic Diseases.”
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Le Marchand, L., S. P. Murphy, J. H. Hankin, L. R. Wilkens, and L. N. Kolonel. “Intake of Flavonoids and Lung Cancer.”
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Leontowicz, H., S. Gorinstein, A. Lojek, M. Leontowicz, Ci, M. z, R. Soliva-Fortuny, Y. S. Park, S. T. Jung, S. Trakhtenberg, and O. Martin-Belloso. “Comparative Content of Some Bioactive Compounds in Apples, Peaches and Pears and Their Influence on Lipids and Antioxidant Capacity in Rats.”
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Wolfe, K., X. Wu, and R. H. Liu. “Antioxidant Activity of Apple Peels.”
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Artificial sweeteners will give you cancer

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Lim, U., A. F. Subar, T. Mouw, P. Hartge, L. M. Morton, R. Stolzenberg-Solomon, D. Campbell, A. R. Hollenbeck, and A. Schatzkin. “Consumption of Aspartame-Containing Beverages and Incidence of Hematopoietic and Brain Malignancies.”
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Suddath, C. “Are Artificial Sweeteners Really That Bad for You?”
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The door handle is the dirtiest fixture in the bathroom

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“Germs, Hands and Your Health.”
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Air dryers will keep your hands cleaner than paper towels

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The bubbles in soda will make your bones brittle

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Mahmood, M., A. Saleh, F. Al-Alawi, and F. Ahmed. “Health Effects of Soda Drinking in Adolescent Girls in the United Arab Emirates.”
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McGartland, C., P. J. Robson, L. Murray, G. Cran, M. J. Savage, D. Watkins, M. Rooney, and C. Boreham. “Carbonated Soft Drink Consumption and Bone Mineral Density in Adolescence: The Northern Ireland Young Hearts Project.”
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Tucker, K. L., K. Morita, N. Qiao, M. T. Hannan, L. A. Cupples, and D. P. Kiel. “Colas, but Not Other Carbonated Beverages, Are Associated with Low Bone Mineral Density in Older Women: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study.”
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Caffeine stunts your growth

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Cancer is unpreventable

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Boyer, J., Liu. “Apple Phytochemicals and Their Health Benefits.”
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“Cancer Prevention Overiew.” National Cancer Institute,
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Jedrychowski, W., U. Maugeri, T. Popiela, J. Kulig, E. Sochacka-Tatara, A. Pac, A. Sowa, and A. Musial. “Case-Control Study on Beneficial Effect of Regular Consumption of Apples on Colorectal Cancer Risk in a Population with Relatively Low Intake of Fruits and Vegetables.”
Eur J Cancer Prev
19, no. 1 (2010): 42–7.