Seven Medical Myths

Ask your doctor how much water you should drink or why you couldn't keep your eyes open after Thanksgiving dinner, and you're likely to get the same misinformation your mother-in-law might dispense. A study published in the December 2007 British Medical Journal tweaked physicians on their acceptance of some widespread medical beliefs that might now be reclassified as old wives' tales. Here's a rundown:

1. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day
2. We use only 10 percent of our brains
3. Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death
4. Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight
5. Shaving causes hair to grow back faster or coarser
6. Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals
7. Eating turkey makes people especially drowsy

Read the article to find why and how they are all false statements

Seven Medical Myths