16. Children with asthma shouldn't play sports.
Parents and doctors used to counsel children with asthma to stay away from all sports. Physical activity, the thinking went, increases breathing rate and could trigger asthma, a disease of the respiratory system characterized by coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest and shortness of breath. We now know that exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, can actually improve the lung power of a person with asthma. Studies show that when people with asthma exercise, they have fewer attacks, use less medication and miss less time at school. For this reason, children whose asthma is well controlled by medication and avoidance of triggers should be encouraged to take part in most sports and other physical activities — even if they have exercise-induced asthma (EIA). While activities that are more intense and sustained, such as long periods of running, should be avoided, there are many sports that are less likely to trigger EIA; they include walking, cycling, swimming and sports that require short bursts of energy, such as baseball, softball, volleyball, tennis, football, wrestling, golf, gymnastics and short-distance track-and-field events.
17. Becoming a vegetarian will ensure that you'll lose weight and be healthier.
While a vegetarian diet can be nutritious, your food choices — not whether you choose to eat meat — will determine whether you'll lose weight. If you order the dressing-soaked Caesar salad and french fries rather than grilled chicken breast and a lightly dressed green salad at a fast-food restaurant, you could be eating a meal that's actually higher in fat and calories than a meat-based one. Also, if you don't know how to eat to stave off hunger on a vegetarian diet, you may end up actually eating more. It's all about balance.
18. Women are more likely to die from cancer — especially breast cancer — than from any other cause.
Wrong. Heart disease kills more women (and men) than all cancers combined. In 1999, the latest year for which statistics are available, cardiovascular disease accounted for 39,134 deaths of Canadian women and 37 per cent of all female deaths compared with 28,624 deaths for women from all cancers, 17 per cent of which were from breast cancer. Of the cancers, lung cancer kills more women than breast cancer, even though more women are actually diagnosed with breast cancer. In 2002, for instance, 20,500 Canadian women were newly diagnosed with breast cancer; of this group, 25 per cent died. By comparison, only 8,800 women were diagnosed with lung cancer in 2002, but the disease killed 87 per cent.
19. Gum that is swallowed takes seven years to digest.
If swallowed, the average piece of gum will be expelled in the stool — just like any other food — a few days later. Gum, which is not digested, takes slightly longer to be expelled than food that is digested and passes through the intestinal tract in about 24 hours. Only if a very small child swallows a huge wad of gum is there any danger of the gum causing an intestinal obstruction. In that case, it could take much longer to be expelled but nothing close to seven years. In severe cases, this could lead to distension of the intestines and severe abdominal cramps; it would require surgery to remove the obstruction.
20. Hyper people are more likely to have hypertension.
Even though a person who's in a rage can temporarily increase his blood pressure (witness the beet-red face), the reality is that a person's temperament doesn't cause high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. In about 10 per cent of people with high blood pressure (greater than or equal to 140 mmhg systolic or greater than or equal to 90 mmhg diastolic pressure), the problem is caused by kidney disease, hormonal disorders or certain drugs. But in most cases of hypertension, the cause is unknown.
