10 Myths (and a truth) that our grandmothers told us

When we were children, we often heard some stories told by our grandmothers and we always thought they were true. Who never heard that stepping on the cold ground barefoot caused the flu or even pneumonia?

Remembering these stories told by grandparents and passed on even by parents, the awesome.club went to research and found that most of them don’t make sense. Have a good time!

LEGEND. Older people often say that plants “steal” oxygen at night and whoever is in the room can end up suffocating. Botanist Gilberto Kerbauy, a professor at USP, gave the definitive sentence to the magazine “Superinteressante”: “If it were true, there wouldn’t be an Indian in the Amazon”. Plants use oxygen at night, but the amount is small, less than that used by that dog or cat that also sleeps in so many people’s rooms.

LEGEND. At most you can feel a slight headache because of the effort to which the view is subjected. But there is no study or report that proves loss of vision capacity for reading when the luminosity is low. Or probably our ancestors who lived when there wasn’t good lighting in the houses would have all gone blind or with very bad eyesight, right?

LEGEND. We’ve heard this one many times. Very bad things can happen to a person if they are awakened during sleepwalking. Nonsense. She may be disoriented or even scared, but she won’t die of a heart attack or have a stroke, as many people say. There are even those who recommend gently guiding a sleepwalker back to bed, as he alone can injure himself or fall.

LEGEND. One of the ingredients in gum is a gum base that is also used in the manufacture of tires. It is precisely this ingredient that the body has the most difficulty processing and then eliminating. But that doesn’t mean it will stay glued to your stomach or even your heart (!) for years, as some legends say. Eventually he will find his way out. But if we can avoid it, why swallow the gum, right? It’s even better to throw it away when you don’t want to chew anymore.

LEGEND. In the best of intentions, grandma would blow on the wound on her granddaughter or grandson because that would be a way to alleviate the pain after that fall on the playground. Affection is always nice, of course, but in addition to not working to relieve the pain, the blow will still throw bacteria from the mouth into the wound, increasing the risk of an infection. So the best is just hug and kiss, no blow!

LEGEND. It’s not just treading on icy ground. We’ve also heard that we can’t get cold or open the fridge with a hot body. All legend. “Colds and flu are caused by viruses. Without the virus there is no cold that makes you sick”, says doctor Drauzio Varella. “Have you ever thought if the cold caused colds? And who lives in Canada? And who lives in Norway?”, he says.

LEGEND. Sugar causes the release of serotonin, which gives a feeling of well-being. But it doesn’t happen instantly. So if you think that sugar water is a good remedy for someone who is going through a fright or a stressful situation, know that this makes no sense. Instead, choose a calming tea, such as chamomile, or passion fruit juice. It will be more efficient.

LEGEND. As nutritionist Anita Sachs, from the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp) tells us, this story dates back to colonial Brazil, when milk was a rarer and more expensive product. So that the slaves would not consume such a precious liquid, the rich at the time, many of them mill owners, spread the rumor and, thus, only the mangoes were left to be eaten, since they were easily available in the many hoses of the time.

LEGEND. Inflammation in the appendix, which is an extension of the intestine, is caused by obstruction of the site from excess mucus, and not by seeds or food debris that accumulate in the site and then do not come out. Some even believe that swallowing seeds can cause a plant to start sprouting inside the body. Be creative.

TRUTH. Every child has gone through the hassle of waiting two or three hours after lunch to get back in the pool. But the adults who “invented” this rule are right. To do the work of digestion, our body needs blood. When we start a physical activity, most of the blood is displaced to the musculature, impairing digestion and causing nausea, reflux and even vomiting. So, after eating, don’t even think about swimming or other physical activities.

Confess now: which of these myths did you still believe in? Do you know any more? Say it in the comments!