Popular Health Myths and Remedies - Health Myths Exposed
It turns out many "remedies" and "hazards" are more pseudo than science. Two doctors separate fiction from fact.
By Ramona Emerson
O, The Oprah Magazine | From the July 2011 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine
Illustration: Thinkstock
|
Congratulations, nose-blowing sleuths! This adage is partially true: When you have an infection, your body sends white blood cells called neutrophils to fight the germs, and when an enzyme in the neutrophils mixes with the healthy cells in your nose, your mucus changes color. The falsehood is that you need antibiotics. The infection in your body is not necessarily bacterial; it could be viral—in which case, no amount of antibiotics will help. |