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 Health & Beauty | April 2007 
Like a Little Tale? The Truth About Those Old Wives
 Jeanne Sparks-Carreker - americanchronicle.com
| | Grandma was right an apple a day, if its a red one, keeps the doctor away. The Red Delicious apple was found to have the highest concentrations of polyphenols, a type of antioxidant. |
We have all heard them and sometimes have even sworn by them. But what old wives’ tales can we actually believe? Some are based on superstition, some on partial truth, and some of them seem to be a logical improbability – or do they?
Many old wives’ tales were created due to the fact that factual information about our world was not as readily available in times past. Perhaps in an attempt to give cause or origin to certain events or conditions, people of yesterday explained things to their families the best they knew how to then. Making sense of the strange and changing world around them gave rise to what we call “Old Wives’ Tales,” but to which folks of eras gone most likely called “the way it is.”
One such common old wives’ tale that most likely every bubble-gum lover has heard warns that chewing gum is actually indigestible. Well, for seven or more years, they claimed. Most of us remember being told as a child that if we swallow our chewing gum, it will remain in the stomach, or perhaps, as one variation of the old wives’ tale suggests, even the appendix, for many years to come. Many a teasing grandfather even suggested that swallowed chewing gum will stick to the rib cage.
According to Wikipedia, chewing gum is made up of gum base, maybe glycerin for moistness, vegetable oil for softness, and different varieties of sweeteners, colorings, and preservatives. Being a substance that is decidedly not part of the major food groups, chewing gum does not digest as easily as a bologna sandwich, but it does digest as promptly. It seems, Paw-Paw, that chewing gum leaves the body in the same manner, right on time with everything else.
Therefore, if the jury is still out on whether or not chewing gum loses its flavor when left unattended and stuck to a bedpost throughout the night, one thing is for certain: the old wives’ tale which claims that any gum base chewing confection will remain anywhere within the human body for seven or more years if swallowed is simply false. Young bubble gum lovers, rejoice!
Alternatively, one old wives’ tale that many people believe they cannot readily prove or disprove involves small dogs indigenous to Mexico that are capable of transferring the burden of allergies and asthma from their owner’s body to their own. Sandra Billitz of Warrior, Alabama claims that her mother’s asthma was completely cured when she purchased one of the small breed of dog known as a Chihuahua.
“She had suffered with asthma for as long as I can remember. A friend of the family suggested that she get a Chihuahua, and for years, she just would not hear of it. Not because she did not believe her friend, really. But she thought that if it did work, it would be cruel to give a poor, little dog her sickness. When she finally did try it, though, the asthma just went away. Now, the little dog is fine, mind you – he didn’t get sick or suffer anything from it. But Mother has no asthma problems to speak of at all, now.”
On the “Chihuahua FAQs – Answers” page found at Bigchihuahua.com, the reputable site answers this common question by stating, “There has been a myth floating around that a Chihuahua in the house can cure or lessen a person's asthma. There is no scientific or other evidence for this. It's just an old 'wives' tale.” In all fairness, Bigchihuahua.com adds, “Now, we must speak of what has been reported by several people that visit Bigchihuahua.com. It has been reported that some people who acquired Chihuahuas to help them with asthma actually claim that they were helped, and that their asthma diminished considerably. We believe this is quite possible - through the power of suggestion, faith, and belief.”
Either way, being a short-haired breed, perhaps allergy and asthma sufferers who also happen to be dog lovers fare better with the choice of a Chihuahua as their pick for Man’s Best Friend. Considering the fact that longer haired breeds of dogs may aggravate symptoms of certain ailments, the Chihuahua seems a more logical choice. This idea is described by Bill Knell at www.arizonapups.com, a site specializing in Chihuahua breeding that is also reputable as an Ethical Breeder Cooperative.
Another old wives’ tale that at one time became the strict belief of mothers everywhere, (even to the chagrin of their wee ones) is the idea that if a person eats even a small meal, they must wait sixty minutes before taking a swim. The rule most children heard (and immediately grieved over) was that not one minute less than sixty would surely cause them to seize up in the water and immediately drown. If the child was brought up in a home which rightly demanded obedience, any disgruntled attitude or argument against the rule would warrant additional minutes in waiting, thus creating an unbearable torture experienced poolside. Roberta C. Barbalace contends, in “Sorting out Science from Junk Science,” that the belief in this old wives’ tale has all but disappeared from modern practice, and so happily frees the next generation of adolescent aquatic enthusiasts (http://www.environmentalchemistry.com).
Finally, a few of the old wives’ tales which many females still hold to (and even modify primping preference and routine as a result of) have to do with human hair. According to Snopes.com, false hair beliefs include propaganda such as it being possible to repair split ends. Many teenage girls believe that using the same shampoo for a period of time causes hair to become resistant to that particular shampoo, thus causing the hair washer to swap brands every few months. More false old wives’ tales concerning hair are that hats cause baldness, that lemon juice makes the hair shiny, that plucking one gray hair causes two to grow in its place, and that vinegar locks in hair color if used as a final rinse. Sorry, girls, it’s just not true. They are all just old wives’ tales.
So, when it is suggested that an ailing or bedridden patient would have a better or faster recovery progress if more plants were placed in the room to produce more oxygen, or that an asthmatic patient should purchase a Chihuahua in order to be rid of hindering malady, remember that it just may not be the truth. As well, many a poolside torture will be happily averted, and we women can save a bundle on hair products by ignoring the new shampoo brand’s claims to restore hair that is, in fact, dead already, except for the tiny little bit under our scalp. And no one gets to show that little bit off, anyway.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chewing_gum
http://environmentalchemistry.com/yogi/environmental/200608junkscience.html
http://www.snopes.com/oldwives/hairgrow.asp
http://www.bigchihuahua.com/cgi-bin/FAQ/faqmanager.cgi?answer=chi_right_for_you |
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