“原來不是這樣的” 生活中的七個醫學誤區

Reading in dim light won't damage your eyes, you don't need eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy and shaving your legs won't make the hair grow back faster.

在昏暗的燈光下看書不會傷害眼睛;每天也不必喝八杯水來保持健康;剃掉腿毛也不會讓它長得更快。

These well-worn theories are among seven "medical myths" exposed in a paper published in the British Medical Journal.

這些老生常談在《英國醫學雜志》的一篇論文中被列入七項“醫學誤區”。

Two U.S. researchers, Aaron Carroll and Rachel Vreeman, took seven common beliefs and searched the archives for evidence to support them.

阿倫-卡羅爾和雷切爾-弗里曼是來自美國的兩位研究人員，他們選定了七個普遍共識，搜尋了大量卷宗來尋找支持它們的證據。

Despite frequent mentions in the popular press of the need to drink eight glasses of water, they found no scientific basis for the claim. The other six "myths" are:

盡管大眾媒體經常提到每天要喝八杯水，但對這一說法他們并沒有找到科學依據。其他六個“誤區”是：

Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight 在昏暗的燈光下看書會毀壞視力

The majority of eye experts believed it was unlikely to do any permanent damage, but it might make you squint, blink more and have trouble focusing, the researchers said.

這兩位研究者說，大多數眼科專家認為這樣不會造成永久性傷害，但會讓你更頻繁地瞇眼和眨眼，并使眼睛難以聚焦。

Shaving makes hair grow back faster or coarser 剔除毛發后反會令毛發長得更快更粗

It has no effect on the thickness or rate of hair regrowth. But stubble lacks the finer taper of unshaven hair, giving the impression of coarseness.

其實這對毛發的濃密度和再生速度都沒有影響，但修剪后的新毛茬末端不像未修剪時那樣逐漸變細，所以給人感覺變粗了。

Eating turkey makes you drowsy 吃火雞會令人昏昏欲睡

It does contain an amino acid called tryptophan that is involved in sleep and mood control. But turkey has no more of the acid than chicken or minced beef. Eating lots of food and drink at holidays are probably the real cause of sleepiness.

火雞肉中的確含有一種氨基酸叫色氨酸，對睡眠和情緒會產生影響。但火雞含的這種酸并不比肌肉或者碎牛肉多。在節日里暴飲暴食才可能是犯困的真正原因。

We use only 10 percent of our brains 只有10%的大腦被利用

This myth arose as early as 1907 but imaging shows no area of the brain is silent or completely inactive.

這個誤解早在1907年就產生了，但(對大腦)掃描成像顯示，大腦中沒有完全不活動的區域。

Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death 人死后頭發和指甲還會生長

This idea may stem from ghoulish novels. The researchers said the skin dries out and retracts after death, giving the appearance of longer hair or nails.

這個認識可能來自恐怖小說。研究者說，死亡之后皮膚會變干并且收縮，所以顯得頭發和指甲更長了。

Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals 在醫院里使用移動電話有風險

Despite widespread concerns, studies have found minimal interference with medical equipment.

盡管人們對此都很擔心，但研究發現手機對醫療器械的干擾十分微弱。