To spout utter rubbish health advice?

[APieOfButter]

EG, sitting on stone steps gives you piles, going out with wet hair will give you a cold, too much sugar in your tea gives you worms, any red food is good when you are on your period, watching TV too much makes your eyes go square, milk goes DIRECTLY to your bones and teeth to make them stronger, standing on your head makes you cleverer, swimming after food is deadly, chocolate gives you spots...

Any more for any more?

(Shamelessy derived from the expressions thread :) )

It isn't utter rubbish - some of these things have an element of truth to them

My gran always says sitting near a draft will give you a kidney infection. The mind boggles as to how little sense this makes!

If we were constipated, we would be sent to eat an orange, with the expectation that, as soon as we had done so, we would be back to normal. Never any other fruit, it had to be an orange. In fact, we had to eat an orange if we were eating lots of chocolate or eggs too.. Easter was a bit of an orange fest...

WORMS - thrive in a sugary environment.

WET HAIR - will not give you a cold but can make you chilled and more susseptable (sp) to catching the cold virus.

STANDING ON YOUR HEAD - increases blood to the brain - in the same way chewing gum is meant to help concentration iirc

SWIMMING - after food can cause cramp.

RED FOOD - I expect is linked to something like steak which could help if you were anemic.

Love from Dr Valliumredhead

I still instinctively dress my children like they are going on an artic expidition when they are going to bed. I have to remind myself we are living in the age of central heating and double glazing...

Ooh, if a pregnant woman has heartburn, the baby is hairy, if she feels sick, it is a girl, if the bump is big, the baby will be early.

Sudden shiver = somebody walking over your grave (how would that even WORK? Even accepting the woo aspect, is it smebody walking where your grave will be, or somebody in the future, or what?)

Lemons having an immediate effect on colds, fish having an immediate effect on brains. Porridge putting hairs on your chest, crusts making your hair curly, tinned spaghetti turning you ginger. Beer going straight on your belly.

Don't wear a coat indoors, you won't feel the benefit.

peabody if that were true 14 year old boys would be sporting Willie Nelson plaits on their palms

Ginger biscuits will miraculously stop morning sickness

Cutting hair - makes it grow thicker. How would the follicle even know the hair had been cut?

Ginger is well known for helping nausea - a lot of these things have elements of truth!

Carrots make you see in the dark.

It is somehow a good idea to put coins in a newborns hand, and leave them strewn all over the pram whenever you see a baby that you don't know, without telling the parent. (although I must admit, it does give me a warm fuzzy feeling to find 50p's under my babies)

My friend's dad told her not diluting squash enough would give her worms I think he was trying to cut the shopping bill as my friend did drink loads of squash.

Sitting on a cold step could give you piles...not sure how that one works.

I was also told when little that if I ate apple/orange pips I would grow a tree in my belly, and if there was dirt behind my ears potatoes would grow there!

Swallowing chewing gum will stick your heart up, and eventually it will stop, with the sheer stickiness of the chewing gum

You shouldn't wash your hair/have a bath or shower during your period. Not sure what the consequence would be...

Don't confuse health advice with more old fashioned way that grannies got us to eat our greens ...

Babies should be put outside to sleep in thier prams - wrap them up so much they are just a little nose and eyes poking out of blankets, mind :)

Eating allbran will turn you into a ballerina! That's what my mum told me

Didn't work....

sugar makes you hyperactive

or better still...makes you hypo

APieOfButter - vit A (retinol) is essential for good vision there's plenty in carrots. Which is why they're orange.

So is there less Vit a in the black/purple ones?

A friend of mine once proved that oranges are good for constipation when he was about 8 by eating a whole bag of satsumas and experiencing the opposite of constipation.

Yes peabody it was down to wwii rumours.

I was told by MIL that my DS shouldn't try standing too early or he'd get rickets!!