Category Archives: Health and Wellness

Is It Most Effective to Apply Antiperspirant in the Morning?

Image from bhg.com.au

We all sweat. When people want to limit sweating and smell better, they may apply an antiperspirant or deodorant. It’s common to apply antiperspirant in the morning. We might expect that it works immediately and then the effect wears off. But let’s think twice about that.  

 According to the American Academy of Dermatology, the best time to apply an antiperspirant is before bedtime. The active ingredients of antiperspirants, including aluminum-based compounds, may work better when they have a chance to work overnight. These compounds work by plugging the pores of sweat glands to reduce moisture. Your body naturally sweats less at night, and the body’s sweat glands are more receptive to antiperspirant ingredients and can more effectively absorb them when the armpit is dry. Additionally, applying at night will give the antiperspirant the 6-8 hours it needs to fully plug the sweat ducts. 

So, if you want the full benefit of antiperspirants, apply them at night for the best performance the following day. Strange but true! It’s worth it to Think Twice! 

 

Links: 

Doctor Sweat 

Consumer Reports 

MyCarpe 

Does eating carrots give you night vision?

As kids, it was commonplace for adults to preach about the importance of vegetables and how carrots could help you see better at night. But does eating carrots really improve your night vision?  

The idea first originated in the early 20th century during World War II, at a time when the British were subjected to nightly German bombings. Eventually, the British devised radar stations that were used to detect these German aircrafts passing overhead. However, in order to ensure that German intelligence would not catch on, the British spread propaganda that improved night vision from eating carrots was how they detected German bombers at night.  

And there is a grain of truth in the matter. Carrots contain vitamin A, which is a key building block of molecules responsible for both low-light and color vision.  It is the light-sensitive part of rhodopsin, a protein in rod cells in the retina of the eye that is particularly sensitive to light. People who are deficient in Vitamin A may not see as well at night.  But Vitamin A and carrots do not improve sight in individuals that have sufficient vitamin A.  The fact that health advice can be based on old war propaganda is one of the reasons we encourage you to always “Think Twice.”  

  

https://www.centreofthecell.org/blog/science-questions/will-eating-carrots-give-me-night-vision/ 

https://www.lenstore.co.uk/eyecare/myth-or-truth#:~:text=Despite%20the%20myth%2C%20carrots%20are,this%20may%20cause%20night%20blindness.  

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/do-carrots-really-help-you-see-in-the-dark/ 

Does plucking gray hairs cause more to grow in its place?

If you’re looking in the mirror and see a lone gray hair, it might be tempting to pull it out. However, there have been warnings that plucking out strands of gray hair can result in multiple more appearing. Is that true? Should we avoid pulling out the gray strands?   

Hair gets its color from melanin, a pigment in our hair, eyes, and skin. The amount of this pigment decreases as we age, and less melanin is produced. Once these pigment-producing cells in the hair follicle die, our hair displays no color, which we interpret as gray. Plucking one gray hair does not impact the hair follicles around it since the surrounding cells are still alive and will maintain our natural hair color.  

There may be another reason not to pluck gray hairs.  Each time you pluck a hair, it grows out thinner or may not grow back at all.    

 It may seem like plucking on gray hair leads to others, but that’s probably just your head aging.  Plucking a gray hair does not affect the other hair follicles, but it does damage that one follicle you pluck. Embrace the gray or choose to dye your hair, but don’t fret about plucking.    

Links: 

UAMS Health 

Huff Post