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All, Common Myths

Reading in the Dark

Image result for reading in the dark

Does reading in the dark make your eyesight worse?

Nicole Kell

As kids, many of use were told  that reading in the dark “weakens your eyes”. People tend to hold books closer to their face in dim lighting because of the decrease in contrast between the black words and white pages. Reading or focusing on close objects in the dark can makes the  eye muscles work harder than normal to focus on images and they can fatigue. Think of it as “eye exercise”.

Ophthalmologists have found no evidence to support the idea that this extra exercise your eyes get in low light is harmful and find no evidence to support this concept.   If you feel  headache or nausea it might be due to staring at something relatively close to your face.

It’s safe to read in low light.

Sources

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/04/health/04real.html

https://scienceline.org/2007/10/ask-peck-darkeyesmyopia/

 

All, Common Myths

Winter Joint Pain

Image result for joint pain

Source: Pain Doctor

Andrea Hernandez

Have you ever had a sharp pain in your ankles or shoulders when you were taking a walk in cold and rainy weather? Many people ascribe such symptoms to the effects of atmospheric pressure and humidity changes. When it is cold, there is higher pressure in the atmosphere. When it rains there is lower pressure and higher humidity.

There is no argument that our body’s tissues are stiffer in the cold.  And this stiffness might be uncomfortable.

A study observed the joint paint of people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA). A pair of people lived in a chamber that controlled temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, air flow, and air ionization for a two-week period.  Six of the eight people with RA and all four of the people with OA reported more pain and stiffness when humidity increased and atmospheric pressure was decreased. The small sample and short amount of time in the chamber make these findings interesting, but very preliminary.

There are alternative explanations for the association of weather changes with joint pain.  For instance, it may be that a person is less likely to exercise when it is cold outside, and the lack of activity might contribute to joint pain.  

https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/weather_and_pain#1

https://www.oline.org/open-access/effect-of-cold-weather-on-the-symptoms-of-arthritic-disease-a-review-of-theliterature-2329-9126-1000275.php?aid=82154#8

https://ac.els-cdn.com/030439599400215Z/1-s2.0-030439599400215Z-main.pdf?_tid=d372cc1a-212a-431a-91de 42d7ed05bd47&acdnat=1543609846_b25a1291cdc3f79c3981c399fff367e0

https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.21640947.1961.tb00760.xhttps://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/the-secret-to-joint-pain-relief-exercise

 

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Chocolate Milk: Post Workout Drink?

Image result for chocolate milk workout

Source: Stack

Isabel Draper

‘Got Milk?’ ads were everywhere at one point. Recently, I saw an ad for drinking chocolate milk for recovery after a workout (https://builtwithchocolatemilk.com/). It seems the milk industry is advertising chocolate milk as a viable choice for refueling after a workout. Is there some value to a specific drink over a balanced diet to get healthy after exercise?

One particular study is often cited as supporting the use of chocolate milk as a post workout drink.  This study has an interesting design: it compared the observed difference between the performance of three different groups of cyclists who rode for two hours and then refueled with either water, chocolate milk, or gatorade. The cyclists then rode until exhaustion. Riders that drank chocolate milk had a greater time to exhaustion and  total work than riders who drank a carbohydrate replacement drink with the same carbohydrate content. The abstract states that these “results of this study suggest that chocolate milk is an effective recovery aid between two exhausting exercise bouts.” One issue with this study, like many other nutritional studies, is that it is observational in nature. The conclusion that chocolate milk is a superior recovery drink is solely based on the observation that those riders who drank chocolate milk had a slightly greater time to exhaustion and total work in comparison to the other riders.

Chocolate milk from the grocery store has a ratio of carbohydrates-to-protein of about 6-1 and contains a significant amount of sugar. The desired ratio of carbohydrates-to-protein for a recovery drink is 4:1. Drinking an excessive amount of calories in the form of sugar after a workout may not be better than a balanced diet. Different levels of activity necessitate different caloric intakes after each activity.  That said, if you enjoy a cold glass of milk after working out, then you can continue drinking it as long as you keep in mind its extra calories. But, don’t add a glass of milk to your routine simply based on marketing by the milk industry.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2569005/

Don’t Believe the Dairy Industry—Chocolate Milk Isn’t An Ideal Post-Workout Recovery Drink

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/why-you-should-try-chocolate-milk-after-a-workout/2015/02/02/efe27658-a708-11e4-a7c2-03d37af98440_story.html?utm_term=.4306f8f12a6e

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29921963https://www.acsh.org/news/2015/12/31/if-you-are-fed-up-with-nutrition-science-youre-not-alone