Can You Debunk These Popular Winter Health Myths?

False – Every winter it’s commonplace to see ads touting the benefits of taking a Vitamin C supplement to either ward off a cold or to shorten its length, but unfortunately there is no consistent evidence backing up the claims. The Recommended Dietary Allowance for men is 90 mg and 75 mg for women per day, but consuming a mass amount at the start of a cold won’t prevent or treat it.

False – Cold temperatures can actually have the opposite effect on your hair. Researchers at the University Hospital of Zurich followed 823 women over the course of six years and found that they lost the largest amount of hair in the summer and the least in the winter. That being said, frosty temps, harsh winds and dry heat from the air conditioner can still cause your scalp to become dry, which can lead to brittle hair resulting in hair loss so you might want to treat your scalp to a little more TLC in the winter.

False – After all the holiday food and staying indoors more often it is normal to gain some weight in the winter, but not 10 pounds. A study published in Nutrition Reviews says the average weight gain among women during winter is between one and two pounds. So, what perpetuates the myth? Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine points to evidence stating that most women don’t shed the weight they gain during winter, which can add up every year.

False – There’s no doubt that alcohol can make you feel warm and fuzzy, but packing a bottle in your winter auto emergency kit isn’t necessary to help you stave off hypothermia. In fact, alcohol can actually inhibit the natural tendencies our bodies have to detect cold, like shivering, which are there to signal that it’s time to find some warmth. As you drink, your blood vessels in your skin become wider, shunting blood from your core to your periphery, actually lowering your internal body temperature.

False – Mixed with frosty temps, dreary winter days can really put a damper on your mood, but don’t point the finger at the weather if you’re feeling a bit of the “winter blues.” Busy schedules, tight end-of-the-year deadlines, family stress and worries about holiday spending are more likely culprits for why you’re feeling less than joyous during winter. That being said, seasonal affective disorder does affect a small population of people, so if you can’t tie your emotions to an external stressor, it may be time to speak to your doctor.

True – Those overcast skies we just talked about seem like the perfect buffer between your skin and the sun’s harmful rays, but the opposite is actually true. The Earth’s surface is closer to the sun during the winter months which means we are exposed to more damaging rays than in the summer. To add to it, the Skin Cancer Foundation reports that ice and snow can reflect up to 80 percent of the sun’s harmful UV rays, which means we get exposed twice.

False – If you had a dime for every time your mother told you to put a hat on before you went out … unfortunately for mom, this isn’t true. The face, head and chest are more sensitive to changes in temperature, so if these areas are not covered it can feel cooler, but any area of the body that is not protected from the elements is going to naturally lose the most body heat, not just your head.

False – Many North Texans would rejoice if this claim were true, but even though harsh temps can cause outside foliage to become dormant, winter can exacerbate indoor allergies. In the winter, everyone is spending more time indoors, including pets and their dander, windows and doors are opened a lot less frequently causing air quality to go down, and some household molds thrive in the warmer temps your heater provides. If you seem to get a lingering cold every winter, allergies may be the true culprit.

False – Although this makes for a great excuse to curl up under a warm blanket with a warm beverage instead of working out, it’s not true. According to research published in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, cold temperatures actually increase speed, which in turn help you burn more calories in less time.

False – This is probably the biggest winter health myth out there, and, after all, it is called the common “cold,” but lower temperatures won’t make you sick. Colds and the flu are caused by coming in contact with bacteria or viruses, so cold air alone won’t cause you to feel under the weather. Cold air will increase mucus secretions though, which act as prime vehicles for virus transfer, and since the cold, dry air of winter allows these viruses to stick around a little longer in the air, the window of time to accidentally breathe them in after someone coughs or sneezes increases.