TOThe brain likes cupboards, it clings to them like a creeper on the wall. And in summer the false myths seem to chase each other even more. Buffaloes that intertwine with idioms and become tireless chatterers of hot days. Cream yes-cream no, swim two hours after lunch or rather three, drink ice cold beer, put on your swimsuit otherwise you can see your belly. Here are 14 clichés to be disproved with common sense and some scientific explanation.
1 The “swimsuit test” awaits us at the sea
With this expression we ignore the battle that has been waged for years against body shaming, the practice of offending someone about their physical appearance.
A person who is not in perfect line does not pass the “costume test” with himself and with others? Should a man with love handles and a woman with cellulite stay at home?
Apart from the fact that the beaches would empty, but why should a swim in the sea be a “test”? What is it, a fashion show? An exhibition? And by what canons are judged? It would be better to clean the language of some verbal (and mental) laziness and enjoy the holidays in peace with your body.
It is not necessary to wait hours after eating to take a bath. But best not to drink alcohol before the dip (photo by Jessica Sample / Gallery Stock).
2 The 50-year-old with the bacon is not in shape.
At some point, women’s waists widen a little. The discussion could end here because it is a fact and the experts cannot even fully explain it.
It’s probably the hormonal changes to draw a different shape of the trunk, more apple than pear: in the years preceding menopause, between 44 and 55, the levels of hormones change, primarily those of estrogen, and lead to a different fat accumulation .
The important thing is not to make a tragedy of it or go crazy chasing methods to reduce centimeters and swelling, but knowing that it is a very common condition.
There is no fault, there is no carelessness, there is no bad luck. The change is physiological and the body acquires a different beauty. Soft.
3 If you eat carrots, you get more tan.
There are no foods that make you tanwhile some foods contain substances that can protect the skin from the effects of the sun’s rays. Tanning is a defense reactiondue to the production of melanin, a dark pigment that forms a protective layer against ultraviolet rays.
Carrots are not involved in this mechanism. The sun’s rays, however, are like pins that prick cells, can damage them, and the production of melanin results in an increase in free radicals, which accelerate skin aging.
Beta-carotene, the starting point in the body for the formation of vitamin A, is able to counteract the action of free radicals and to protect the cells of the epidermis and dermis.
A portion of melon satisfies more than a third of the vitamin A requirement, three-four apricots provide over two thirds of the daily requirement, but carrots are actually amazing: with one hectogram, that is one-two, 100 is covered. percent of the daily requirement of the vitamin (on average, 700 micrograms).
Therefore, Eating yellow and orange fruits and vegetables does not help to tan but it does help to keep the skin healthy.
4 With air conditioning you catch a cold.
It is not the coolness that causes colds or flu, which are the effects of a viral infection. However, it is true that sudden changes in temperature can weaken the immune systemwhich will cope less well with any virus in circulation.
So while low temperatures by themselves do not make you sickMoving from sweltering heat to freezing weather in the summer can make you more susceptible to catching a cold.
It is best to keep the air conditioning at a moderate level (also for an environmental sustainability issue).
5 You can drown if you bathe after eating.
Swimming with a full stomach is not life threatening. The risk of the phantom congestion has so far not been proven by any scientific study.
“Without going into details, it would be more correct to say that contact with cold water could cause a slowdown in digestionas the blood would be drawn back to the peripheral areas of the body to maintain a constant body temperature, reducing the flow to the stomach and intestines “, explain the experts of the Humanitas University Hospital in Milan (on the website humanitasalute.it).
“However, this is an avoidable possibility if you take some precautions before entering the water. First of all it is necessary to evaluate the weather conditions of the sea and one’s swimming skills. Get wet little by little, without rushing into the waterit can help to keep the body temperature as stable as possible ».
An important fact concerns alcohol: 70 percent of drowning deaths appear to be related to alcohol consumption. In this regard, read the next false myth.
6 A cold beer hydrates you when it’s hot.
Drinking a cool Coke or beer can make you feel thirsty. Nothing is forbidden, but drinks with a high sugar content or alcohol, which give a feeling of pleasure, further dehydrate the body. At the beach or lounging by the pool, the best way to quench your thirst is to drink water.
7 Better to get an artificial tan base.
Among the false myths about tanning is the rumor that it would be ideal to expose yourself to the sun after a few steps under the lamp. No dermatologist would recommend it to everyoneespecially to adolescents, but only in selected cases.
Activating the melanin production mechanism does not help facilitate natural tanning. Not only that: the rays of the lamps are able to stimulate only the melanocytes of the skin surface, with a tan that lasts a few days, while it is the sun’s rays that stimulate the production of deep melanin. For this reason, even after showers or sunbeds you have to expose yourself gradually and spread the cream.
8 Sunscreen prevents vitamin D production.
The sun is essential for our skin to produce vitamin D, with a process that needs UVB rays. And vitamin D, in addition to allowing the intestinal absorption of calcium taken with food and its fixation in the bones, would also carry out an anti-inflammatory and immune system support activity.
So would it be better to take advantage of the summer and give up the protections to synthesize as much vitamin as possible? No. The cream should be sprinkled several times, abundantly and evenly throughout the dayin an amount equal to two milligrams per square centimeter of skin for each single application.
It is very rare that even the most careful person respects these dosages. So the recommendations of dermatologists do not change: it is necessary to use cream with a suitable filterwhich should have a high protection factor (50 or more) especially for people with skin phototype 1 and 2.
And exposure in the first and last hours of the day is recommended.
9 Sunscreens are only for those with fair skin.
There is a misconception that a person who tans without getting burned is at a lower risk of developing melanoma. In reality this is not the case.
It is not only those with a light phototype (with blond or red hair and very light skin) who have to protect themselves, but also those with a dark phototype (from the Mediterranean type to the black complexion): the risk of having skin cancer spares no one.
10 You don’t need protection when you are tanned.
Tanning provides some protection against sunburn, but does not shield deep damage from UV rays. So you have to spread the sunscreen even after the skin has turned dark.
11 The cream is useless on cloudy days.
Not even the thickest clouds have the ability to block UV rays. The sun may be hidden, but it’s still there and causes some of the worst sunburns, precisely because people don’t feel the heat of other days and don’t wear protection.
12 Butter soothes sunburn.
No, butter does not relieve pain and can even make it worse or delay the healing process and infect the wound.
The cure for sunburn depends on the degree of sunburn and passes for one fresh showerwhich gives immediate relief. In mild cases, a home remedy is enough which exploits the soothing properties of a flower and starch: an infusion of chamomile is prepared, left to cool and soaked in breadcrumbs to be applied to reddened skin.
In the pharmacy they are sold creams with plant extracts of aloe, calendula, arnica. In more serious situations, the specialist will recommend a product with cortisone.
13 Salt water disinfects wounds.
It is not clear how such an idea could have made its way, also because everyone knows what to wear salt on a wound is nothing but painful. In the case of sea water, there is also a risk that the germs present can cause infections.
A cut must be disinfected with alcohol, hydrogen peroxide or other specific products. Better to wait for the lesion to heal before diving.
14 A swim in the pool replaces a shower.
After swimming in a public or private pool, you should also rinse to protect the skin from chlorineused as a disinfectant.
The level of chlorine present in public swimming pools is regulated by the Ministry of Health, however the substance can dry out the skin and, in some cases, alter the skin’s hydrolipidic film.
Eliana Liotta (photo by Carlo Furgeri Gilbert).
Eliana Liotta is a journalist, writer and science writer. On iodonna.it and on the main platforms (Spreaker, Spotify, Apple Podcast and Google Podcast) you will find his podcast series The good that I want.
The article has the advice of Antonino Di Pietro, director of the Vita Cutis Dermoclinic Institute and author of the book Beauty and imperfectionpublished by Solferino.
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