Accurate or Anecdotal?

My Grandma and family doctor told me to drink eight to ten glasses of water per day, and I have been striving to do so since that point. My cousin definitely told me that my facial hair would grow back darker and thicker after I shaved and that certainly never happened. And surely everyone knows that turkey is bursting with tryptophan, inducing our post-holiday meal drowsy states.

Dr. Rachel Vreeman, an IU pediatrician/my current research mentor, and one of her colleagues recently explored these and four other popular medical myths espoused not only by the general public but also by many physicians, often even informing medical advice and decision making. Together, Drs. Carroll and Vreeman explored the evidence (or lack thereof) of these seven medical myths and debunked them in a recent article here in the British Medical Journal (BMJ). They sought to strengthen evidence-based medicine and practice with this light-hearted project. I hope that you find their discoveries fun and interesting!

Side note: I will be working with Dr. Vreeman in Kenya on her ongoing study of the pharmacokinetics of and adherence to antiretroviral drug therapy in children living with HIV. In other words, we will be assessing how drugs fighting the HIV virus affect children's bodies and how well kids are sticking to their prescribed treatment plans in a community with conflicting demands and limited resources. More later...