The Doctor Weighs In

By Dov Michaeli MD, Ph.D

The response to the editorial by Dan Negoianu and Stanley Goldfarb on medical myths which we covered in a recent posting is absolutely amazing. Several people jumped to the defense of drinking 8 glasses of water a day. But the vehemence of the comments proved my point: the less light the more heat. None of the comments actually cited real evidence.

But one comment from Kurdistan was absolutely hilarious, so I am going to share it with you the reader. My comments in italics.

Dr Mohammad Shaikhani, a consulting physician in Sulaimanyah, in the Kurdish region of Iraq , writes:

“Other medical myths common among our local populations, having no sound scientific basis & include:

1. Acidic food such as lemon is good for hypertension.

On the other hand, the myth that acidic and  spicy foods cause stomach ulcer is still widely believed in the Western world.

2. Bitter food is good for diabetes.

Hmmm. How would that work? One likely mechanism is that the food is so unpalatable that  diabetics would refuse to eat, and lose weight. I am not kidding. Several substances, when mixed with mouse chow, were shown to “cure” diabetes in mice. Such pablum was actually published in scientific journals. Closer examination (and better controls) showed that the mice simply avoided the food because it was disgusting to them.

3. Honey & dates are safe for diabetics.

So this is why this delicacy is featured so prominently in the bible. In my naїveté I thought that my Rabbi’s claim that the Jews had diabetes when the rest of the goyim where still climbing trees was just rank chauvinism. Sorry Rabbi, wherever you are.

4. Typhoid & measles patients should not eat yogurt.

Maybe, how would we know? I have never seen a case of either typhoid or measles, let alone a yogurt-eating, typhoid-stricken one. 

5. Typhoid, measles & influenza patients should not have a bath until cured.

Now this makes perfect sense; these are highly contagious diseases, and one way to control their spread in the population is make the patient  unbearably odoriferous . One would think, though, that between avoidence of yogurt and stinking to high heaven typhoid and measles should have beeen eradicated in Kurdistan a long time ago.

6. Jaundice clears by looking at moving fish in water.

I actually did it once, and I felt so mentally numb that I fell into deep stupor.

7. Whooping cough can be cured by passing through tunnels.

And while you are at it, beware the light at the end: if the whooping cough didn't get you-the oncoming train will.

8. Inhalers for asthma are addicting.

I did notice the latest fad supplanting glue sniffing: inhaling steroids. Congress should definitely hold hearings.

9. Garlic prevents heart disease & lowers blood pressure.

How multicultural; this belief was actually propagated by some villages in Italy that specialize in growing garlic. And have you heard of the garlic festival in Gilroy, CA? Only the odor will cause your blood pressure to plunge to dangerous levels; some visitors actually faint. I must admit that the garlic cult is quite universal. My parents, coming from Eastern Europe, believed in the curative powers of garlic as well. In fact, my maternal grandmother cured my mother’s colds by smearing crushed garlic dissolved in hot oil on her chest. It worked every time: after 3-4 days the cold miraculously disappeared. My father scoffed at this primitive concoction. In his more educated family, they smeared melted pig’s fat (I kid you not) on his chest, to cure his pneumonia. He swore by it; in fact, this "cure" started his lifelong love afair with bacon.

So who are we to laugh at the Kurds? When it comes to medical myths, we are all Kurds.