When it comes to your health, there is a LOT of advice out there, and it can be hard to tell what's real and what's BS.
To help, we talked to experts about the most common crappy health tips you probably believe. Some just won't get you anywhere, and some are actually TERRIBLE for your health — either way, here's all the advice not to take, and what to do instead.
1. Don't eat after a certain point at night or else you'll gain weight.
2. Take Tylenol or another OTC medicine to deal with a hangover.
3. Vitamins and supplements will help you be healthier.
4. Stop snacking if you want to lose weight.
5. Cut fat from your diet, because it will make you fat.
6. Carbs are terrible for you, and you should avoid them.
7. Make sure you're bundled up in the cold or rain or else you'll get sick.
Despite the fact that you probably heard it a million times growing up, shielding yourself from the weather doesn't have anything to do with catching a cold or flu, says Donnica Moore, M.D., author of Women's Health for Life. "The belief comes from the fact that cough, cold, and flu season is the winter, and so people think it's from being cold. It's not," she says. "In part, it's because we're indoors a lot more and we're around contagious people. But the cold is also optimal for viruses to spread."
Better advice: Obviously, you still want to make sure you're dressed appropriately for the weather for other reasons. But if it's getting sick you're worried about, concentrate on hand-washing, says Moore. AKA do it a lot. Go here for more information on staying healthy.