pediatric housecalls Robert R. Jarrett M.D. M.B.A. FAAP

Showing posts from: October 2018

Health Proverbs: Where Did They Come From?

If nothing else, doctors are a bit concrete. We love boxes, categories, lists and most of all… answers!

So, things a bit askew, catawampus, off kilter or out of place make the average physician a bit nauseous if not outright wonky and catapulted into a search for the rationale. You give us an aphorism and we’ll design a research study.
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Vintage Proverbs: Intro/Index

In the U.S., old Ben Franklin published a series of articles in his Old Richard’s Almanac that, if he didn’t come out right and say it, people took as the truth.

Perhaps because a lot of them had their roots in vintage manuscripts like the bible and early writings of the pioneering healers/doctors throughout time.

How about it? Should we take sayings like: “early to bed…”, “an apple a day…”, “pay attention to seasons…”, “doctors’ best book is the patient”, “health checks don’t add anything meaningful…”, “eight glasses of water…”, “cold hands…”, “cigarettes stunt your…” and “feed a cold…” as truth or with a huge grain of salt?

Let’s do some proverb-busting!

4 Posts in "Proverbs" Series

  • Proverbs Series: Intro/Index – 1 Oct 2018
    Vintage proverbs: are they true or, like some, just "old wives' tails?"

  • Heart, fever, smoking, water and apples – 6 Oct 2018
    "An apple a day," "cold hands, warm heart," "feed a cold, starve a fever." and "cigarettes stunt your growth" are all medically related proverbs (myths)—are they true? This curated series of posts all deal with proverbs of a kind, which are explored and declared either "confirmed" or "busted."

  • Seasons, patient learning, remedies, eating and health checks – 1 Dec 2018
    This post continues our exploration of medical proverbs only now let us turn our attention to doctors and what they do. Are physical exams really necessary anymore? Should doctors really pay attention to the seasons? In true Mythbuster fashion, let's confirm or bust them.

  • sleep and health – 18 Feb 2019
    Previous posts have discussed medical proverbs but there is one glaring omission that needs to be addressed: does "early to be and early to rise REALLY make you healthy, wealthy and wise"?