Isn’t chocolate in general supposed to be an aphrodisiac? Or is that a myth too?
Well, sorta myth, sorta not. Carotenes and vitamin A do contribute to healthy vision. They don’t amp your vision beyond its normal capabilities, but they do keep it healthy.
When I was about 5, I got the bay leaf in spaghetti sauce… Started to make a big fuss about it, and my father got this incredulous look on his face & said “You mean you got the BAY LEAF???WOW are you lucky. Did you know getting the bay leaf in spaghetti is 7 years good luck?”… ever since then I hoped I’d find the bay leaf…
Where does that come from?
Mmmm, that’s good bass! 
Sometimes I wish I were a father so I could bestow wisdom like that.
The pork and leavened bread refers to Jewish dietary laws. The leavened bread will only send you to hell during passover though.
When I was in France, I was told that it was extremely unhealthy to eat or drink cold food/beverages in the morning. When I asked why, no one could tell me.
When I was in India, people kept piling the butter onto my son’s food - they said it would make him strong.
My mom was convinced that eating foods in certain combinations could make you lose weight. This was long before the Suzanne Sommers diet.
My grandfather used Listerine to clean vegetables sometimes. I think, for him, it was the Jewish version (or just the crazy, not-religiously-affiliated version) of Windex from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. He also washed his hair in Listerine because he was convinced it prevented dandruff.
Is this a myth? I thought it was true that fish had a lot of the nutrients that are important to brain development.
I think the fear came from Red Dye #2.
My mom wouldn’t let us eat hot dogs, sausage, or grapes. They all contained or were spayed with something called “nitrates” that were carcinogenic.
Isn’t green the hot sexy M&M?
Check the Join Date pal!
I think that’s a case of the myth influencing the advertising.
In Spain, it’s considered unhealthy to eat raw vegetables or the peels of fruit. Many people actually carried around big old knives to peel their fruit.
However, I did get sick a lot from eating fruits and vegetables in Spain- I don’t think their sanitary conditions are as good as in the U.S., so peeling fruits and cooking vegetables might actually keep you healthier. Nobody did it for any stated practical reason, though, it was just a general belief about raw fruits and vegetables being unhealthy.
I would be very much surprised if that is part of the theology of even the most extreme Orthodox sect.
I will admit the “pork -> Hell” thing may be part of some extreme versions of Islam, tho.
Right. Hell doesn’t figure into it. You don’t eat pork because God says so. There is no punishment involved.
My grandmother (this one who told me my girly parts would fall out if I lifted something heavy) used to be convinced that eating fish and drinking milk at the same time was poisonous. Poisonous. No diarrhea. Like, you would die.
Sigh
OMG. I can confirm this. I remember being about fifteen or so and merrily eating a whole bowl of pistachios that were sitting on the table. After like half the bowl my aunt stopped me and said, “Don’t eat those any more, they’re too garam (hot).”
I was like…hot? WTF? They are not warm. They are not spicy. It took me forever to understand what she meant, and I still don’t really understand why. I think it might mean “causes high blood pressure” but basically it’s something to do with the blood.
Your mom wasn’t too far off… she was actually talking about sodium nitrite. It’s commonly found in foods like processed meats, where they help the meat keep that “pink” colour you associate with hot dogs and deli meat.
Several studies have proven that ingestion of sodium nitrite can lead to cancer, though you’d have to be eating more hot dogs than Kobayashi before you had to worry too much about cancer.
The grape thing, on the other hand, is probably a weird misinterpreation… nitrites are a naturally occurring compound in most wines, and are often added to white wine as a colour preservative.
Yes, sodium nitrite; that’s the preservative/additive mom didn’t want us ingesting.
She used to make us eat wheat germ and drink Acidophilus too. Mom could be a real health food nut.