19 Doctors Are Revealing The Harmful Medical Myths That Are Surprisingly Prevalent In The US

12.

“I am a GI doctor, focusing on IBD patients (I myself have Crohn’s). I see/hear a lot of bad advice or outdated myths. ‘Just eat less processed foods,’ ‘IBD inflammation is mostly diet-related,’ etc. It’s increased in recent years, due to the focus on ‘gut health’ in alt-right crunchy rhetoric. A persistently nefarious one is exaggerated claims about how dangerous biologics really are. There are risks, but risk assessment is a basic part of treatment management.”

“A pretty harmless myth that persists is that ‘nuts, seeds, popcorn, etc., cause diverticulitis.’ It used to be standard advice, but there’s actually no significant evidence that they inflame diverticula more than other foods. I don’t care if someone wants to avoid them, though, because it isn’t actually harmful like some of the above myths.”

—u/PussyCyclone