🏥

Health & Medicine Fact-Checks

Evidence-focused health fact-checks covering medical myths, child behavior, everyday wellness claims, and common misunderstandings that need more than a quick headline. Each page separates the narrow claim from broader health advice and points readers toward source review.

Home › Fact-Checks › Health & Medicine
66 fact-checks
55 debunked
11 verified true
FALSE
Hair and nails continue to grow after death
99% confidence 573 views
→ FALSE
Humans only use 10% of their brain capacity.
98% confidence 507 views
→ FALSE
Drinking 8 glasses of water daily is scientifically proven to be necessary
91% confidence 500 views
→ FALSE
Sugar makes children hyperactive
96% confidence 498 views
→ FALSE
Coffee stunts your growth
97% confidence 488 views
→ FALSE
Swimming after eating causes dangerous cramps
96% confidence 459 views
→ FALSE
Reading in dim light permanently damages your eyes
95% confidence 448 views
→ TRUE
Vaccines have significantly reduced the prevalence of diseases like polio and measles
99% confidence 440 views
→ FALSE
Shaving makes hair grow back thicker
98% confidence 422 views
→ TRUE
Regular exercise can help reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety
96% confidence 418 views
→ FALSE
Sugar causes hyperactivity in children
95% confidence 406 views
→ FALSE
You lose most of your body heat through your head
96% confidence 403 views
→ FALSE
Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis
97% confidence 390 views
→ FALSE
We only use 10% of our brains
99% confidence 388 views
→ FALSE
MSG is dangerous to your health
94% confidence 385 views
→ FALSE
Brown eggs are healthier than white eggs
99% confidence 384 views
→ FALSE
You need to drink 8 glasses of water a day
92% confidence 373 views
→ FALSE
Microwaving food destroys most of its nutrients
92% confidence 134 views
→ FALSE
Shaving makes hair grow back thicker and darker
98% confidence 127 views
→ FALSE
Vaccines cause autism
99% confidence 109 views
→ FALSE
Humans have a fixed number of taste buds that never regenerate
97% confidence 108 views
→ FALSE
The five-second rule makes food safe to eat if picked up quickly enough
92% confidence 104 views
→ FALSE
MSG is harmful to your health
90% confidence 97 views
→ FALSE
Table salt and sea salt have vastly different nutritional value
85% confidence 96 views
→ FALSE
Cold weather by itself causes the common cold
95% confidence 93 views
→ TRUE
Antibiotic resistance can develop and spread between different species of bacteria
98% confidence 85 views
→ FALSE
Alcohol makes you warmer in cold weather
90% confidence 84 views
→ FALSE
Toads cause warts if you touch them
95% confidence 75 views
→ FALSE
Chewing gum stays in your stomach for seven years if swallowed
97% confidence 75 views
→ FALSE
The human appendix serves no function at all in the body
85% confidence 71 views
→ FALSE
It takes seven years to fully digest swallowed gum
95% confidence 65 views
→ FALSE
Cracked or spoiled food always smells bad before it becomes dangerous
95% confidence 57 views
→ FALSE
Fasting diets can 'detoxify' the body of built-up toxins
85% confidence 56 views
→ FALSE
Stress alone can turn your hair gray overnight
85% confidence 50 views
→ FALSE
Vaccines contain microchips used to track people
99% confidence 49 views
→ FALSE
The flu vaccine can give you the flu
90% confidence 47 views
→ TRUE
The human body replaces all its red blood cells roughly every few months
85% confidence 39 views
→ FALSE
Cracking your back releases toxins from your spine
97% confidence 36 views
→ FALSE
You can catch a cold from being outside without a jacket
90% confidence 31 views
→ FALSE
Blood is blue inside the human body before it hits oxygen
98% confidence 29 views
→ TRUE
Video game addiction is officially recognized as a diagnosable disorder by the World Health Organization
90% confidence 28 views
→ FALSE
All bacteria are harmful to human health
99% confidence 27 views
→ FALSE
The human tongue is the strongest muscle in the body
90% confidence 27 views
→ TRUE
Humans can survive longer without food than without sleep
85% confidence 27 views
→ TRUE
Deep breathing exercises can measurably lower short-term stress and heart rate
92% confidence 22 views
→ TRUE
The tongue map showing separate taste zones has been scientifically debunked
92% confidence 21 views
→ FALSE
Cracking open an energy drink gives you the same boost as a full night's sleep
97% confidence 20 views
→ FALSE
The human body is naturally immune to all forms of cancer without medical help
99% confidence 20 views
→ TRUE
Vaccinated populations eliminated smallpox worldwide through a global campaign
92% confidence 19 views
→ FALSE
The immune system can be permanently strengthened by taking daily vitamin C megadoses
90% confidence 19 views
→ FALSE
All calories are metabolized identically by the body regardless of food source
92% confidence 18 views
→ FALSE
Removing your tonsils and appendix has no impact on immune function whatsoever
85% confidence 17 views
→ FALSE
Humans can develop immunity to poison ivy over time so it never affects them again
92% confidence 16 views
→ FALSE
Mercury's thermometers fever readings show that you must feed a cold and starve a fever.
93% confidence 10 views
→ FALSE
Seasonal flu is caused by bacteria.
99% confidence 10 views
→ FALSE
Left-handedness is caused by trauma at birth
90% confidence 10 views
→ FALSE
Eating carrots gives you night vision.
93% confidence 9 views
→ FALSE
Plastic bottles all contain a chemical that causes cancer with any use
95% confidence 9 views
→ FALSE
Antibiotics can cure the common cold if taken early enough
99% confidence 9 views
→ FALSE
Reading with insufficient light or sitting close to the TV causes permanent blindness.
97% confidence 8 views
→ FALSE
Bottled water is regulated more strictly than tap water in the United States
90% confidence 8 views
→ FALSE
Adults should never wake a sleepwalker because it can cause a heart attack
92% confidence 8 views
→ FALSE
Spinach contains an unusually high amount of iron due to a decimal point error
85% confidence 8 views
→ TRUE
Babies are born with more bones than adults have.
93% confidence 4 views
→ TRUE
Humans have more than 200 bones as adults.
97% confidence 4 views
→ FALSE
Humans have a limited number of brain cells that never change after childhood.
93% confidence 3 views
→