10,000 steps to eight glasses of water: The truth behind these popular health ‘rules’

In an era of so much information, it’s funny that we tend to hold on to myths and old wives’ tales as absolute truths. 

Many of us uphold what came before us, repeating what our parents and grandparents used to do – because if it’s not broken, don’t fix it, right?

However, while many of these years-old health ‘rules’ sound legitimate, they’re not always as accurate as they seem.

Here is the truth behind the health myths and old wives’ tales we have been blindly following for centuries.

Feed a cold, starve a fever

Many of us have grown up on this logic, but the truth is this centuries-old advice is simply not true. 

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The ‘feed a cold, starve a fever’ theory emerged during the time of Hippocrates, and though he was largely credited for the idea, it is not certain he was behind it.

At the time, a fever was thought to be a disease in and of itself, not a symptom. 

While it was common to eat well to cure a cold, the old wives’ tale detailed that starving the person would also starve the fever, which they thought was the disease, which would in turn cure the patient.

Of course, over time, we have realised a fever is a symptom of many illnesses, and that treating both a fever and a cold includes hydration, adequate nutrition, and rest. 

Walking 10,000 steps a day

The world is united by the struggle to hit 10,000 steps, being told this is the optimal number of steps to hit per day for our health, but it turns out this is a pure lie.

The claim originated from a Japanese company named Yamasa Clock, which created the pedometer called Manpo-kei, which translates to “10,000-steps meter”.

The arbitrary number was chosen in part because the Japanese kanji character for 10,000 (万) looks like a person walking.

A 2019 study by Dr. I-Min Lee, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, decided to test the validity of this theory.

In a study she and her colleagues conducted for JAMA Internal Medicine, they asked and answered two questions: How many steps a day are associated with lowering the mortality rate? And does stepping intensity level make a difference in mortality when people take the same number of steps?  

They found that if mortality rate is a concern, it can be reduced with just 7,500 steps per day, a whole 25 per cent lower than the magic number of 10,000.

But that doesn’t mean 10,000 steps wouldn’t suit everyone.

“I think the human brain loves, a whole number,” Simon Ngo, director of Pilates and yoga at Flow Athletic told nine.com.au.

“I think 10,000 probably sounded better than 7500, perhaps.” 

But rather than focusing on a number, Ngo says to “aim to be more active.” 

While aiming for a higher step count is “definitely a plus”, wearable technology “should complement and inspire us towards [our goals], rather than adding more stress.” 

“If hitting the 10,000 steps is just going to make us miserable and hate every single day, then I would say ditch it.”

He encourages the 10,000-step goal, or even just a higher goal, “if it’s gonna help you achieve whatever you need to achieve and you are having a more positive outlook.”

Eight glasses of water 

If you’re downing the last few litres of your required eight glasses of water a day right before bed to hit your target, the good news is you don’t really have to. 

In a recent article, Amy Wakem, Senior Public Health Nutritionist from Health and Wellbeing Queensland, said the guideline is “more myth than science” and hydration depends on a number of individual factors. 

“The advice to drink eight glasses likely came from general recommendations for adults to have around two to three litres of fluid a day,” Wakem shared in the piece for Queensland Health, adding that while it is a helpful starting guide, it is not a benchmark.

“Hydration needs are influenced by lots of factors including the weather, what you eat, how active you are, your age, your body size and your overall health,” she said.

For example, you may need to drink more water if you are out and about in the heat, but not so much if you are indoors and not sweating. 

It’s also important to note plain water from the tap isn’t the only thing that counts. 

While water is the best option, hydration can be achieved by eating fruits and veggies like watermelon, berries, oranges, cucumber, and tomatoes. Some of these can even be added to water to give it an interesting flavour.

“Go easy on caffeinated drinks like tea, coffee and alcohol because they can increase water loss,” she adds.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

… or is it? 

It turns out this phrase has a long and interesting history, involving religious moralisation, fear of indigestion and advertising.

In the 1800s, people ate whatever they could find for breakfast, usually choosing “heavier” foods such as eggs and cured meat, according to The Guardian.

But this changed with the industrial revolution, with many people spending hours standing or sitting in the same position. This caused indigestion, which was blamed on the heavier breakfast.  

That’s when Kellogg’s came in. A cereal company owned by a family of Seventh-day Adventists, it tied a sense of religious morality to its revolutionary corn flakes, offering a lighter, more bland option for breakfast.

By the early 20th century, the cereal and other lighter options became a must for those who ‘wanted to avoid indigestion and be efficient and productive at work’, according to Abigail Carroll, author of Three Squares: The Invention of the American Meal, who spoke to the publication.

But just because it’s a “myth”, it doesn’t mean that eating breakfast isn’t beneficial.

“Whilst the term ‘breakfast is the most important meal of the day’ was certainly created as a marketing slogan, there’s a lot of truth behind that, especially when it comes to blood sugar balance, insulin sensitivity, stress response, and keeping your energy nice and stable,” clinical nutritionist Michaela Sparrow tells nine.com.au.

“Having breakfast is only half of it. What’s most important is the kind of breakfast you’re having.”

Sparrow said cortisol is naturally at its highest in the first hour after waking, and skipping breakfast, or eating a high-sugar breakfast that’s low in protein and healthy fat, can cause blood sugar and cortisol to both spike.

“Cortisol signals the liver to release stored glucose, and their blood sugar is spiking and crashing before they’ve eaten anything. By 3pm they can get that afternoon energy crash, brain fog, feeling hangry and reaching for something sweet, with no idea it started at 7am.”

Sparrow suggests having a solid breakfast with 25 to 35g of protein within an hour or so of waking in order to set yourself up for the day. Foods like eggs, Greek yoghurt, or a smoothie with some fat and fibre in it can keep “blood sugar steady and stops the morning cortisol spike that sets the whole cycle off.”

However, eating breakfast suits some people more than others.

“Insulin resistance, chronic stress and poor sleep all make morning blood sugar harder to regulate, and for women, perimenopause makes it harder again. If you feel great skipping breakfast and your energy stays stable throughout the day, then there’s no need to force yourself to eat it,” Sparrow said.

“Most of the people who tell me they’re ‘just not hungry in the morning’ have higher levels of stress with cortisol blunting their hunger. Once we sort it out, their morning appetite comes back on its own.”

Cold weather causes a cold

While winter is associated with cold and flu season, it is not because of the cold weather that we get ill. 

According to Merlin Thomas, Professor of Medicine at Monash University, it is an easy misconception to make, as the symptoms of feeling cold are very similar to having a cold.

“Go out on a cold and frosty morning and inhale deeply through your nostrils – you do get a tingle in your nose,” he described in an article for The Conversation.

“Take a deep breath in through your mouth and your throat feels strangely dry and coarse. Sometimes, it will even trigger a cough.

“All this happens as the sympathetic nervous system is activated to preserve heat … as the immune system begins its fight against the cold virus, it resets the brain’s control of body temperature,” he explained.

“So instead of running close to 37°C, the immune system releases pyrogens, which turn up the heat and establish a new temperature at which the body will run.”

The truth is, illnesses are spread through viruses, and the reason that this increases in winter is that people are bunched up inside.

“When it’s cold, people are more likely to spend longer periods indoors at close proximity to others,” explained Thomas.

“This makes it easier for infectious droplets of mucus, which are coughed, sneezed, or passed on via hands, to transmit from one person to another.”