Health & Fitness Myths

PINEAPPLE HEAD? We reveal the truth behind whether sleeping beside a pineapple aids sleep, and look at fi ve other health and fi tness myths you’ll probably want to steer away from

ONE

Pineapple aids sleep

The myth that having this sweet, spiky fruit in your bedroom will improve sleep came about because of its high melatonin content, something that’s known to help reset circadian rhythm, thus regulating the 24hour sleep and rest cycle.

However, melatonin cannot travel through the air into the body, so positioning the fruit next to where you sleep will do little more than give you a fright when you wake up.

TWO

You can concentrate fat burn

It’s lovely to think we can target weight loss for a certain part or side of our bodies, but the reality is weight loss – and fat burn – is an all-over operation, and even exercising just one leg while completely resting the other will have an equal effect on both. Naturally, exercising your lower half exclusively may impact legs more than torso, but that’s about as targeted as you’ll get.

THREE

You shouldn’t work out on an empty stomach

It’s perfectly acceptable to exercise on an empty stomach – indeed, doing so before breakfast is one of the most effective ways of shedding pounds. Your body has been without food for a number of hours and is that much closer to tapping into its fat-burning reserves than if you’d just recently gulped down a bowl of Weetabix.

FOUR

Stretch and fl ex before working out

Taking a tendon or muscle and tensioning it to its maximum from a ‘cold’ position is probably one of the best ways to encounter injury.

The modern take on preparing for exercise is… to exercise! A slow, low-impact jog and light loosening of limbs as you move is a much better way to get in the right physical shape for a session.

FIVE

Don’t exercise if you’re ill

If you have a headache or are engaging in exercise that accentuates body pain, you should hold off. Similarly, any ailment below the throat that tests your respiratory capacity should be avoided, but don’t let a head cold put you off your workout.

SIX

Running is better than walking

Both forms of exercise use the same muscle groups, and therefore have very similar effects. It follows, of course, that you’ll need to exercise longer if walking in order to achieve the same level of calorie burn (and an extra 10 per cent for treadmill versus outdoors), but in isolation both work and challenge the body in similar ways.