A significant problem with the idea that we have five
senses is that there is no uncontroversial definition
for what constitutes a discrete sense. Regardless of
how you define a sense, it’s clear that we have
probably more than five of them. The
‘non-traditional’ senses include nociception (the
sense of pain), thermoception (the sense of
temperature) and equilibrioception (the sense of
balance). Admittedly, The Sixth Sense might not
have been nominated for as many Oscars had it
been about a boy who was able to sense how cold
he was...MSG IS BAD
FOR YOU
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is
a common source of the savoury
‘umami’ flavour found in many
foods, such as tomatoes, soy
sauce and parmesan cheese.
It is used as a flavour
enhancer by the food
industry, but claims
about MSG’s negative
health effects have
been around for a
while, with supposed ill
effects ranging from
headaches to cancer. As
a result, MSG has been
studied extensively, and in 2007,
a team at the University of
Hohenheim examined all the
research on MSG and concluded
that even unusually high doses
are not harmful. It has also been
conclusively established that
MSG makes things taste even
more delicious.SUPERFOODS ARE
REALLY GOOD
FOR YOU
Put simply, there is no
academically recognised
definition for ‘superfood’- it is essentially a
marketing term.
While adding
some
berries and
kale to your
diet may be
beneficial to
your health,
many of the
specific claims
made about various
superfoods aren’t based on any
real evidence. No single food has
shown to be a health panacea
worthy of the term ‘super’, and
no one should think they can
counteract the effects of a huge
bowl of ice cream by liberally
sprinkling it with goji berries.
YOU NEED TO EAT FIVE
PORTIONS OF FRUIT
AND VEG A DAY
Campaigns that aim to increase
the amount of fruit and
vegetables the average person
consumes have taken place
across the world. For example,
in Australia they have the ‘2 & 5’
campaign. These campaigns are
based on the World Health
Organization’s recommendation
of 400g of fruit and veg per day.
The five-a-day target is pretty
arbitrary – you probably won’t
be a lot worse off if
you only manage
four, and six would
probably be slightly
better. Five a day might
be a reasonable
target if you currently
eat little or no fruit or
vegetables, but there’s
nothing special about
that figure in particular.SHARKS DON’T
GET CANCER
There are plenty of documented
examples of sharks with cancer.
This myth has been used as the
pseudoscientific basis for the
use of shark cartilage as an
alternative cancer treatment and
is implicated in diminishing
shark populations. The world of
alternative medicine is filled with
myths that could be included on
this list, but not all such myths
put entire species at risk. This
one does.HUMANS HAVE FIVE SENSES
SCIENCE