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Was your mom always right? 5 pieces of advice your mother swore by that may not be so true

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From swallowing bubble gum to swimming after eating, your mom may not have always had the facts straight.

It is still true that moms want the best for their children, and at some point she will give some advice that will be held on to forever as true. That is, until we bumped into science and realized that our loving mothers are not logically right every time. But that doesn't mean she mean her intentions were bad.

MUNTINLUPA, PHILIPPINES (Catholic Online) -  With some help from Elite Daily, here is some of the advice your mom probably gave you and the scientific explanations on whether they are true or false.

1. Going to bed/outside the house with wet hair is a no-no.

Some mothers tell their kids that they will catch a cold if they go to bed or go out of the house with wet hair. Some even say the child will wake up blind if they ever go to bed with wet hair. It can't be true because blindness is generally caused by an eye injury. There is still no strong evidence that fully supports the idea that leaving the house with wet hair can trigger a cold, although according to some studies, being wet can make a virus easily grow within you.

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2. Arthritis can be caused by cracking your knuckles.

According to Medical News today, some people find cracking their knuckles satisfying and stress relieving, but the reason why is still not understood. Conclusions of various studies state that it doesn't lead to arthritis. One of the studies, however, stated that cracking your joints may cause soft tissue injuries due to damaging of the ligaments - and can weaken that grip.

3. Don't swallow that gum, it'll stay for years in your stomach.

No. The Mayo Clinic stated that "although chewing gum is designed to be chewed and not swallowed, it generally isn't harmful if swallowed." It doesn't even stay in the stomach for seven years, as suggested by the myths passed down to our generation. True, they are hard to digest but it moves along with the system and eventually excreted out.

4. No swimming after eating.

Mom says to wait for at least half an hour before going back to the waters, worried we'll drown due to heavy tum. But according to Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD on medicinenet.com, there has been no substantial documented incidences of drowning due to swimming with a full stomach. A stitch, the exercise-related transient abdominal pain, is more likely according to sports scientist Darren Morton on a story on BBC, due to irritation and pressure on the parietal peritoneum. Yet, food is not yet established to be causal to drowning according to statistics.

5. Wash fruits and vegetables before eating.

Unwashed raw food in general is highly at risk of contamination - there could be Salmonella, Listeria, E. Coli and other bacteria that could be living with your organic stuff, as well as chemicals used to kill pests. Moms are strict on this, and according to the FDA you should wash your vegetables wherever they came from. Careful drying also reduces the bacterial count. Also, be wary of cross-contamination; wash all the instruments that may have get in touch with the raw food before washing. Don't ever forget to wash your hands.

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Hey, look at that; your mom was always right on that last one. Mothers always care for us in one way or another, so maybe in return we could share this knowledge with them and who knows, maybe in the future, mothers' advices will all be backed up by science, with love.

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Deacon Keith Fournier Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now >

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Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.

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We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.

Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.

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