Are Poinsettias Poisonous? Busting Holiday Myths

(20 Dec 2017) Are poinsettias really poisonous? Will the hair of the dog really cure your holiday hangover? Sure as sugarplums, myths and misconceptions pop up every holiday season. Here's what science says about some of them.
PARASITES & POINTSETTIAS
Poinsettias, those showy holiday plants with red and green foliage, are not nearly as poisonous as a persistent myth says. Mild rashes from touching the plants or nausea from chewing or eating the leaves may occur but they aren't deadly, for humans or their pets.
Dr. Rachel Vreeman, an Indiana University pediatrician who has studied holiday health myths, says, "They looked at more than 23,000 cases where poinsettia ingestions were reported to the Poison Control Bureau, and in none of those cases were there deaths, or serious injury. In fact, more than 95 percent of them required zero medical care whatsoever."
MOODY BLUES
The same things that can make holidays merry, great expectations and forced family time, can also be stressful. Holiday blues are real thing for many people grieving loss or absence of loved one, and wintertime can trigger true but transient depression in some people, a condition sometimes called Seasonal Affective Disorder. It's linked with lack of sunlight in winter and some scientists think affected people overproduce the sleep-regulating hormone melatonin. Research suggests it affects about 6 percent of the U.S. population and rates are higher in Scandinavia. But contrary to popular belief, suicides peak in springtime, not winter. No one has figured out why.
HAIR OF THE DOG
Forget that bloody Mary. If extra shots of bourbon in your eggnog have you feeling lousy the next day, drinking more alcohol, hair of the dog, won't cure you.
Vreeman says of this myth, "It might help you feel better because in fact it's intoxicating you again. And so, as you take in a bit more alcohol you're not noticing all the ways in which you're feeling bad from the prior alcohol, but you're really just kicking your problem down the road."
Alcohol is dehydrating so replenishing with lots of water or other non-alcoholic drinks can help relieve the symptoms. But experts emphasize that prevention is the healthiest cure.
So what about that saying, "hair of the dog?" According to an old folk remedy, a dog bite could be cured by putting the animal's hair in the wound.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The truth about holiday weight gain depends on whether your champagne glass is half empty or half full. One often-cited study says it's commonly assumed that the average American gains 5 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. But the study authors found the average was a little less than 1 pound. Other studies have found it's closer to 2 pounds, still barely enough to make your pants feel tight.
An extra piece of pie or one gigantic holiday feast won't doom you, says Vreeman. The problem, she says, is that the extra pound or two at holiday time becomes a pattern year after year and adds up.

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