Boomer Health Myths Doctors Want You To Stop Believing

Baby boomers came of age at a time of medical breakthroughs. From revolutionary vaccines to new surgical protocols, healthcare changed rapidly, spawning more ways for medical professionals to prevent and treat various conditions. However, society still held tight to some unusual beliefs.

One of the strangest (and most unfortunate) among these ideas was perhaps how people would turn to smoking cigarettes to lose weight or reduce their stress. At the time, the dangers of nicotine weren't publicly reported yet. Fortunately, 1964 saw the emergence of anti-smoking campaigns when the United States Surgeon General finally warned about the perils of smoking. Over the next couple of decades, smoking became a less popular habit. According to the American Lung Association, 42.4% of the adult U.S. population smoked in 1965. By 2022, that percentage had dropped significantly to 11.6%.

That said, some boomer-era health myths didn't fade as quickly. Instead, they kept being passed down by well-meaning elders. Here are some examples of these antiquated medical beliefs.

Did your parents or teachers talk about strange things you didn't know about your tongue – like how your tongue was divided into different taste zones? Were you encouraged to believe that you could only taste sour, bitter, or sweet flavors in certain tongue areas? If so, you've been the victim of a major health myth that has persisted since the middle of the 20th century.

As a 2022 article in Current Research in Food Science notes, the "tongue map" theory became a widespread and accepted truism by the 1950s. (Surprisingly, young kids today are often still told that the tongue map is accurate.) However, the article agrees that the theory has no real basis, and that the ability to perceive a variety of taste sensations is distributed across the landscape of the tongue.

In 2024, The New York Times tackled this tasty topic and asked for the opinion of researcher Dr. Paul Breslin. He acknowledged that some parts of the tongue could have a higher concentration of taste receptors attuned to certain flavors. Nonetheless, Dr. Breslin explained that all parts of the tongue contained a variety of receptors. Neuroscientist Dr. Diego Bohórquez added that "taste perception is more complex than just taste buds," anyway.

When they were kids, boomers used to be warned not to swallow their chewing gum because it would stay in their stomachs for seven years. It might sound like odd advice, unless you've grown up hearing it, too, especially from boomer parents or relatives. Though there isn't any exact evidence to determine where this myth came from, rest assured it's untrue.

What really happens when you swallow gum, then? Although it's accurate that chewing gum can't be digested, it won't stick around (pun intended). Instead, it will travel through the digestive system, just like any other item that's eaten and is small enough to make its way through the intestinal tract, "and pass out unchanged at the other end," as gastroenterology expert Dr. Simon Travis explained to CNN.

There's a tiny caveat, though: If you swallow a large amount of gum, it might cause a blockage. But you'd have to swallow quite a bit to get to that point. Still, if you or your children were to accidentally eat gum, neither of you would be stuck with it for the better portion of a decade.

When boomers were growing up, their parents often warned them to dress in warm clothes because they'd get sick if they got cold. That's just not true, according to family physician Dr. Jesse Bracamonte. During an interview with Mayo Clinic, Dr. Bracamonte revealed exactly why people tend to get sicker in the winter months. "When it's cold outside, typically people gather around the fireplace or around your home," he said. "Therefore, if people are sick, you're more likely to be in close proximity to someone who is ill."

Interestingly, Dr. Bracamonte did admit that it might be possible for a person's immunity to dip a little after being outside in cold conditions. However, that still doesn't mean the cold itself is the direct contributor to an illness like the sniffles or flu. In fact, you might even want to air out your home by opening windows in the winter to reduce the ease with which germs can spread indoors due to improved air quality (via the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

A 2023 Thinx survey illustrated how pervasive period stigma is: 60% of adult female respondents admitted that having their period made them feel uncomfortable about their bodies, while 46% said they were concerned that asking for accommodations from their employer during their time of the month could hurt their professional possibilities. 

It's sad to think that some women still feel embarrassed about getting their periods. But their shame might have roots in boomer-era beliefs about menstruation. Two "medical" videos cited by KQED give some clues. In the first video, from 1946, women were expected not to overexercise — and told to practice proper posture. A second video from 1953 reportedly told girls not to square dance while they were menstruating.

Ironically, staying inactive isn't what at least one doctor recommends for women on their periods. When asked by Reproductive Medicine Associates, Dr. Thomas A. Molinaro explains that "there are no specific activities to avoid." He added, "Some women find that exercise and the associated release of endorphins may help to lessen the cramping and pain experienced during their period." With that in mind, go ahead and do the best exercise during your period for your physical and mental health needs.

When some boomers cracked their knuckles at kids, they were admonished by adults, not because of the sound or etiquette concerns. Instead, it was because society held on to the myth that knuckle cracking could lead to arthritis.

Dr. Dimitrios Pappas of Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center sets the record straight on this old tale. In a Q&A-style article, Dr. Pappas clearly stated that there's no scientific evidence to support the notion that cracking your knuckles will lead to arthritis.

With that said, rheumatologist Dr. Natalie Azar did provide a word of caution about knuckle cracking when speaking with TODAY. "Some people who engage in very vigorous knuckle cracking, however, have been reported to suffer from tendon or ligament injuries, or even dislocations," she advised. Therefore, you may be wise to forgo the desire to forcefully crack your knuckles and focus on being more gentle.