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Do our hair and nails actually keep growing after we cark it?

Despite what you've seen in Indiana Jones movies, they don't. Skin shrinks after death, showing more hair and nails above the surface. "Although, the cells of your body don't die instantly - some skin and cartilage cells remain viable for up to a day after death," says Dr Jo Duflou, forensic pathologist with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.


Is it true that if you have a thin blue rim around the edge of your pupil, your body lacks calcium?

No, this is complete nonsense, says optometrist Dr Harrison Weisinger, director of professional services at Specsavers Optometrists. "There are many things you can tell about your general health by looking into the eye," says Dr Weisinger - for instance, your optometrist may be the first to pick up early signs of diabetes or heart disease because of changes in the eye - but this isn't one of them. Shirley Loh, national professional services manager of Optometrists Association Australia, agrees: "There is no scientific reason for a lack of calcium to form a blue rim around the pupil."


Can eating bananas make you constipated?

No.  "There's no scientific evidence for this whatsoever," says WH's health expert Dr Ginni Mansberg. Eat as many as you want - they're a great source of potassium, which helps your kidneys function and plays a role in heart, digestive and muscular health.



Can meat last forever in the freezer?

No. When your Scotch fillet's sporting a coat of ice crystals, consider it expired, says Teri Gault, co-author of Shop Smart, Save More (amazon.com). Frost forms when improperly packaged food loses moisture. Gault advises double wrapping meat and writing the date on the package. Keep ground meat and poultry up to four months; pork for six; and beef a year. But, Gault says, "If the weather's hot or if you've been opening the door lots, it could go bad sooner." And if your power goes out for more than two days, everything in the freezer should go into the rubbish.



If I switch to organic produce, will I eat bugs?

No. There's no research showing there are more bugs in organic produce. Although organic farmers use naturally-derived pesticides, nothing can squash every last bug, so to be safe, rinse produce well. And accidentally eating an aphid is almost always harmless, says Christine Bruhn, Consumer Food Marketing Specialist. Consider this food for thought: According to some researchers, we unintentionally eat up to a few kilos of bugs annually.



Is it dangerous to stand in front of the microwave while it's nuking?

No. "These ovens have been engineered not to leak microwaves," says Louis Bloomfield, author of How Everything Works ($40.95, John Wiley and Sons). The only way rays can reach you is if there is serious damage to the unit or if the door is open while you nuke food, and inventors have made that impossible. Microwaves also emit thermal radiation, which is very painful, so if yours was spitting rays, you would know it. Still suspicious? Take the oven to a repair shop and ask to have it scanned for leakage.



Can you get lice or bedbugs from office chairs or coach seats?

It's unlikely that lice will hop onto you, says Ron Harrison, a director of training at a pest-control company. But bedbugs can be transferred from one location to another in objects like suitcases. So the insects, which wait till night to come out and feed on your blood, can hide in couches and chairs. Since you can't de-bug suspect public seats by freezing or dry-steaming, Harrison advises trying an alcohol-based product you spray on the seat to kill any lurking bugs.



Will anti-perspirant give me cancer?

No. "This internet urban myth is incredibly frustrating", says WH health expert Ginni Mansberg. "There's no evidence at all of any link between anti-perspirants and cancer (especially breast cancer)." Parabens in anti-perspirants have never been linked to cancers. Sweating comes from sweat glands, not lymph glands. The glands aren't even connected. So, you can cop a spray or roll with it, no worries.



Does reading in the dark weaken your vision?

No, says Dr Stephen Dain, a professor of the Optics and Radiometry Laboratory at the University of New South Wales's School of Optometry and Vision Science. The thing is, our vision is poorer in low light conditions since less light reaches the retina and, as a consequence, we have to concentrate more to read, which can cause fatigue and discomfort.

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