7 Old Wives Tales That Turned Out To Be TRUE

Whether you hold some of these sayings as words to live by, or you’ve always considered them to be the fables of your mother or grandmother, a surprising amount of old wives’ tales are actually founded in truth. Sure, the original message may have been covered up by nuanced parables or patronizing rhymes, but here are some of the most useful old wives’ tales that you should be sure to heed.

1. An apple a day will keep the doctor away.

This is perhaps the most common saying when it comes to a mother’s chiding. All you crave is a cookie or some crunchy potato chips, and what holds you back from indulging (or at least gives you extra guilt pangs) is this simple and easy saying. This little bit of health advice not only is supremely easy to remember, but it accurately conveys the importance of a nutritious apple in your diet. Apples contain soluble fibers that promotes blood health, boron which leads the way for strong bones, a cancer-inhibiting flavonoid called quercetin, vitamin C, and phytonutrients which fight heart disease and diabetes. There’s no reason not to find a crunchy, delicious apple right now and every day.

2. Chicken soup/bone broth cures colds and other illnesses.

Many of us grew up on chicken soup as a remedy for colds, the flu, and basically for anything that made us slow down. I always chalked this remedy up as a cultural practice or just to the fact that it’s warm and delicious; so of course it’s a comforting option! Recently though, this whole chicken-soup-as-treatment has been making a lot more sense. Bone broth has finally hit the mainstream, and the benefits of a hearty broth-based chicken soup are hard to ignore. Bone broth benefits include reduced inflammation and chicken contains cysteine which is an amino acid which thins mucus and gets it moving out of your system. Plus, it just tastes delicious.