“Old wives tales” are beliefs passed down from one generation to another, For example, most of us remember our patents’ telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things. Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time
Did your mother ever tell you to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%. Garlic（蒜）is good for you, too。It can kill the type of virus that causes colds.
Unfortunately, not all of Mom’s advice passed the test of medical studies. For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating. But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so. Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no. sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars.
Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives’ tales, After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated （积累） from thousands of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water should respect this body of knowledge even as research for clear scientific support to proven it true or false

“Old wives tales” are beliefs passed down from one generation to another, For example, most of us remember our patents’ telling us to eat more of certain foods or not to do certain things. Is there any truth in these teachings? Some of them agree with present medical thinking, but others have not passed the test of time
人们（普遍）认为“老妇人的故事”会一代传给下一代。例如，我们很多人都记得父母告诫我们要多吃某些东西，而不能做某些事情。这些告诫有真理（可言）吗？这些告诫中，有许多是符合现代医学观点的，但是有些却是经不起时间的检验。

Did your mother ever tell you to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? Scientists now report that eating carrots can help prevent a serious eye disease called macular degeneration Eating just one carrot a day can reduce the possibility of getting this disease by 40%. Garlic（蒜）is good for you, too。It can kill the type of virus that causes colds.
你（是否）记得母亲告诉你要多吃胡萝卜，因为它们对眼睛有好处？现在，科学家认为吃胡萝卜能帮助你防止一种叫作“黄斑变性”的疾病。每天只吃一个胡萝卜就可以将患这种疾病的可能性降低40%。大蒜也是有益的，它能杀死引起伤风的病毒。

Unfortunately, not all of Mom’s advice passed the test of medical studies. For example, generations of children have been told not to go swimming within an hour after eating. But research suggests that there is no danger in doing so. Do sweets cause tooth problems? Well, yes and no. sticky sweets made with grains tend to cause more problems than sweets made with simple sugars.
不幸的是，并非妈妈所说的所有建议经得起医学研究的测试。例如，一代代的孩子都被告诫不要在饭后一小时内去游泳。但是研究表明，这样做是没有危险的。糖能够引起牙齿有问题吗？可能有，可能没有。谷物制成的黏糖比仅仅是单糖制成的糖类更可能引起（牙齿）问题。

Even though science can tell us that some of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water, there is still a lot of truth in the old wives’ tales, After all, much of this knowledge has been accumulated （积累） from thousands of our traditional beliefs don’t hold water should respect this body of knowledge even as research for clear scientific support to proven it true or false
即使科学能够告诉我们一些传统习惯不一定行得通，但是这些“老妇人的故事”还是有一些有道理的。毕竟，许多知识是经过数千（年）传统的积累。这些“行不通”的知识，即便科学研究明确表明它是对还是不对，都是值得敬仰的。