OK, we get lots of well-meaning advice from our Chinese friends whether it's based on Chinese medicine, Chinese folklore, Chinese superstition, Chinese proverbs, or just plain quackery. You know, stuff like "Don't drink cold water, it will harm your stomach/qi," etc. I'm sure you've got dozens of examples.
My favorite, until today, was during the SARS epidemic in 2003 when 3 or 4 different people told me, "Ah, you're a smoker. That's good because you'll never catch SARS. Smoking protects your lungs from SARS just like smoking meat preserves it from bacteria." This offered as they handed me another cigarette.
So today I was having coffee with a friend. She mentioned she had found one or two gray hairs in her mane. I couldn't see them. She's about 32 y.o. "I guess it's time to dye my hair," she said. I have considerably more gray and I laughed and said, "Yeah, right. If anyone needs a dye job, it's me."
"Oh no, men should not do that. It's dangerous. A Chinese doctor told me. It's OK for women though."
I passed on the obvious retort of, "Well all the Chinese leaders do it." and muttered a simple, "Why?"
She proceeded to tell me that according to her Chinese doctor (a woman by the way who also dyes her hair Jane told me) there are dangerous chemicals in hair dyes.
Me: "Duh!"
She: "So when someone dyes their hair, the chemicals go into their skull and directly into their bloodstream. But because women 'bleed every month' (she was trying to say mensturate) that releases the chemicals from their bodies. Men don't 'bleed' so the chemicals stay in their bodies."
I guess Alice Cooper was on to something years ago.
Anyway two three questions:
1. Has anyone else ever heard this?
2. Those with Chinese spouses, can you ask them if they have ever heard this one.
3. Do you have any Chinese "advice" apart from the usual that you've been given?