The things people say.

An Italian friend of mine posted an article to Facebook, essentially a list of things you should know about Italian or things that Italians say and apparently believe. 

1) There is something called the colpo d’aria, and it can give you something called cervicale. 

2) You should never leave your house with a wet head. 

3) Having a cappuccino after dinner inhibits digestion. 

4) Sparkling water helps digestion. 

 5) A digestivo, like an amaro, grappa, or limoncello, really does help you digest. 

6) It’s dangerous to go in the water within three hours of eating, especially for kids. 

7) Putting urine on a sting, especially from a jellyfish, helps it heal. 

8) Air-conditioning makes you sick. 

Each one was examined in turn. Some were refuted. Some were accepted as having a grain of truth. What struck me was that most of them could also have been said by a good number of Spanish people I know and, for that matter, some French. 

I've mentioned number one before. The colpo d'aria is basically a draught and I know quite a number of people who suffer from "cervicales", plural in Spanish, as a result of sitting in draught. That's why even on sunny days you see women wearing scarves. It is, of course, conceivable that it's just a stiff neck with a fancy name! 

Similarly, number three. You would almost never find a Spaniard drinking cafe con leche after a meal. Only guiris do that. The Spanish and the Italians maintain that the dairy produce causes the problem. But it's all right to have arroz con leche (almost rice pudding), leche frita (another popular dessert - literally "fried milk" - no idea what it really is) or flan, all with dairy produce in!!! 

On the coffee question, a French friend of mine long ago told me that you should never drink more than two cups of coffee a day and especially not after 6 in the evening. Or tea for that matter. She said that she once did so and her stomach turned inside out!!! Is that possible? 

Some of them would also have been said on a regular basis by my mother forty years ago, especially numbers two and six. How our ideas have changed since then. 

As for number seven, well!? There was an episode of "Friends", years go, where one of the girls had to wee on another's leg because of a jelly fish sting. 

So that one must be true!!!