Winter Old Wives' tales: true or false?

Drink hot chicken soup to relieve a cold

True. Back in the 1980s, researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center found chicken soup has anti-inflammatory properties that help soothe a cold. Chicken soup also provides fluids and easily digestible calories, both of which are helpful when you're down with a cold.

You'll catch cold if you go outdoors with wet hair

False. It’s not wet hair and cold weather that cause colds. Colds only develop when you come into contact with a cold virus. This can happen when you touch something that’s been contaminated with a virus – a door handle, for instance.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

True. But eating two apples is even better. According to French researchers, eating two apples a day can help reduce cholesterol levels by up to 10 per cent.

Feed a cold, starve a fever

False. It doesn’t matter whether you have a cold or a fever, you won’t get any better if you starve yourself. The best way to eat when you have either a cold or flu is to keep your meals simply and easy to digest – liquid foods are ideal, wuch as yoghurt, milk, juice and soup. And instead of having three big meals, eat little and often – that way, you'll use less energy.

Eat onions to avoid a hangover

True. Apparently in Paris it’s traditional to eat onion soup after partying all night to prevent a hangover the next morning – which is something to remember when the Christmas party season is in full swing. Experts believe onions may help because they boost blood sugar levels (your blood sugar is low when you're hung over). And they are also high in a substance called sulphur, which some nutritionists believe helps purify the liver.