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21 Crazy Stories Indians Cooked Up About Their Food

Guess how Bengali children were fed fish?
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Remember how your mom told you that eating tomatoes would give you rosy cheeks? Or that green chillies could make you taller? Indian kids grew up with a lot of funny myths surrounding the supposed health benefits or side-effects of all the foods they didn't like eating, often without any medical or scientific basis. Here are some of the craziest theories we have been subjected to growing up.

1. Eating a fish head can make you smarter.

2. If you eat a watermelon after having been outdoors in the searing heat, you can die.

3. Drinking tea makes you darker.

4. Brinjal also makes your complexion dark.

5. Drinking milk makes your skin fairer.

6. Green chillies -- both in their raw and cooked form -- can make you taller.

7. Eating tomatoes can give you rosy cheeks.

8. Don't drink water after having a cucumber, as it can give you a cold.

9. Having sour foods like tamarind and lemon right after dairy products can give rise to white spots on your skin.

10. Drinking milk or having dairy products after having eaten mutton and fish also gives you white spots.

11. If you eat a lot of sweets, you'll develop a sweet temperament.

12. Eating pickles is bad for young girls because it leads to early puberty. According to another story, pickle spoils if you touch it during your period.

13. You should consume a combination of soaked almonds, saunf and mishri for good eyesight.

14. If you have a sore throat or cough, eat gol gappas as the sour water neutralises the germs.

15. Don't eat curd in the evening, it can give you a cold.

16. Certain fishes like baam and bachua, as well as aloe vera halwa can increase virility.

17. Eating a lot of bitter gourd makes your speech bitter. According to another lore, it can make your blood bitter so mosquitoes won't bite you. In a third story, it is supposed to give you good skin. In yet another version, eating bitter gourd at night can make you deaf.

18. Don't eat guavas in the evening, they can give you a cold.

19. Eat Maggi to cure loose motion.

20. Having just one banana can give you constipation, so you should always have two bananas.

21. Don't have coconut water in the evening, as it can make you urinate excessively.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.