Have you ever noticed the greenish color that fluorescent light bulbs give off when they’re lit? Well, some people have come to believe that these light bulbs can leech vitamins from your body. The myth originated in the 1940’s when the first fluorescent lights were invented. People believed that since the color of the light bulb was a sick, greenish gray color, that the light bulb could leech vitamins from your body. This myth is somewhat dangerous because if the lights were to leech vitamins from your body, it could lead to health problems.
It is also said that in fluorescent light bulbs, there is a high level of mercury. Mercury does not leech vitamins, but can be dangerous if inhaled. This myth is somewhat controversial because of lack of data regarding testing of the myth leaves people confused on if the lights actually leec vitamins from your body.
Some scientists believe in this myth because of the mercury and other gasses located in the small bulbs. They think that they might leech vitamins from your body and can leave harsh effects on your skin. The mercury when inhaled is extremely dangerous but has not been proven to leech vitamins from your body.
After looking at numerous sources on wether this myth is true or false, I have come to a conclusion. I believe that this myth is busted. On two specific sites (http://www.faqs.org/faqs/alt.answers/folklore-faq/part3/, and http://tafkac.org/faq2k/science_index.html) both stated that the myth was 100% false. However, there were certain websites that claimed that the lights leeched vitamins from your body but did not have any data to support their idea. I believe that more tests should be done on this myth because not having a lot of credible data doesn't guarentee that the myth is false.
Picture:http://www.ipaa.org/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/cfl_bulb_mercury3.jpg
