Woman's Day: Myths that can harm your health

By now you're savvy enough to raise an eyebrow at a suspicious health "fact" when you hear one. Tampons contain asbestos? Drinking lemonade will make you lose 10 pounds in five days? You're just not buying it. Unfortunately, some misinformation is a little trickier to spot. Watch out for these easy-to-fall-for myths:

Myth: You only need to worry about cholesterol if you're overweight.

While it's true that women who are overweight are at higher risk for having elevated cholesterol levels, there are also plenty of slender people who have cholesterol problems, says Jo Parrish, vice president of the Society for Women's Health Research. The organization surveyed women and found that 83 percent knew how much they weighed in high school but only 21 percent knew their total cholesterol number. Unfortunately, weight isn't the only thing that matters when it comes to your cholesterol. Your genes and lifestyle-what you eat, how active you are-also play a role.

Myth: Older women don't get STDs.

Just because you can't get pregnant anymore doesn't mean you can cross worrying about safe sex off your list. You're still at risk for sexually transmitted diseases. In fact, a recent study found that the number of people 45 and older with STDs has doubled in the past decade. Since the vaginal wall thins and lubrication decreases with age, postmenopausal women are more likely to get small tears in the vaginal tissue, which ups the risk of STD transmission. So unless you're 100 percent sure that you're in a long-term monogamous relationship with someone who's also STD-free, use condoms.

Myth: If you're having a heart attack, you'll feel chest pain.

We all have an image of the classic heart attack victim who clutches his chest and falls to the ground. This is often true: Both men and women tend to experience shooting chest pain that radiates to the left arm and pressure that feels like an elephant sitting on your chest. But that's not always the case. Some people-women in particular-have shortness of breath that seems to come out of nowhere, or pain in the arms, neck, jaw or back (particularly on the upper left side). Sweating, feeling anxious or extremely tired, and color draining from your face can also be signs that you're having a heart attack. Never be embarrassed to go to the emergency room and say, "I think I'm having a heart attack," especially if you have a family history of heart disease or other known risk factors, such as high cholesterol.

Myth: Colon cancer is primarily a man's disease.