Known Healthy Habits That Aren't Really Healthy!
A few good general habits, that can go wrong.
Sometimes even with the best of intentions and a healthy quality of living, There is a chance that certain healthy habits may have a chance to backfire on you. Below are some shortlisted insights of well known good Habits that may actually be risky if not harmful to your health!.
Over brushing Of teeth!
Most people happen to brush after every meal & other odd hours of the day, Although this might seem like a good & healthy habit, it is in fact quite the opposite. Not only does consuming acidic foods & sugary beverages erode away tooth enamel, Brushing your teeth straight after a meal can cause you to brush away tooth enamel as well, eventually leading to tooth decay.
Tips & Advice. Brush in the mornings after waking up & before sleeping at night. If you feel the need to freshen up after a meal, go ahead and chew sugar-free gum or rinse with mouthwash.
Over Consumption of Red Wine
While it is true that Red wine is actually healthy with antioxidants and namely resveratrol being found in all wine, especially red. With the astounding ability to guard against heart disease and lower cholesterol levels. Consuming too much of Red wine can backfire on you ending up with high blood pressure, liver damage, obesity and specific types of cancer. Women are more prone to breast cancer, Those that consume 2-5 glasses of alcohol a day, than women who don't drink at all.
Tips & Advice. Though it has it healthy benefits, Moderation is key, If you drink on a daily basis, then no more than 1 glass for women and 2 for men. Although a daily drinking basis would be better suited to your health, if you drank wine on the weekends or once a week.
Workouts and Exercising
For people that have 9am to 5 pm jobs, At some point tend to rush or work up a quick sweat with some early morning exercise, This may vary to push-ups, skipping or even jogging, All before going to work and sitting at a desk job for 8 hours straight!, which then is completely useless, research studies show that physical inactivity is the leading cause in obesity, diabetes etc. regardless of your morning exercise, only to go and sit at your desk job. Your body may still not be active to fend of diseases. Smooth blood circulation & heart function is important!.
Tips & Advice. Get out of your cubicle, Stand up, Walk around, Stretch at your workplace, Do it in the washroom, Walk around on your lunch break, Give your boss something to think of by running wild, Fling things around, Stay active during work!. Physical activity is whats important. Not to a point though where you exhaust yourself & too pooped to do any work. Just in moderation, keep yourself active. Just walk about!.
Organic Food Fanatics
While Organic foods do have their health benefits, Complete obsession over them also has its disadvantages. For one many people who shop for organic foods rarely check the calorie count & believe it or not, they are loaded with calories, compared with 'normal' or the conventional foods we eat. It is a death trap for putting on those extra pounds.
Tips & Advice. First thing to look out for, if you are into organic foods, is to always check the calorie count of the product your purchasing. And as always, Moderation is key!.
Exercising That Doesn't Do Jack
Most people are under the impression, that when it comes to working out at the gym or running the tread mill to burn those few pounds, always end up overdoing it, which in turn your body benefits from nothing. Its all good that you can run the extra mile, or keep pushing the limits, but it all goes to waste when you jump into the shower. You might start to realize that its either taking longer or just not working at all & end up getting very exhausted. "The more i workout, the faster i can tone up". As logical as that sounds. Its the wrong way to go about exercising if you want to accomplish anything for your body
Tips & advice. Taking care of your body is just like taking care of your car. if you're a sane under 60kmph driver for life, you'll notice its less to repair, unlike if you're the type of driver thats reckless & always pushing its limits, you end up taking it to the workshop more often. Studies show, the most important part of exercising is taking short breaks in between. In this case 'less is more'. Take 15min breaks & variate between exercises. That means, Run the treadmill for a good 20mins, take a break and go lift some weights. You can accomplish not only losing weight, but a good tone up job & feeling much more refreshed. Yes the body has a funny way recovering, repairing & dealing with day to day activities. Again Moderation is key, Workout, but dont push it. The idea is to preserve metabolism in the body, long after your workout session, which in turn builds muscles or just staying in shape, looking and feeling fresh!.
Flip Flops!
Ever noticed that when you wear flip flops or slippers, your toes tend to curl up slightly to keep your slippers from being flung away. Although it may be comfortable, a change from wear & tear shoes or high heels. The very notion of toe curling & fore-foot padding makes the foot retain its normal flex, causing strain, Knee joint pain, including lower back pain. The most common is the 'fallen arches' also known as Flat feet or 'pes planus'.
Tips & Advice. Make sure to purchase slippers or flip flops that bend in the fore-foot & are not flimsy in the center, (If the center of your slippers are flimsy, this can also cause slight arch strain). You can easily make out. So make sure, once again that the fore-foot of your slippers are bendable, to prevent toe curling. Its ok if there's slight padding in the center of your flip-flops. Enabling you to normally flex your feet freely. You should feel like your slippers are part of your feet naturally.
Bottled Water
Although it is completely wonderful that you drink water & cut out on soda's & fizzy drinks etc. It is healthy enough. But you might end up visiting the dentist more than you can count & never really understand what the cause truly is. Research from A.D.A (American Dental Association) show that bottled water you buy from the grocery either does not contain enough or have no fluoride at all. Why whats up with the fluoride?, you ask. Fluoride is a natural mineral that keeps your teeth shiny & impedes tooth decay & preventing cavities & other sorts of bacteria. You are also more prone to Toxin BPA (Bisphenol A) a chemical that is leeched into the water from the bottle given from what the bottle is made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which is a hazard to the environment itself.
Tips & Advice.
- Drink water in a glass straight from the tap.
- Should you happen to buy bottled water, look to see if it has optimal fluoride content.
- Dont keep bottled water out in the sun or drink the same bottled water after an hour or so.
- Buy a proper re-usable water bottle or water / hydro flask that you fill up from a good source of fresh water.
- Beware of bottled water product companies, until you can do some reading up on them.
Anti-bacterial soaps & Hand lotions.
Healthy indeed for hands & anti-bacterial soaps for the rest of your body indeed. But over usage of these types of products, can lead the very same bacteria you're trying to wipe out to form a resistant strain to the anti-bacterial products you're using. Making it harder to fight over bacteria later on. A little background on bacteria. It is common knowledge that bacteria does indeed become resistant after a certain while, to medical drugs and other such anti-bacterial products. Scientists believe that finding solutions from fossilized bones & plants from a millenia ago, will be able to combat the modern bacteria we face today. Since they will be less resistant.
Tips & Advice. Try not to overdo it with the antibacterial hand lotions, for those that use it for 'an everything purpose'. Use normal soap, since they are the best & gets the job done just the same.
Washing them leafy greens.
All veggies & leafy greens you buy at your local mart or grocery, are pre washed, well in most cases. Only to have you buy them, take it to the sink and wash them again. This very notion can in fact just contaminate your greens. Every grocery that sells food products have to go through a evaluation and inspection of the highest order. What makes you think that your sink would pass the test. Yes it would seem like a good habit, to maybe freshen them up, wash them etc. Many health experts believe otherwise, that the risk of washing them again in your sink would only increase the exposure to contamination.
Tips & advice - First and foremost, if you're in the habit of washing your greens, by all means go ahead, but for the necessary reasons, make sure your washing area is completely & absolutely clean, use a strainer, avoid putting them in a sink. Rather you have a separate sink you use ONLY & specifically for washing greens. And of course by all means if your veggies are not pre washed, go ahead & rinse away. Also avoid those groceries that sell their greens out in the open at the front of the shop. Buy them inside, Only for the fact that it could most likely be by a roadside, Can you imagine the amount of pollution & bacteria floating about, waiting to give you something like constipation or diarrhea or some other related diseases. Wash & wash away the right way!.
Bah! The Sun Is Evil, We Must Wage War Upon The Sun.
Avoiding the sun & living in the shade could seem pretty healthy & do-able, Which would help prevent skin cancer & yes wrinkles. It could also help you miss out on one of the most substantial vitamins the body needs & that is 'Vitamin D'. Vitamin D is vitally important & if you do not get your daily requirement, it could lead to increasing your chances of heart related diseases. According to various studies. Vitamin D helps prevent against osteoporosis & a few types of cancers even.
Tips & advice. 10-15 mins of good sun shine upon thy skin is more than sufficient per day. The sun actually helps the body produce moderate Vitamin D levels in your body. If you rarely get out or live in the gloomy time of the month in your country, Then it would be advisable to purchase a Vitamin D supplement. But natural getting it from the sun is always the better option!.
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