5 “Healthy Habits” You Should Give up in 2018

So, you spend a dedicated hour at the gym every day, avoid junk food, eat plenty of water, and do many such things to keep yourself healthy. You think you are doing all the right things, but are you really? You will be surprised to know that there are many “healthy habits” that aren’t really healthy, and should be given up. Here are top 5 of them:

1. Eating Low-Fat Products

Fitness enthusiasts know fat as their worst enemy. They try to avoid greasy, fat-rich foods at all costs. However, truth is that avoiding fat altogether can be bad for your health in two ways:

• Worse Substitutes: When you ditch the standard cake or cookie box for a “low-fat” version, you might actually be consuming even more calories. This is because most of these products use sugar and chemical based thickeners to retain the taste. These substitutes are high in carbohydrates, which is no worse than fat.

• Good Fat -Bad Fat: Fat has indeed gained a bad reputation, but not all fats are bad for your health. Some are actually good. For instance- saturated fats found in pork lamb, dark chicken meat, and trans fat in baked products (pastries, cakes, etc.) and processed snack foods are unhealthy. However, monosaturated fats found in peanut butter and nuts, and polysaturated fats found in sardines, trout, etc. are quite healthy. In fact, the latter is found to be beneficial for your heart as it can lower cholesterol levels.

2. Buying “All Natural” Groceries

Keeping in line with the growing demand of “healthier all natural” food products, a number of companies are now offering the same. However, most of these “100% natural” foods are rich in harmful ingredients such as sodium benzoate, fructose corn syrup, and even genetically modified plants, etc. This is because of a loophole that these companies take advantage of. The food regulation organizations such as FDA and USDA don’t share a definition of these labels (including others like “free range”, etc.). Surprisingly, in a survey conducted a few years back about 25% participants said they thought the best description to read on a food label was “all natural” or “100 percent natural”.

Thus, from now onwards, if you want to truly enjoy the richness and benefits of natural meals and juices you can try making them at home yourself using organic ingredients.

3. Brushing Teeth After Meals

How could brushing the teeth after meals be a bad habit? It is supposed to be one of the healthy habits, right? Well, in theory yes, it is a good habit to develop. However, Howard R. Gamble, DMD, FAGD, and immediate past president of the Academy of General Dentistry pinpoints the adverse effect the activity can have on your teeth, particularly having an “acidic” meal.

Foods rich in acid, such as tomatoes, citrus fruits, soft drink etc. can soften the enamel on your teeth, making it vulnerable. Thus, if you brush your teeth when the enamel is soft it can stimulate the effects of the acid on your teeth, and erode the enamel in the process.

If you have a habit of brushing teeth after having a meal then it is better to wait for 30-60 minutes before you brush, rather than right afterwards. Otherwise, you can also rinse your mouth with cold water a few times to get the acid off.

4. Taking on a Strict Green Juice Diet

Whether you are working on losing weight, or are just intent on becoming fitter, a strict green juice diet may not be best way to go about it, no matter how popular the idea. Although green juice has a great number of health benefits, when you become heavily reliant on it you start missing out on other important elements of a balanced diet.

For instance, green juice doesn’t have enough protein content, and you can lose your muscle weight this way. Juices are also low on fibre, and can cause constipation.

Drinking juice most of the time as a replacement for standard food can also cause irritability and fatigue, owing to the lack of enough chewing. To avoid these bad effects on your health make sure you balance the juice with some actual chewable food.

5. Drinking Bottled Water

Tap water can’t always be trusted, especially when you are travelling, or away from home, where you store and filter the water for consumption. Thus, it may seem like a good idea to rely on bottled water most of the time, but is bottled water really good for your health? It depends.

If you are drinking water from the plastic vessels occasionally, then it is fine. However, if you have to drink packaged water often then maybe you should start keeping it in check. A lot of plastic bottles contain BPA (bisphenol A), which is a major endrocrine disruptor, and can cause diseases such as obesity, reproductive damage, and even cancer.

While FDA assures that consumption of BPA in small quantities is not harmful, it is banned from use in baby bottles. This clearly tells us something.  If you have to drink packaged water then check the label of the bottle. The ones with label #7 contain BPA, and must be avoided.

6. Drinking Diet Soda

Big cola companies want you to believe that their “diet” drinks are healthy for you. However, is it really true? Absolutely not! Reading the label which says “no sugar, carbs, fat, and calories” you may feel confident about these drinks, but they are still harmful for your health. For instance, the soda in these drinks erodes teeth, and the sugar substitutes are found to contribute towards weight gain.

In fact, in a study of 3,682 individuals from San Antonio, Texas, consumption of diet soda was found to be related with doubling the risk of becoming overweight or obese. Thus, diet or not, sodas are best to be taken in moderation.

It is worth knowing what “healthy habits” aren’t really healthy. By improving these you can certainly live a healthier 2018 and onwards.

Medical Disclaimer: The information and reference materials contained here are intended solely for the general information of the reader. Patients and consumers should review the information carefully with their professional health care provider. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by physicians.

Medical Disclaimer: The information and reference materials contained here are intended solely for the general information of the reader. Patients and consumers should review the information carefully with their professional health care provider. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by physicians.