Seriously Unhealthy Things People Believe Are Part of a Healthy Lifestyle

By Krystal Brown

In the quest for a wholesome lifestyle, individuals often embrace diverse beliefs and routines. Nevertheless, certain notions can be deceptive or detrimental, appearing as healthy options. This article accentuates several significantly unhealthy aspects that people erroneously perceive as integral to a healthy lifestyle, providing insights into the potential hazards they entail.

Crash Dieting 

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The idea of crash dieting is counterproductive to what it’s said to be due to its negative effects on the physical and emotional well-being of its adherents. Most people believe that crash dieting is the surest way to lose weight. Little do they know that intense calorie deprivation can lead to malnutrition, a weakened immune system, and dehydration. The human body needs an essential nutrient that can only be gotten from healthy eating. Drastic reduction in calorie intake can lead to a deficit that will subject the body to a state of starvation and slow down its metabolism. 

Over-exercising

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Exercise is a great way to improve our body performance and enhance bone health, weight control, and physical and emotional health. However, many people have gone overboard with over-exercising and even see it as a healthy lifestyle that they go on intense workouts beyond their body limit to ramp up their training program quickly and gain muscles faster. Unfortunately, they fail to understand the grave consequences of overtraining, leading to muscle soreness, cardiovascular challenge, depression and anxiety, among other health issues. 

Relying on Juicing and Smoothies 

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Most people think fruit juice and smoothies can replace whole fruits and vegetables on their menu. However, they fail to understand that juicing at the expense of taking fruits and vegetables is ineffective due to the loss of the all-important fibre, which is the active component of fruits that produce the core nutrient they need. In addition to these concerns, fruit juice has a large constituent of sugar that can cause another health problem in the body, while smoothies are calorie-dense due to the addition of syrups, sugar and other unnecessary ingredients. 

Caffeine Intake 

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Caffeine has been found to reduce tiredness and increase brain activities, mental alertness and blood adrenaline, which are the reasons people rely on its intake. Heavy consumption of caffeine through various sources such as coffee and energy drink can lead to other less desirable side effects ranging from insomnia that make it difficult to fall asleep, constant headache, dehydration since it is a diuretic and heart problems. Caffeine has all the build-up of a healthy substance, but in the factual sense, it’s more of an unhealthy thing that covers people’s underlying health conditions. 

Excessive Usage of Dietary Supplements 

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The unrestrictive usage of dietary supplements has been linked with serious side effects such as kidney stones, liver damage and even death. In a journal published by the American Medical Association stated that the risk attached with dietary supplement intake outweigh its benefits. People have basked on the euphoria that dietary supplements help to get essential nutrients and improve their health without putting into consideration the toxic effects of buildup of  vitamin A and Iron in the body which has been found to reduce bone strength, birth defects and other diseases. 

Round-the-Clock Keto Diet 

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The Keto diet is a high-fat, low-fat carb diet that calibrates the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates for energy gain. Many people have seen this as another efficient way to lose weight in a more balanced approach. But the underlying consequence of the reduction in carb intake has a significant negative effect on our body system; the effectiveness of this diet requires cutting down on important vitamins and minerals found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, which can lead to excessive fatigue, kidney stones, hair loss and others. 

Chiropractic Adjustments 

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A chiropractic adjustment involves caressing and manipulating the spine and other body joints. People believe this practice is healthy and can help treat body pain and enhance the range of motion. However, this idea is vague and lacks any evidence to support it. Various studies have highlighted the ineffectiveness of chiropractic adjustments. For instance, a study by the American Medical Association listed the potential complications of chiropractic adjustment, including strokes, nerve damage and death. Furthermore, there is also limited scientific backing that supports the effectiveness of this practice for the conditions it was said to treat, which showcases how unhealthy it is. 

Teeth Whitening 

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The growing misconception that plain white teeth are a sign of good dental health has forced most people to try teeth whitening with chemicals. This practice is not in any way related to a healthy lifestyle; Rather, it is more inclined to the societal-induced confidence booster. However, teeth whitening with chemicals like peroxide in the whitening gel will open the gum to contamination from sweet and acidic food, which can cause irreversible damage to the enamel. In addition to the unhealthy oral health of teeth whitening, this procedure has no iota of credibility to ascertain its long-term effectiveness; rather, it is just an expensive and time-wasting procedure disguised as part of a healthy lifestyle. 

Cleansing and Detoxing 

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The narrative that cleansing and detoxing can remove toxins from the body is akin to overworking the already detoxified system. No scientific backing supports this approach because the body already has its mechanisms to detoxify, which relegates any need to seek external intervention in the name of detox diets and cleanses. Even there is verified evidence of health problems such as electrolyte imbalance, nutrient deficiency and digestive problems arising from the need to use laxatives or supplements to carry out this procedure. 

Taking Artificial Sweeteners 

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Artificial sweetener is not as healthy as people make based on the results from various ongoing research that bring out the potential health hazards that can arise from their uses. One of the recent research carried out by the mayo clinic where they established a link between long-term usage of artificial sweeteners and diseases such as heart disease, stroke and even death. Many individuals have seen artificial sweetener as a healthy alternative to sugar, but the bottom line of its usage also pose risks that are even more than they can imagine. 

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