Our lifestyles and habits play a great role in our health and well-being; like nutrition, they can either make us sick or healthy.
There are a lot of habits imbibed by many people who don’t know that those habits or daily rituals are dangerous to their health. Below are habits you need to drop or correct so that you can live a healthy and fulfilled life.
Skipping Breakfast
You must have heard these common phrases “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” and “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a king, and supper like a pauper”; these phrases are not just cliché but true.
When you wake up in the morning, your level of energy is low, and your metabolism is the slowest, that is why most people feel slow and sluggish every morning. Having a large and healthy breakfast is a sure way to boost the levels of your energy and kick-start your metabolism.
When you skip breakfast, you set the tone of the day on a slow mood and you become hungrier and overeat in the afternoon, skipping breakfast also lead to unhealthy cravings like cravings for sugary and fatty foods which are dangerous to your body.
It also causes hormonal imbalance which can lead to a lot of health problems like adding excess weight which can lead to obesity, a risk factor for chronic and life-threatening diseases. When you form the habit of skipping breakfast, your body will think you are in famine, it will start to hoard fats and the brain will increase its demand for food and this leads to overeating. This on a long time leads to obesity and binge-eating.
This is the reason why those who want to lose weight are advised not to skip breakfast; it gives rise to the opposite of what you are looking for and makes it difficult for you to lose weight. Skipping breakfast leads to slow mental and physical performances; it will affect your mood and raise the risk of mood swings and disorders.
Modern lifestyle have made this unhealthy habit common but it is destroying your body. You don’t need to spend your whole mornings in the kitchen to have breakfast, there are simple meals that don’t take time, you can prepare them and pack them in your food flask if you are late for work and can’t eat at home.
Make it a point of duty to have breakfast every morning except on days when you are fasting but still you can have a glass of unsweetened homemade fruit juice, smoothies, herbal teas or pro biotic drinks like organic yogurt or coconut milk.
A sedentary Lifestyle
Sedentary lifestyle and physical inactivity has been fingered as one of the major causes of illnesses and deaths right from the time of early healers like Hippocrates and Father Kneipp.
Father Sabasteine Kneippe was a priest and healer during his lifetime, he healed people using cold water and herbs and that is why he is regarded as the father of modern day hydrotherapy.
He likened a sedentary lifestyle to a pool of stagnant water which had a lot of impurities and a foul smell and carried diseases while a life full of movement and physical activities he likened to a flowing river which was free, clean and gives life.
Exercise, regular movements and physical activities keep the body healthy and prevents chronic diseases; it helps in the detoxification of the body, it increases the amount of oxygen in the lungs and body, it expels carbon dioxide and maintains the optimum functions of the heart.
Exercise and physical activities increases the flow of blood all round your body, it boosts your overall health while a sedentary lifestyle damages your body. Sitting for long hours at work, school, and other modern way of doing things has made a lot of people sedentary.
Even if your work demands you sitting down for long hours, there are exercises you can be doing while sitting down. During the weekends or before you go to bed at night, you can engage in moderate exercises for at least 20 minutes.
Overeating
Overeating is a highly destructive habit; it makes you fat and raises the risks of chronic diseases. It upsets the biochemical set point for everything in your body and this leads to biochemical changes like hormonal imbalance, leptin resistance and other biochemical changes that harm the body.
It leads to accumulations of fats in the abdomen and around the liver, this is a dangerous situation that paves the way for Serious health problems and complications. These unhealthy habits put the digestive system under intense pressure and labor, it leads to digestive problems and disorders and also weakens the immune system.
Some people have eating disorders that make them binge eat; this can be treated with cognitive therapy, nutritional counseling, and psychotherapy. In some cases, drugs are given to them, but this is not advisable since they create more problems by causing adverse side effects. Note that overeating can be triggered by the regular intake of junk foods and sugary foods.
Less Intake of Foods
Less intake of foods leads to malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies; this can be caused by a busy lifestyle which makes one eat less or financial problems. Busy people should try and create time to cook and eat healthy foods.
Fast foods are not encouraged because you don’t know how it was processed or what was added, and all thee unnatural things added to foods and the process these foods go through cause harm to the body.
Loss of appetite can be treated, if you are having a poor appetite, meet a doctor so that he can rule out serious health problems and treat you properly and if it is caused by an underlying condition, treatment will begin immediately.
High Intake of Junks and Processed Foods
Processed and junk foods reduces also known as “empty calorie” foods because they have been striped of all their vital nutrients and offer no nutritional benefits to the body, rather they cause nutritional deficiencies and other health problems.
So many unnatural chemicals are added to these foods to either enhance the taste, flavor, aroma or to increase its shelf-life. Examples of these are nitrites, aspartame and others, they change your metabolism and create a lot of problems. They also lead to food cravings and overeating.
Try and avoid junks and if you can’t, 80 to 90 percent of your foods should be healthy foods with lots of fruits and vegetables and then you can cheat by taking little junk foods occasionally.
Insufficient Sleep
During deep sleep at night between the hours of 10: 00 PM to 2: 00 AM, the body undergoes a lot of repairs; but for this to happen, you have to be in a deep sleep. Proper sleep is essential for optimum health, a human adult needs at least 8 hours of night sleep, but we can see that this is almost impossible in our world today.
Improper sleep causes havoc to your immune system; it affects your mental and physical performances. It affects the levels of hormones and it raises the risks of chronic diseases. Working night shifts, sleeping very late at night and waking up very early in the morning, insomnia, sleep some and other sleep disorders have been implicated in severe diseases and even mental problems.
These conditions disrupt your circadian rhythm and gives no time for the body to repair itself. You will be doing yourself a favor if you have proper rest and sleep.
High Intake of Salt
High intake of salt and salty foods can affect your blood pressure; it leads to high blood pressure, water retention, bloating, and it can even affect your kidneys.
The kidneys can’t handle excess sodium in the body; it makes it work harder and this leads to water retention. It also increases the volume of blood in your body, this puts your heart under intense pressure and raises your blood pressure. High blood pressure is a risk factor for chronic diseases such as stroke, heart disease and heart attack.
Sodium counteracts the effects of potassium which helps the heart function well. Potassium expels excess sodium from the body, it brings down high blood pressure and relaxes the body while an excess of sodium in the body does the opposite.
High Intake of Sugar
Sugar causes havoc to your body, it feeds harmful pathogens and microorganisms, cancer cells also feeds on sugar and they require sugar to thrive. Excess sugar also causes diabetes, a chronic disease characterized by a high level of glucose in the bloodstream.
It also triggers inflammation, this is a root cause of chronic and untreatable diseases. It leads to insulin resistance, food addiction and overeating and other complications it causes in the body.
Too much sugar in the bloodstream causes obesity, it causes acne, it raises your risks of heart disease, it raises your risks of depression, it accelerates aging and leads to fatigue, it decreases your threshold for pain, it causes fatty liver, tooth decay and kidney diseases.
It accelerates cognitive decline in older individuals and also increases the risk of gout. Avoid sugary completely or reduce the rate at which you take in sugar and sugary foods and drinks.
You can use maple syrup, Stevie and raw honey in place of white refined sugar and other forms of sugar like aspartame. These natural alternatives are healthier and even therapeutic.
Chronic Stress
Stress is usually called “the silent killer”; Chronic stress disrupts the levels of hormones in the body, this leads to a weak immune system and serious health problems, stress can even lead to infertility in both sexes.
It triggers inflammation, it constantly keeps the body in a flight-or-fight mood, it negatively affects your metabolism and causes unhealthy changes. Avoid stress or look for natural ways you can effectively manage and relieve stress.
Less Intake of Water
Less intake of water leads to dehydration; this condition upsets many biochemical and metabolic processes in the body. Man is a watery being, the human body is made up of 80 percent water.
Water is needed for every metabolic processes in the body, hormones, fluids, bodily secretions, blood, chemical messengers, and other important liquid matter in the body are all made with water.
Water aids the detoxification process; it boosts mental and physical performances, it aids weight loss, it makes the skin glow and supports a healthy glow.
It controls food intake, and it prevents and treat pains like headaches and migraines. It prevents and treats digestive issues like constipation. It regulates body temperature and it relaxes the body.
A little drop in the usual level of water in the body can cause little to major problems and this depends on the severity or grade of dehydration. Regularly drink clean water even if you are not thirsty; drink unsweetened fruit juices, herbal teas and smoothies.
Less Intake of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs
Fruits, vegetables and herbs contain vital minerals, vitamins and phytochemicals that are essential for optimum well-being and functions of the body.
Fruits especially citrus fruits are store houses of vitamin C; this vitamin boosts the immune system, it also reduces the risks of infections, it treats illnesses and diseases and reduces their severity and duration. Vitamin C is also a powerful antioxidant.
Dark green vegetables are dense with chlorophyll, an important phytonutrient found in green leafy vegetables. It makes the skin healthy, it boosts the immune system and get rid of fungus.
It energizes the body and detoxifies it, it cleanses your intestines and gets rid of body odors. It prevents and treats cancers of all kinds, chlorophyll heals your skin and gives it a healthy and perfect look. It helps in weight loss and body building; regular intake of dark green vegetables increases your levels of chlorophyll and this boosts your health in a lot of ways.
Chlorophyll cannot withstand long digestion so most of it are lost; a good way to prevent this and increase the absorption of chlorophyll is by blending dark green vegetables into a smooth paste, you can mix it with fruits and herbs, this is called smoothies.
It helps digest the chlorophyll and fibers before you take them in; many people take chlorophyll supplements but the best way to get chlorophyll is by regular intake of green smoothies, these supplements most times contain copper instead of magnesium.
Always take your green smoothies immediately after making it or at most before 20 minutes; this is to ensure that you take in the enzymes when they are living.
Herbs are parts of plants that are used as medicines; regular intake of these foods prevents diseases and health problems in the first place, they make you healthy and improve your overall health. Examples of herbs are ginger, turmeric, aloe Vera, lemongrass, etc.
Eating Late at Night
Eating dinner late at night and eating and going to bed immediately is bad for your digestive system and whole body in general.
It leads to weight gain in some people, it causes acid reflux and heart burn, it increases hunger and affects both your mental and physical performances for the next day.
Occasional late eating at night gives no problem as such but when this becomes your habit or lifestyle, it affects the natural rhythm of your body, it affects your sleep and circadian rhythm and it also leads to hormonal problems and imbalances. It leads to indigestion and other symptoms of digestive problems like bloating and flatulence.
Smoking and Exposure to Secondhand Smoke
Smoking of cigarettes and use of other tobacco products are one of leading caused of chronic diseases like cancer and deaths worldwide. Smoking cigarettes and inhaling secondhand smoke is responsible for 90 percent of lung cancer cases and deaths resulting from lung cancer.
Cigarettes and second-hand smoke are responsible for different health conditions like infertility, hormonal imbalances, body and mouth odor, hormonal imbalances, loss of taste and appetite, skin with a dull appearance, discolored hair and constant cough known as smokers’ cough.
Try and quit if you smoke, if you don’t smoke, that is very good of you but do all you can to protect yourself from secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is also dangerous as if you were smoking a cigarette.
Avoid other forms of tobacco also. A quick way to quit smoking is to detoxify your body of the accumulated nicotine; when this is done, the cravings for cigarettes and other tobacco products will also stop. Click here to learn effective ways to quit smoking.
Excessive Consumption of Alcohol
The byproducts of alcohol are poisonous to the body, they affect the liver most especially, which is the most important organ in the body.
Excess intake of alcohol can lead to scarring of the liver known as cirrhosis, it causes fatty liver, a dangerous disease of the liver that leads to death in most cases and it also causes alcoholic hepatitis.
It leads to accumulations of toxins in the body, overtime, this weekend s the liver and impairs its functions. If you are addicted to alcohol, you should try and quit. There are many things you can do or take to help you quit and you can also join support groups.
Use of Illicit Drugs
Illegal drugs are toxic to the human body and that is why they are banned; they affect the normal functions of the body and cause other damages. Cocaine, heroin, and other harmful outlawed drugs are to be avoided.
Those who are addicted to it should seek help and enroll in rehabilitation programmes that can help them drop this bad and destructive habits. They cause mental problems, hormonal problems, disruptions in metabolism and they lead to death.
Abuse and Indiscriminate Use of Medications
Medication drugs have adverse side effects when even taken according to prescriptions, when taken indiscriminately and self prescribed especially pain killers and antibiotics, they cause problems in the body.
Regular and indiscriminate use of pain killers have been linked to heart disease, infertility, cancer, organ failure (regular use of acetaminophen also known as paracetamol can lead to lower failure) and other dangerous complications these pain killers cause as side effects.
Excessive use of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistance, nutritional deficiencies and it kills the friendly bacteria present in the future, this leads to a weak immune system because the bacteria that fights harmful bacteria and pathogens are reduced or eliminated by antibiotics.
Pain killers and antibiotics should only be taken when they are prescribed by doctors in severe cases; in mild or manageable cases, use natural remedies, they are not toxic thereby they don’t cause side effects but rather they treat what you are going through and also improve your overall health.
Improper Hygiene
Good hygiene is essential for optimum health and well-being, proper washing of hands regularly with soap and water, most especially before eating, after contacting surfaces and people and after bowel movements prevents microbial infections.
Our hands can easily become contaminated with microbes and pathogens that can cause sickenesses and infections like typhoid, common cold, flu, coughs, and other infections spread by microorganisms that we can easily pick and take into our bodies.
Regularly brush your teeth, especially in the morning and at night before going to bed daily to prevent the accumulation of deadly bacteria that can cause tooth decay, gum disease, tooth ache, bad breath, formation of plaque and other oral problems like oral thrush caused by candida.
Have your bath regularly, this keeps you clean and your skin free from dirt and microbes; it makes you approachable and fight body odor. A clean and well-washed body makes you feel healthy and it also energizes you.
Keep your home and its surroundings very clean to prevent insects that are vectors of diseases like cockroaches, mosquitoes, tse-tse fly and other harmful insects from habouring in your home. A clean home can’t be home to rats and other disease-carrying mammals which spread all kinds of harmful diseases.
Rats alone are carriers of over two hundred diseases. Clean home and surroundings repels them while they feel safe and comfortable in a dirty, damp, and dark environment. When your environment is clean, your food also won’t be contaminated, and you won’t fall sick easily.
Spending Lots of Time with Technology
Spending long hours seeing movies, playing games or working with computers lead to a sedentary lifestyle and we already know by now how this affects our health and body negatively.
There are also scientific evidences that spending lots of time with these gadgets like mobile and android phones, and computers increase our exposure to harmful electromagnetic radiation which can cause DNA damage, cancers of all kinds, and other chronic and severe diseases.
They also emit blue light and other harmful rays that can damage your eyes; they affect your circadian rhythm and sleep especially when used late into the night and other problems they cause that can be prevented in the first place if only their usage were reduced.
Negative Emotions and Belief about Self
The epigenetic field of medicine has proven that words, thoughts, and emotions can either make us healthy or sick. Negative words, thoughts, and feelings make you sick, it weakens your immune system and hastens to age. While positive feelings, words, and thoughts make you healthy and vibrant.
Don’t hold on to what has happened, let go of the past, don’t worry over what you can’t change, try and see the positive aspect of everything and learn to forgive, you should also learn to drop people and friends out of your life who don’t mean well for you, who have a track record of hurting you or whose behavior make you sick.
Exposure to Pollutants and Harmful Chemicals
Harmful chemicals and other dangerous irritants cause harm to the body; we can find them in makeup, skincare products, shampoos and conditioners, washing detergents, soaps, and other products we use that come in contact with our skin.
Use natural alternatives in this case or you use gloves when handling BFF such products like pesticides.
