So, you’re trying to stay fit and healthy? Well, some good habits might help. What you might not know, though, is that too much of a good thing can be bad for you, even healthy habits. Here are 12 healthy habits that can have the opposite effect if you overdo them.
Working Out
Work out, yes, stay fit and have a strong, nicely toned body, but don’t overdo exercise or you’ll wear down your joints. Besides, if you fatigue your muscles, they will weaken instead of strengthening, and you’re prone to injury. Workout every few times a week, but not twice a day!
Being on a Diet
Diets vary a lot, some are real ways of reaching your health goals, and others are just ridiculous and even dangerous. Dieting might help you lose weight but starving yourself will only bring more problems. Eat everything in moderation and don’t push yourself too hard.
Drinking Water
Forget you ever heard you must drink eight glasses of water every day. Your body gets water from your food as well, as in soups, fruit and veggies. Too much water will dilute your blood and damage your kidneys. Drinking too much water can cause you headaches and can even make you really ill.
Skipping Meals
You might think skipping meals is a good way of eating less and gaining less weight, but the opposite is often true. There more you skip meals, the more you’ll force your body to store energy as fat. Actually, skipping meals will probably make you gain as much weight as overeating.
Sleeping too Much
Having a good night’s sleep is paramount for your health, but sleeping too much leads to dehydration, hormone imbalance and muscle degeneration. Sleep too little, and you’ll feel awful, sleep too much, and you’ll feel even worse! Six to eight hours a day is more than enough.
Taking Vitamins
If you ate a balanced diet with proteins, carbs and all types of fruits and veggies, you wouldn’t need vitamin supplements. In fact, most vitamin supplements come out of your system as easily as they came in. Why? Because your body won’t absorb more vitamins than it needs. Stop wasting money on vitamins!
Skipping Carbs
Carbs are a source of energy. And yes, if you eat too much of them, you’ll have extra energy, and your body will turn it into belly fat. Still, you need the energy to function, and starving your body from carbs will lead to serious conditions, sometimes irreparable.
Brushing Your Teeth
Brushing your teeth twice a day is more than enough to keep adequate oral health. You can also brush them after every meal if you feel like it, but brushing your teeth not only cleans them but it also damages them. Brush your teeth too much, and you’ll wear out your teeth’s protective enamel.
Using Sunscreen
Skin cancer is a severe threat and exposing yourself to too much sunlight is dangerous. Still, you shouldn’t wear sunscreen unless you know you’ll be out in the open for long periods. Your body needs sunlight to produce vitamin D, so sunscreen can lead to vitamin D deficiency, which is no joke either.
Taking Antibiotics
Antibiotics can kill any harmful bacteria in your body, but they will also kill all good bacteria in your system. There are billions of bacteria living inside you right now, and they help you absorb nutrients, amongst other things. Too many antibiotics damage your digestive flora, causing serious digestive problems.
Using Cotton Swabs
Having clean ears is nice but using cotton swabs to clean them isn’t. Chances are you’re only pushing the earwax further in your ear, blocking your hearing. Proper hygiene is all about not overdoing it, and that includes your ears.
Using Hand Sanitizer
Hand sanitizer will eliminate 99% of the bacteria in your hands, and they’re the dirtiest part of your body. Still, some of that bacterium is actually beneficial and keeps your immune system strong. If you sterilize your hands too often, you’ll be more exposed to illness.
Trying to Be too Healthy Might Not Be Such a Good Idea
As you see, overdoing healthy habits can have a negative impact on your health, so take it easy and practice some common sense. The secret here is balance; too much or too little of anything is bad for you.
