11 'Bad' Things We Learned May Actually Be Good For You In 2011

Fidgeting is bad; those comedies are going to rot your brain; chocolate isn't good for you -- these are all things we've heard time and time again.

But research in 2011 paints a different story -- some of those things that we peg as "bad" for us may actually be good.

Take a look at our round-up of 11 things we learned in 2011 that may not actually be as bad for us as we thought.

And for more on the best of 2011, visit bestof2011.aol.com.

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• 1. (Compounds In) Red Wine

  Past research has shown that red wine may help <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/red-wine/HB00089" target="_hplink">boost our heart health</a>, when taken in moderation. But a new study out this year shows that the resveratrol <em>in</em> red wine might also be able to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/09/30/red-wine-could-prevent-breast-cancer_n_988914.html" target="_hplink">prevent further growth of breast cancer cells</a>. That research, published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology journal, was done in a lab, but it showed that <a href="http://www.fasebj.org/content/25/10/3695.abstract" target="_hplink">applying resveratrol to lines of breast cancer cells</a> led to hindrance of cell growth. However, editor of the journal Dr. Gerald Weissmann told the Press Association that this doesn't mean people should drink red wine with the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/09/30/red-wine-could-prevent-breast-cancer_n_988914.html" target="_hplink">expectation that it will stop breast cancer</a>. "What it does mean, however, is that scientists haven't yet finished distilling the secrets of good health that have been hidden in natural products such as <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/09/30/red-wine-could-prevent-breast-cancer_n_988914.html" target="_hplink">red wine</a>," he told the Press Association.

• 2. Funny Movies

  For people who think that the only "good" movies you should watch are the serious dramas or mind-bending thrillers, a study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine shows that it's the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/09/06/funny-movies-heart-health_n_950384.html" target="_hplink">comedies that actually have a positive effect</a> on health. Researchers had study participants watch clips from the movies "There's Something About Mary" and "Saving Private Ryan" on separate days. Then, using complex measurements, researchers found that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2011/09/06/funny-movies-heart-health_n_950384.html" target="_hplink">watching the comedy led to expansion of blood vessels</a>, while watching the war drama led to constriction of blood vessels (which leads to reduced blood flow). "The magnitude of change we saw in the endothelium after laughing was consistent and similar to the benefit we might see with aerobic exercise or statin use," Miller <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110828101806.htm" target="_hplink">told Science Daily</a>.

• 3. Coffee

  A multitude of studies have examined the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/31/coffee-health-benefits_n_1064577.html" target="_hplink">health effects of coffee</a>, and many of them have come out showing the good. This year in particular, a study in the journal <em>Archives of Internal Medicine</em> shows that caffeine from coffee seems to <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/27/coffee-cuts-depression-women_n_982122.html" target="_hplink">protect women from depression</a>. The study, conducted by Harvard researchers, included more than 50,000 people who were part of the Nurse's Health Study. Study researcher Dr. Albert Ascherio told HuffPost that caffeine might work in this way because "it modulates the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/27/coffee-cuts-depression-women_n_982122.html" target="_hplink">release of mood transmitters</a>," though he did point out that there is also a link between coffee and anxiety.

• 4. Doing Just One Thing At A Time

  In today's world, it seems like you have to do 10 things at once if you want to keep up with everyone else. But actually, just staying focused on one task at a time may be better for your brain, research suggests. A study in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em> involved having study participants look at a scene, but then interrupting them with an image of a face and then asking them to explain details about the face (gender and age). Then, the study participants were asked to recall information about the original scene. The older people (average age of 69.1) had a <a href="http://www.ucsf.edu/news/2011/04/9676/ucsf-study-multitasking-reveals-switching-glitch-aging-brain" target="_hplink">harder time with the recall</a> than the younger people (average age of 24.5 years) in the study, researchers from the University of California at San Francisco reported. "This issue is growing in scope and societal relevance as <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/11/multitasking-takes-toll-on-memory-study-finds/" target="_hplink">multitasking</a> is being fed by a dramatic increase in the accessibility and variety of electronic media," study researcher Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a neurologist at the University of California at San Francisco, told <em>The New York Times</em>.

• 5. Chocolate

  We've all heard that a piece of dark chocolate can be good for us, but new research published this year shows exactly <em>how</em>. A review of studies in the <em>British Medical Journal</em> shows that <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4488" target="_hplink">eating chocolate regularly</a> could <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/29/laughter-chocolate-heart-heatlh_n_940500.html" target="_hplink">lower your stroke risk</a> by as much as a third. This review of studies did not differentiate between different kinds of chocolate (dark versus milk, etc.). But researchers did caution that people should be careful not to interpret this finding to mean they can eat as much chocolate as they want, as <a href="http://www.escardio.org/about/press/press-releases/esc11-paris/Pages/chocolate-cardiometabolic-disorders.aspx" target="_hplink">chocolate contains a lot of calories</a>. In addition, another study in the <em>Journal of the American College of Cardiology</em> showed that eating more than 45 grams of chocolate a week -- about two candy bars' worth -- is linked with a 20 percent <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/11/chocolate-stroke-prevention_n_1004426.html" target="_hplink">lowered risk of stroke</a>. "Cocoa contains flavonoids, which have antioxidant properties and can suppress oxidation of low-density lipoprotein ['bad' cholesterol] which can cause cardiovascular disease [including stroke]," study author Susanna Larsson, an associate professor in the division of nutritional epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, <a href="http://www.healthfinder.gov/News/newsstory.aspx?docid=657679" target="_hplink">told HealthDay</a> about the findings.

• 6. Beer

  So you know how some compounds in wine may be good for you? Well, a new study that came out this week shows that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/beer-health-benefits_n_1097445.html" target="_hplink">beer might have those same benefits</a> for your health. A study out of Italy in the <em>European Journal of Epidemiology</em> shows that <a href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/8pu6001584m35146/" target="_hplink">people who drink beer moderately</a> have a 31 percent decreased risk of heart disease. io9 reported that the risk-benefit balance is the same as wine -- it's only <a href="http://io9.com/5859827/moderate-beer-drinking-could-have-the-same-health-benefits-as-wine" target="_hplink">good for you if you drink low to moderate amounts</a>. Once you start to go overboard, the benefits disappear.

• 7. Fidgeting

  <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2009595/Fidgeting-getting-make-tea-good-health.html" target="_hplink">Fidgeting in your seat</a> may be irritating to everyone around you, but research published this year in the journal <em>Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise</em> shows that it could actually be contributing to your physical activity for the day, the <em>Daily Mail</em> reported, thereby boosting your cardiorespiratory fitness. Of course, the more intense these moments of "incidental physical activity," the better for our health, researchers said. But it all adds up, whether it's walking to talk to a coworker versus sending an email or <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/29/chores-everyday-fitness_n_887000.html#s300652&title=Walking_Up_Stairs" target="_hplink">doing more chores around the house</a>. "It's encouraging to know that if we just <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110628113141.htm" target="_hplink">increase our incidental activity slightly</a> ... we can really benefit our health in the long-term," study researcher Ashlee McGuire, a graduate student in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen's University, said in a statement.

• 8. Sex

  Sex is good for your happiness and your relationships. It's science. Research this year shows that it's the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/06/older-married-couples-sex_n_1132535.html" target="_hplink">key to a happy marriage</a> in old age, with more sex having greater effects. That study, presented at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, shows that older spouses who said they had sexual activity were more likely to say they had <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/06/older-married-couples-sex_n_1132535.html" target="_hplink">fulfilling lives and marriages</a>. In addition, research conducted by the University of California, San Diego showed that older women who have an active sex life also reported being <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/26/women-sex-life-age-study_n_938553.html" target="_hplink">happier and having a better quality of life</a>. "Although the levels of sexual activity and functioning did vary significantly, depending on the woman's age, their perceived quality of life, successful aging and sexual satisfaction remained positive," study researcher Professor Wesley Thompson told <em>The Telegraph</em>. "What this study tells us is that many older adults retain their ability to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8724527/Jane-Fonda-was-right-Elderly-women-really-do-age-better-if-they-have-active-sex-lives.html" target="_hplink">enjoy sex well into old age.</a>"

• 9. Fever

  We've been trained to believe that all fevers are bad and that we need to do whatever possible to lower them, but research published this year shows that they actually play a role in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/fever-immune-system-cells_n_1074445.html" target="_hplink">increasing our immune system defense</a>. Researchers from Roswell Park Cancer Institute found that a higher body temperature can <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/fever-immune-system-cells_n_1074445.html" target="_hplink">help our immune systems to work better and harder</a> against infected cells. The finding was published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. Before, researchers thought that <a href="http://www.jleukbio.org/content/90/5/951.abstract" target="_hplink">fevers worked</a> by hindering dangerous microbes from multiplying. But "this new work also suggests that the immune system might be temporarily enhanced functionally when our temperatures rise with fever," John Wherry, Ph.D., deputy editor of the journal, said in the statement. But he noted that the finding should only prompt people to reconsider how they treat mild fevers, and not fevers that are dangerously high.

• 10. Being A Slow Eater

  Were you always that kid who was the last one at the dinner table, prompting glares from your mom or dad to just hurry. Up. Already? Well, research published this year in the <em>Journal of the American Dietetic Association</em> shows that being a slow eater may actually be good for you -- the study revealed that people who <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/01/eat-fast-weigh-more_n_943999.html" target="_hplink">eat the fastest are more likely to be obese</a> than slow eaters. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Otago, showed that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/01/eat-fast-weigh-more_n_943999.html" target="_hplink">the faster people ate</a>, the more their body mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) increased -- 2.8 percent for each "step" increase on the five-step eating-speed scale (equivalent to an extra 4.3 pounds).

• 11. Swearing

  If you illustrate your frustration with some colorful language, research shows that it could actually have a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/01/swear-it-helps-expletives-shit-crap-pain-relief-health-hurting_n_1122504.html" target="_hplink">benefit for your pain response</a>. Research from Keele University in England showed that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/01/swear-it-helps-expletives-shit-crap-pain-relief-health-hurting_n_1122504.html" target="_hplink">swearing</a> allowed people to hold their hands in cold water for a longer period of time, compared with not swearing. However, the effect only works if you're not a regular potty-mouth -- researchers found that people who regularly curse as part of their daily discourse didn't <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/01/swear-it-helps-expletives-shit-crap-pain-relief-health-hurting_n_1122504.html" target="_hplink">have as much of a pain-relief benefit</a> from cursing than people who don't swear that often.

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Comments

[Rational Voice]

07:14 PM on 12/14/2011

Beer and Wine are on this list -- but alcohol is a deadly, dangerous, destructive, highly-toxic drug that directly causes death, violence, and sexual assault -- along with a whole host of other problems.

Cannabis is 100% natural, non-toxic, and by all comparisons relatively non-addictive -- and there were many new discoveries about how cannabis is good for people this year ... there are pretty much every year -- so why isn't cannabis on this list??

[wrobbins]

09:20 PM on 12/14/2011

Alcohol is something that your body can handle very easily in moderation. (It's also "100% natural.")

There have been studies showing a beneficial effect of cannabinoids on certain disorders. That's different than saying "it's good for people" in general.

[Rational Voice]

10:10 PM on 12/14/2011

Stress is a killer. Cannabis relieves stress in most users. Therefore, cannabis = good for most people.

[cimmereo]

04:01 AM on 12/15/2011

I don't use cannabis, but I am all for legalizing it. California is slowly getting to that point, but it may take another 10 years. I would add that it should be banned from the same places that cigarette smoking is.

[Rational Voice]

12:41 PM on 12/15/2011

Glad to hear it! More and more people are waking up to the realities of cannabis prohibition every day. I really hope we don't have to wait another 10 years to see legalization. That would be another 10 years of lives destroyed.

There is absolutely no reason to continue wasting money, time, and effort like we have -- and every year prohibition continues, our politicians, the corporations that control them, and our law enforcement get ever more corrupt. Continuing prohibition in any form is getting more dangerous every single month, let-alone year. Our border with Mexico is now the most dangerous war-zone on earth, thanks to Uncle Sam's irrational drug war -- that's a direct threat to national security. Our healthcare system is a mess. Uncle Sam imprisons more people than anyone else in the world -- by a land slide (and we only have 4.5% of the earth's population!) -- also directly attributable to the irrational war against some drugs.

People really need to start screaming about this madness. It's up to "we the people" to legalize, because our politicians have been bought and paid for by the corporations that are fighting hard to keep from having to compete with this amazing plant.

As for banning public smoking -- I'm fine with that. The smarter way to use cannabis is to vaporize or use it as an edible. I can't wait for the day we see "vapor bars" replacing alcohol bars. :-)

[SaunaSherpa]

05:13 PM on 12/14/2011

#9 in regards to "Fever" is something that I promote daily through Far Infrared Sauna Therapy. I talk to many folks who do think that having a fever is a bad thing and take fever reducing medication. While there is a point to where a fever is harmful (106 degrees), a mild fever is your bodies response to healing itself. Creating the "hyperthermia" state with the body helps you heal. Through Far Infrared Sauna Therapy you can induce this fever state on a proactive basis and keep your body healthy and boost your immune system. I recommend that everyone try Far Infrared Therapy to see how you respond to it and feel the benefits.

[Ken Kinstle]

05:04 PM on 12/14/2011

I know that chocolate in moderation has to be good for you. Nopalea and Nopal Cactus Juice is definitely good for you ie http://www.nopal-cactus.com Comedies have to be good, laughter is better that the best medicine :-)

[pdddy100]

04:52 PM on 12/14/2011

what about trans fats??? NOT bad anymore

[WesStrikesBack]

11:37 AM on 12/14/2011

Don't forget that a few glasses of Pinot Noir every day will reduce stress, lower cholesterol, make you happy and sexy, and help you like at least 5 years longer! Why not?

[SickHippie]

06:02 PM on 12/13/2011

Okay, who's the idiot who thought sex was bad for you?

[Omar Devone Little]

05:08 PM on 12/13/2011

Does this mean that we can swear on HuffPo now? It's good for us!!!!

[RubyMontana]

10:28 AM on 12/15/2011

I like your logic!

[labmonkey74]

12:32 PM on 12/13/2011

really?? I learned nothing new from this.... well, I learned that someone thinks sex is bad for you or doing one thing at a time is bad... Who comes up with this stuff?

[colin72]

12:10 PM on 12/13/2011

"11 'Bad' Things We Learned May Actually Be Good For You In 2011"

... and that we'll learn may actually not be good for you in 2012.

[Alices Amanita]

10:08 AM on 12/13/2011

Well, no short of colorful language for me...I suppose that is a plus! Never was aware that sex was a bad thing, though...but I am sure the lack of it is not healthy, either...

[msjennana]

04:16 AM on 12/13/2011

i never knew sex was touted as bad lol! i think maybe sex toys and pornography have somewhat of a stigma, but that all seems to be changing as well. With high-end sex toy companies selling products that cost more than your house down payment the world of back alley exchanges is morphing into a refined, luxury enhancement to a pleasurable lifestyle. And it seems the best part is that companies are catching on, but lucky for most, without the pricetag. Companies like the new trendy brand Picobong combine design, quality, even quick marketing with a low budget point. So if you ever thought sex was bad, you probably almost definitely saw sex toys, porn, anything other than your grandmother's missionary position as 'bad'--I challenge you to open your horizons (and maybe some other things too)!! hehe

[Adam Valen Levinson]

03:10 AM on 12/13/2011

I'm not sure "doing chores around the house" qualifies as fidgeting. But I can imagine that constant quivering will burn a few calories. That's why I start my day with a new Starbucks Trenta of espresso.

[mbovenzi]

11:22 PM on 12/12/2011

who cares

[IMOPINIONH8D]

10:37 PM on 12/12/2011

Swearing should work even if you swear all the time. You just have to mean it when it counts.

[anima mundi]

07:55 PM on 12/12/2011

I'm sitting here right now with a big hunk of dark chocolate, a glass of Cote du Rhone and I'm giving my husband "THE" look while he drinks his beer. Life is good!!

[WesStrikesBack]

11:40 AM on 12/14/2011

How interesting. I make a Grenache/Syrah blend called Axis Mundi, so yiour comment and title caught my attention.