6 Healthy Habits That Can Make You Sick

I dance the Macarena whenever I come across an article that argues against healthy living. I cautioned you against too much positive thinking a few days ago. I laughed while reading research about dark chocolate firing up the happy brain. And I high fived the doctors who warn folks against too much sunscreen -- because it blocks the vitamin D that all of us need. I hate that stuff and was looking long and hard for an excuse not to look like a clown this summer. Thank you!

I've even performed the opposite of an intervention with one of my friends last week who was foolishly trying to give up alcohol and nicotine at the same time.

"No, no, no," I told her. "You can't do both of these together and expect to keep friends. Now I suggest you go pour yourself a glass of Merlot or light up the lung rocket pronto, and do us all a favor."

Alas, I bring you one more doctor you will like: Dr. Erika Schwartz, Medical Director of Cinergy Health. She's here to tell us not to get too carried away with our healthy habits. Thanks, Erika!

As a society, we are constantly striving to lead healthier, happier lives. But with these efforts, we sometimes run the risk of going too far. As a rule of thumb, any extreme is unhealthy, but rarely are we made aware of the "cons" of healthy habits, instead led to think any good thing is better if done as often as possible. Not so fast...

Here are some examples of healthy habits that can backfire when done in excess:

1. Over-Exercising: Your body and mind do not need more than 3-4 days a week of 30-45 minutes of cardio activity. Cardio/aerobic exercises should be done every other day alternating with Yoga, Pilates, walking, and weight training on the off days. Hiking, swimming, tennis, golf, team sports and a simple variation in exercise over the course of the week, month and season is the best way to stay lean, toned and energized.

2. Staying Out of the Sun: Our bodies need Vitamin D to stay strong by making healthy bones and ward off illness by boosting our immune system. The only way to get Vitamin D into our system is via sun exposure. Don't make yourself overly neurotic about sunscreen. If you are going to the pool or beach or participating in outdoor sports that involve more than 20 minutes of sun exposure, slather on the SPF 30, but if you are simply doing your daily errands outdoors, enjoy the feeling the sun on your skin. The only part of your body that should always be protected is the face.

3. Antibacterial Soaps and Gels: Antibacterial soaps and gels are good to carry in your purse or car but becoming obsessed with the sanitization they promise could weaken your body's ability to fight off "good bacteria." Using them is okay, but use regular soap as well.

4. Sleeping: The average person needs 8 full hours of undisturbed sleep at night. If you are regularly getting fewer or more than nine hours sleep, you are not doing yourself much good. Human beings are not built to think, process or function optimally on more or less than 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night. Not to mention too little or too much sleep is bad for our skin and causes bloating, overeating, confusion and depression.

5. Air Conditioning: While air conditioning feels great on a hot, humid summer day, don't sit and breathe in cold recycled air all day and night long. The air may contain bacteria and germs and certainly all kinds of particles of dust. Every few hours, turn the air off, open the windows, go for a walk outside and breathe in the fresh air -- don't forget to wash your air conditioning filters with warm water and soap and let them air-dry every month you're using them. And if you work in an office building where windows never open, bring a sweater to keep your core temperature warm and get out of the office at least for lunch and a mid-afternoon break

6. Organic Food: While organic foods - such as fruits, vegetables and packaged goods - tend to be expensive, the real problem is that unless you eat them directly from the farm, they to can contain pesticides or be processed. Make sure to read the labels of the food you are purchasing carefully even if you are buying them from the health food store. Foods don't need to be "organic" to be healthy. Stick with labels that have simple and few ingredients, and a low amount of natural sugars (like honey, turbinado sugar, cane sugar), sodium and processed carbohydrates.

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Originally published on Beyond Blue at Beliefnet.com. To read more of Therese, visit her blog, Beyond Blue at Beliefnet.com, or subscribe here. You may also find her at www.thereseborchard.com.

 

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Comments

[PatA]

I can't imagine that all the readers here don't know how to take care of themselves and listen to their bodies......
And if they don't, one article isn't going to change anything.

[PollyTics]

MODERATION.

It's a word that I live by and which makes me especially happy when I want to indulge in some sweets, alcohol or other no no. I figure that if I indulge only now and then and not in between, I am so much better for it while still knowing that I am not denying myself some of my favorite things...

[BlackYowe]

I love dirt and animals and I am completely at odds with all this new age germ phobia. People didn't even know germs existed and they lived long happy lives anyway. There are kids making a living garbage picking that are healthier than American kids. For one they live outside and they don't suck down high fructose corn syrup all day. Go put your hands in the garden beds and get some good rich soil under your finger nails America! Maybe suck some marrow out of your chicken bones and swim in a farm pond too.

[SarcasticFringehead]

Our hunter gatherer ancestors would have been amused by our modern life styes.
It would have astounded them that we are now so removed from nature that something as basic as being outdoors in the sunshine is now "controversial."
You can bet that their immune systems would beat ours, hands down. They didn't know about bacteria and germs of course, but they certainly got exposure to every kind of microbe in their environments. They probably got ill with some frequency, but as the saying goes, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
I can't help but wonder sometimes, if we as a civilized species, have collectively become a bunch of over pampered, self-indulgent and frightened whiners. Our ancestors seemed to have been made of sterner stuff than we are, and I think this may be a loss for our species.

[Genders]

The European Immune system destroyed the native Americans.

[brahdog]

1. over-exercising: right, not too much. listen to your body. pain and debilitating exhaustion are bad signs. however, it's more the problem that people are exercising too little, rather than too much. 1/2 pt

2. sunblock: yup, the sunblock hysteria is out of control. more people die from cancers from lack of vitD production than die from skin cancer (see dr. mercola for his take on the matter). but i would forget the sunblock on the face because it is the most resistant to get burned and how else are you going to get your daily sun exposure during the cold months? 1/2 pt

3. antibacterial mania: yeah, we need to exercising our immune system. does no good to coddle it. the romans had an expression i always remember: "never be too dirty, nor too clean". 1 pt

4. sleep: on target. i guess the "too much healthy habit" angle would be too much sleep? but again, the main problem with society is that people are getting too little sleep, rather than too much. i would just add that there is no formula that works for everybody. there may be people on the far ends of the spectrum that respond to less sleep or more. listen to your body and adjust your lifestyle if you can. otherwise: 7-9 is the goal 1/2 pt

(cont.)

[brahdog]

5. air-conditioning: so glad this was included. widely underestimated in our air-conditioned culture, but do we really consider air-conditioning as a "healthy habit". 1 pt

6. organic foods: big debate here, "organic" claims can vary and i think the jury is still out on this one. i'm curious what "organic foods" you're referring to that still have pesticides and are "processed". but we should be encouraging people away from commercial farms towards organic whole foods, not giving us reasons to dig in our heels and resist change. and how do "organic foods" make you sick? i mean, if you have celiac disease or a lactate intolerance and stumbled on some bad raw milk or some kind of other allergy, ok, but this one strikes me as just more organic backlash. 0 pt

my final score: 3 and 1/2 points out of 6

[BlackYowe]

Sadly some people can't breath without air conditioning because the outside air is so polluted like in California.

[Nyland8]

#3 ... "could weaken your body's ability to fight off "good bacteria."

I'm sure that's not what they meant to say

#4 ... "If you are regularly getting fewer or more than nine hours sleep, you are not doing yourself much good.

Well ... it's one or the other - but it can't be both.

[DrP]

Great post. I agree with most everything.

[MicheleCA]

I sure don't!

[IdahoMoxie]

"While organic foods - such as fruits, vegetables and packaged goods - tend to be expensive, the real problem is that unless you eat them directly from the farm, they to can contain pesticides or be processed."

Say what? If it is organic, then it is organic. You don't need to "eat them directly from the farm." What are you talking about? If I buy organic beans in a can, or frozen organic vegetables or just vegetables from a supermarket that are labelled organic, then I am assuming they don't contain pesticides!

[loyalreader]

Pumpkins are growing in very heavily fertilized soil and soil that has had extreme pesticide use. Soil that was used for trees, ie., non-edibles.
These lovely things are really not safe to eat,,,,and such a shame,,,so many places outside of the USA find wonderful and nutritious ways to prepare pumpkin. Here its either pie or a jack o-lantern.

[Nyland8]

Decades ago, before I became an Ovi-Lacto-­Pesce-Octo­-Prestidig­itarian, I ate at a restaurant that served pumpkin butter (the consistency of apple butter) on their pork chops.

It was one of the more amazing things I'd ever eaten, and I've often wondered why nobody commercially offered such a product. I know it would sell ... and be a good source of vitamin A.

[TheEthicalNag]

"" ...Stick with labels that have simple and few ingredients, and a low amount of natural sugars, sodium and processed carbohydrates... "

If it has a label on it, chances are it came from one of the very few mega-agro-chemical corporations that control virtually everything we eat. After reading Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" or watching the outstanding documentary film "Food, Inc." - I now feel dismayed about the control we have abdicated over what goes into our mouths, from chicken to beef to (!) soybeans.

Carolyn Thomas

[JBS]

You can significantly decrease your reliance on agri-business grown foods with a small vegetable garden. Even a 4' by 8' micro garden can give you more tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, beans, melons, squash and carrots than you can eat.

Google how to grow potatoes in stacks of old tires. Why re-cycle when you can re-use?

And every bit of it is organic, fresh from the "farm" ... if that's how you choose to do it.

And it'll also give you an excuse to get out-doors away from the air conditioning for a little while.

[0emissions]

the fresher the food, the better it is. organic food is always better because the soil in which it has grown is renewable and not dependent on huge amounts of chemical fertilzers and nitrates needed to grow something in barren soil.Organic agriculture preserves the soil, air and water as well.

[Tilling]

I wonder how anyone gets "too much" sleep--either your body needs to sleep or it doesn't. One wakes up when rested, so I question that one. If one sleeps too much, it is probably because they are not getting restful sleep and the body is still sleep-deprived. Sleep apnea and other problems can cause that. I think sleep debt is a real thing. Without proper rest, the body issues its stress hormones and can cause a myriad of health problems.

[iamjoneskeepupwithme]

depression is a very real thing and believe me, it is more than possible to sleep 9-10 hours and then feel tired again just 6-7 hours after being up.

[brahdog]

absolutely. or even exhausted immediately upon waking

[incognito-ergo-sum]

Don't drink too much water or you deplete B vitamins. This happened to a friend of mine. She carried an industrial size water bottle and fainted one day. Sure enough, too much water.

[MicheleCA]

Ludicrous!

[alieninvader]

Therese forgot one thing. Don't be a germiphobe. Get out there and socialize! I read one study that people who interacted with the widest variety of people were the healthiest. They think that if you expose yourself to a variety of germs, you will build up immunities.

[MicheleCA]

Go volunteer in a hospital. You'll can enjoy drug resistant strains of microbial flora colonizing in your nose.

[Box500]

I do recommend using anti bacterial soap after Trash Day

[MicheleCA]

All soap is antibacterial. Triclosan is not good for you.

[Shirley Fisk]

9/28/09
11:10am
Coral Gables, FL

Thank you.
I am pale as a ghost but hate sunscreen. I prefer a llittle sunburn once in a while.

[MicheleCA]

How do you feel about premature aging, wrinkles, basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma, or malignant melanoma?

You can supplement Vitamin D. I recommend Sunny Gummies by Rainbow Light.

[brahdog]

vitD supplements are poor substitute for the real thing, like most supplements.

also, whatever damage was done to your skin was probably already done as a child when we got super-burned. don't panic about the sun now, just don't allow yourself to get red.

eat your anti-oxidants today to stave off the malignant growth that may be lurking from past sunburns.

and genetics plays more of a role in wrinkles and premature aging than sun exposure does. my mom and i are a testiment to this. sunworshippers the both of us.

she did have basal cells removed from her face, full disclosure. but she's not dying from skin cancer.

[Rodger leMonde]

You can't stay young forever. Especially if you live by a complex set of pseudo healthy baloney. Even soy baloney.
Live, do things, don't save yourself for best.

[brahdog]

don't get red. consume antioxidants. enjoy the sun and yes, your suntan.

[brahdog]

and watch your moles