7 Habits We Were Wrong to Think Were Useful

lifehacker April 28, 2021 0 comments

All of us have a particular set of habits that we think are important for maintaining our health and figure. And while some of them, such as washing fruit before you eat it or getting regular exercise, undoubtedly are important, others have question marks hanging over them.

The Life Hacker put together a list of seven habits that you can give up without any consequences – because they’re actually useless.

Taking multivitamin tablets

7 Habits We Were Wrong to Think Were Useful

Consuming multivitamins and all kinds of bio-additives doesn’t reduce the risk of developing certain diseases and has no effect on your memory or ability to work. A group of scientists in the US reached this conclusion after carrying out a series of clinical tests involving the participation of more than 450,000 people. The results of other pieces of research indicate that taking multivitamins might actually have a negative effect on your health.

Using anti-bacterial hand gel that contains no alcohol

Anti-bacterial hand gels really do help get rid of many different kinds of bacteria and other germs. However, this applies only in the case of those gels that are no less than 60% alcohol. Other hand sanitizers don’t remove all kinds of microorganisms. They have no effect, for instance, on the Norovirus or cryptosporidia. Moreover, any contact you have with pesticides or pollution will not be alleviated by the use of cleaning fluids containing alcohol. In this case, you just need to wash your hands.

Avoiding monosodium glutamate

Research shows that the unpleasant symptoms that monosodium glutamate is believed to cause in human beings, such as nausea and headaches, only occur when you eat something with no less than 3 g of this substance in its purest form. You’re quite unlikely to encounter this. At the same time, the food products to which glutamate is added aren’t very good for you even without it.

Cleansing your body with a detox diet

Detox diets, which are currently gaining popularity at a rapid pace, promise to rid your body of toxins. But specialists unanimously point out that the body can deal with them on its own. If your liver and kidneys aren’t performing properly, that’s a reason to visit the doctor and not to simply drink more smoothies or cocktails.

Consuming organic products

In many countries, there is no legal requirement to mark organic food products with any kind of certification. This is why if you see the words “eco” or “bio,” it’s more often than not going to just be a marketing ploy rather than a guarantee that the food has been produced without the use of chemicals. So the fact is it won’t be any better for you than the ordinary fruit or vegetables you buy at the market.

Refusing to use microwaves

Using microwaves to heat up your food really can destroy the useful substances it contains, but the same thing can happen when you reheat food using your oven or stove. And in some cases, the fact that it works faster can make a microwave the preferred option. For example, reheating in a microwave can better preserve substances like vitamin C.

Consuming only low-fat products

As with carbohydrate and protein, our bodies require fat, and so swapping ordinary food products for their low-fat equivalent is not the best way to cut out calories. Moreover, in many products the reduction of fat is compensated for by a higher sugar content which can be harmful to your health.

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