Introduction
The #1 Worst Health Advice You Should Never Follow — Eat This Not That is a popular dieting trend that has been around for years. It encourages people to make healthier food choices by comparing two similar foods and choosing the one with fewer calories, fat, and sugar. While this advice may seem like a good idea, it can actually be detrimental to your health. This article will discuss why this advice should be avoided and provide healthier alternatives.
The #1 Worst Health Advice You Should Never Follow — Eat This Not That
When it comes to health advice, it can be hard to know what to believe. With so many conflicting opinions out there, it can be difficult to know which advice is best for you. Unfortunately, some of the most commonly shared health advice is actually the worst advice you can follow. Here is the #1 worst health advice you should never follow: “Eat this, not that.”
The idea behind “eat this, not that” is that certain foods are “good” and certain foods are “bad.” This type of advice is often presented in a black-and-white way, with no room for nuance or individual differences. It implies that if you eat the “bad” foods, you’ll be unhealthy, and if you eat the “good” foods, you’ll be healthy. This is simply not true.
The truth is that no single food is “good” or “bad.” All foods can fit into a healthy diet, and it’s important to focus on eating a variety of foods in moderation. Restricting certain foods can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food, and can even lead to disordered eating. It’s also important to remember that everyone’s body is different, and what works for one person may not work for another.
Instead of following the “eat this, not that” advice, focus on eating a balanced diet that includes a variety of foods. Aim to eat mostly whole, unprocessed foods, and don’t be afraid to indulge in your favorite treats in moderation. Remember that all foods can fit into a healthy diet, and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition.
With so much pseudoscience and quackery being spread these days (no, the flu shot will not give you the flu) it can be hard to figure out which health advice is trustworthy and what is just bogus. “Misinformation often arises when there are information gaps or unsettled science, as human nature seeks to reason, better understand, and fill in the gaps,” says the CDC. Here are five health recommendations you should never follow—backed by science. Read on—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You’ve Already Had COVID.
Severely restricting calories (not to be confused with intermittent fasting) may seem like a fast way to lose weight, but it can actually have the opposite effect. “Let’s review what happens when you go on a calorie restricted, high carbohydrate, low-fat diet of 1,560 calories/day — just like your doctor or dietician currently tells you to do,” says Dr. Jason Fung. “You feel lousy, tired, cold, hungry, irritable, and depressed. That’s not just because you are dieting, there are physiological reasons why you feel so crappy. Metabolic rate drops, hormones make you hungry, body temperature drops, and there are a multitude of psychological effects. The worst thing is that you lose a bit of weight but you gain it all back when the diet stops.”
RELATED: Secret Weight Loss Tricks to Melt Visceral Fat, Science Says
Working out is fantastic for your physical and mental health—but you absolutely can have too much of a good thing. “Overtraining occurs when a person partakes in too much physical training with too little rest and recovery after hard workouts,” says certified personal trainer Stephanie Mansour. “The resulting stress placed on the muscles, joints and bones causes fatigue and soreness that ultimately affects performance. While over-training syndrome most often applies to serious athletes, that doesn’t mean that recreational athletes or weekend warriors are free from the effects of pushing the body too hard. While it’s normal to feel some level of fatigue after a tough workout, complete exhaustion, burnout or pain is not.”
RELATED: If You Have a Heart Problem, You May Need These Specialists ASAP
Hydration myths are pervasive, thanks to the enduring yet scientifically unsound advice that we need to drink at least eight glasses of water a day or risk keeling over from dehydration. In fact, excessive water ingestion can lead to hyponatremia, a condition where there is dangerously low blood sodium as a result of too much water. “Kidneys can excrete up to 28 liters of fluid in a day, but only one liter an hour,” says Christina Lang, MD, internal medicine and pediatric physician at UCHealth in Fort Collins. “Drinking more than this can lead to water intoxication and electrolyte imbalances. This can lead to dangerous fluid shifts into the cells of the body, particularly the brain. With excessive water drinking, above what the kidney can excrete and/or without replacement of electrolytes (sodium, potassium), a person can have swelling of the brain (cerebral edema), which can be fatal.”
RELATED: Here’s How to Stop Aging, Say Experts
Essential oils can be useful—but people with mental health conditions should always follow the advice of medical professionals. “I’ve recently seen a couple of posts suggesting essential oils and ‘psychedelic medicine’ as treatments for anxiety and depression,” says Shiri Macri, MA. “While essential oils are wonderful and can be a great addition to a repertoire of self-care strategies, depression and anxiety are very real mental health conditions that often need more than simple self-care to heal.”
RELATED: #1 Sign You Have One of the “Most Deadly” Cancers
Despite mask mandates being lifted across the U.S., wearing a mask is still important to curb the spread of COVID-19—even if you are fully vaccinated. “Face masks and physical distancing will need to continue into the foreseeable future,” explains infectious disease specialist Kristin Englund, MD. “Unfortunately, getting vaccinated does not instantly mean we can go back to how life was before. Until we have some level of herd immunity, the vaccine is now just another layer of protection against COVID-19.”
The vaccine is also proven to be effective and safe. Unfortunately:
- “Misinformation is false information shared by people who do not intend to mislead others.
- Disinformation is false information deliberately created and disseminated with malicious intent.
Both types can affect vaccine confidence and vaccination rates. Most misinformation and disinformation that has circulated about COVID-19 vaccines has focused on vaccine development, safety, and effectiveness, as well as COVID-19 denialism,” says the CDC. “FACT: The COVID-19 vaccine will not make you sick with COVID-19.”
RELATED: Most People Get “Bad COVID” This Way
Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated or boosted ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don’t travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don’t go indoors with people you’re not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don’t visit any of these 35 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch COVID.