Buzz
In today's world, many habits are far from beneficial to your well-being. Long ago, practices like smoking cigars, using opium, and casual racism were widespread and considered acceptable. However, society has since rejected these behaviors, deeming them not only undesirable but also dangerous. Who knows? Perhaps things like not wearing sunscreen, staying indoors too much, and even smiling may eventually be viewed in the same light.
10. Eating Fish
Fish is often touted as being a delicious and nutritious food that provides numerous health benefits, particularly for brain function.
The oceans are filled with poisons, though the exact type varies depending on the fish. While most fish aren’t toxic in and of themselves, they have the potential to carry harmful toxins from their surroundings. For instance, ocean-caught fish often come with traces of mercury, which is abundant in the sea.
If you want to steer clear of mercury, you could choose fish that aren’t from the ocean. However, these too can be problematic, often containing high levels of pesticides. Farmed fish, for example, are routinely treated with pesticides to protect them from sea lice. Moreover, consuming certain types of fish has been linked to cancer. For example, farmed salmon contains 16 times more PCB, a carcinogenic toxin, than wild salmon. In essence, your fish consumption could have deadly consequences.
9. Drinking Water
PFOS and PFOA are harmful chemicals that are known to impair the immune systems of mice. They also cause liver cancer in rodents, as well as testicular and pancreatic cancers, hormone disruptions, and, most concerningly, neonatal deaths. Even if a fetus survives exposure, it is likely to become obese later in life.
Shockingly, these chemicals are present in many everyday items, from food packaging and carpets to electronics, and perhaps most concerningly, in tap water. While regulations vary by location, there are no federal laws in the US governing these chemicals, and water companies are not required to test for them. PFOS has been banned in the EU, and Canada is expected to follow suit.
8. Using a Hot-Water Bottle
For years, hot water bottles were made with polycarbonate plastic, which contains bisphenol A (BPA), a harmful substance linked to breast and prostate cancer, brain damage, and disruptions to the endocrine system. In 2008, some manufacturers stopped producing bottles with BPA, though they continued to claim the chemical was safe. However, studies revealed that mice housed in cages made from this material saw chromosomal mutation rates soar from 1-2 percent to 40 percent.
BPA has also been discovered in baby bottles. Countries like Canada, France, and Germany have already banned BPA from all baby bottles, and the EU is set to do the same. Additionally, BPA is present in everyday items such as CDs, DVDs, and laptops.
7. Flossing, or Washing Your Hair
Perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, are a group of chemicals containing fluorine that provide stain and stick resistance. These chemicals are incredibly difficult to decompose and can be found in nearly everyone around the world. They are also highly toxic. Used in a range of household and personal products, including dental floss and shampoo, they have been linked to kidney and liver damage. They are particularly dangerous to newborns and fetuses. The United States has the highest PFC levels globally.
6. Watching TV
Watching TV was never considered the healthiest of activities… unless you're doing star jumps while binge-watching 'Dexter.' Recently, the University of Queensland revealed just how dangerous TV watching can be.
It turns out that for every hour spent watching TV, we lose 22 minutes of our life. In the study, Australians over the age of 25 watched more than 9.8 billion hours of TV, leading to a loss of around 286,000 years of collective life. To put it another way, if you watch six hours of TV each day, you could die five years earlier. This is comparable to smoking two cigarettes for every hour you watch TV. So for those of you who enjoy smoking a couple of ciggies while binging 'Modern Family' – you're doubling the time shaved off your life.
5. Breathing Indoors
Forget car exhaust and industrial smoke: the air inside your home is reportedly four times more polluted than the air outside. This pollution comes from what are known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which include things like plants, paint, and cleaning products. New buildings are particularly polluted due to the many new materials inside.
The health effects of VOCs include a wide range of issues, such as damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system – as well as more common issues like eye and nose irritation and dizziness. Not to mention, VOCs have been linked to cancer.
4. Drinking Fruit Juice
Ah, but what if you maintain a healthy diet, work hard, and allow yourself to feel a bit grumpy? Surely you'd be guaranteed a long life (though perhaps not the happiest)?
Sulphur dioxide is commonly found in things like dried fruit, fruit juices, and even the ever-popular muesli. It serves as both a preservative and a binding agent to hold food together. Unfortunately, it’s not meant for the human body – once consumed, it interferes with nerve signals, limits lung function, and acts as a direct allergen. It has also been linked to miscarriages and ranks among the top two most common air pollutants.
3. Applying Sunscreen
For years, experts from skin specialists to Australian film directors have recommended we wear more sunscreen. Given its potential to prevent skin cancer, this advice seemed wise.
However, it turns out sunscreen may not be as amazing as it appears. Besides protecting you from sunburn, sunscreen also blocks essential vitamin D. This powerful vitamin supports bone health, boosts the immune system, and fights HIV. It also destroys cancer cells. It should come as no surprise that a lack of vitamin D makes people more susceptible to illness. In fact, in Europe, it’s estimated that a quarter of women who succumbed to breast cancer could have survived had they maintained proper vitamin D levels and gotten more sunshine. Or perhaps, simply wore less sunscreen.
The issues with sunscreen have been known for quite some time. Several toxic chemicals have been discovered in some sunscreen products over the years. These harmful and hard-to-pronounce toxins, like benzophenones, cinnamates, and menthyl anthranilate, are banned in the EU, Canada, and Australia, but continue to be sold in various sunscreen products in the US. Even worse, many of these chemicals mimic estrogen, potentially reducing sperm counts and causing birth defects in children. They even affect penis size.
The free radicals in sunscreen are absorbed into the bloodstream in at least 35% of cases, damaging fats, proteins, and DNA in certain cells. This can lead to premature skin aging and, ultimately, cancer. So while some sunscreens protect against skin cancer, they can also CAUSE CANCER. And lead to penis envy.
2. Eating Fast Food and Microwave Popcorn…But For Unexpected Reasons
While eating greasy French fries or popcorn isn’t exactly going to prepare you for a marathon, it’s not just the food itself that’s the problem. We all know fast food is packed with harmful ingredients – but the bigger issue lies in the packaging.
The bag your food comes in might just be as bad as the food itself. Scientists in Toronto found that the chemicals used to make fast food wrappers grease-resistant are leaching into the food – and eventually into our bodies. The FDA has labeled these chemicals as “likely carcinogens,” which means they have the potential to cause cancer.
Diacetyl, a chemical approved by the FDA and used in the fake butter flavoring on popcorn, is also linked to a respiratory illness known as 'popcorn workers lung.' This disease, which is common among factory workers who make popcorn, has even been found in one American who simply ate large quantities of popcorn daily.
1. Smiling
Sure, you don’t get in as much exercise as you should, and maybe you skip your daily servings of fruit. And, okay, you might be washing down your daily alcohol intake like it’s water. But hey, at least there’s one thing you’ve got on your side: your happiness. And no health enthusiast can take that away from you, right?
Well, it turns out they can. Happiness could actually be a health hazard.
The Longevity Project, a study that began in 1921 and has tracked 1,500 participants over the years, uncovered a surprising finding. Happy people tend to die younger than those who aren’t quite as cheerful. Or to put it in the words of Dr. Leslie Martin from La Sierra University, 'Participants who were the most cheerful and had the best sense of humor as kids lived shorter lives, on average, than those who were less cheerful and joking.'
Happy individuals tend to take more risks, push their health boundaries, eat less healthily, and often burn out early, living as carefree, perhaps alcohol-fueled junkies. But if you fall into the optimistic camp, don’t fret about it (and let’s be honest, you probably won’t); death itself might not even manage to wipe that grin off your face.
