Misconceptions About Health

The topic of health has a lot of people going back and forth. New studies today will debunk the studies done yesterday and the cycle goes on. People are confused about the health benefits of wine to the heart, drinking eight glasses of water each day or even the importance of breakfast. In a world where health risks are constantly on the rise and diseases taking away precious lives, people are always trying to be healthier in every aspect of their lives.

The healthcare industry in the US itself is $3 trillion dollar strong and yet people are struggling to understand what it takes to be healthy. Here are four common misconceptions about health:

Coffee causes cancer –

There have always been controversies surrounding the health benefits of coffee. As a by-product of the bean roasting process, coffee beans contain a substance called acrylamide which is classified as a probable carcinogen. A case that has been developing for eight years in LA against coffee roasters, distributors and retailers have not yet been concluded. On the other hand, numerous studies have also shown that coffee reduces the risk of dying.

Truth–

The studies conducted on lab animals that proved acrylamide causes cancer had researchers use acrylamide amounts 1000 to 100,000 times greater than humans normally consume. No conclusive evidence has ever been derived linking coffee to cancer. A statement by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) read as follow – “Many epidemiological studies showed that coffee-drinking had no carcinogenic effects for cancer of the pancreas, female breast, and prostate, and reduced risks were seen for cancers of the liver and uterine endometrium. For more than 20 other cancers, the evidence was inconclusive.” While drinking moderate amounts of coffee is generally safe, it is important to remember that coffee has no nutritional value. A caffeine calculator can be used to determine the maximum number of beverages you can consume depending on your favourite drink.

Sleep is for the weak –

This is the biggest misconception that people often tell themselves. With the popular saying ‘There’s plenty of time to sleep when you are dead’, people are actually working themselves to death. In a world where success is measured by material things, people are working long hours and not getting enough sleep.

Truth –

Lack of sleep is one of the main contributors to several serious illnesses. The effect of sleep deprivation can be seen in increased risk of cardiac illnesses, type 2 diabetes, cognitive functioning, impaired memory formulation and retention, depression and other mental illnesses, weight gain, weakened immune system and so on. People spend one-third of their lives asleep and that is a good thing. With a REM cycle calculator, you can now determine the number of hours you need to sleep to go through the appropriate number of sleep cycles. With a quick search for best memory foam mattress in the UK, you can find various brands including some of the best hybrid mattress brands focused on quality, service, clinically proven products and superior care. It increases the quality of life, fast tracks your way to success and helps you lead the life you are working so hard towards. Lack of sleep can be due to various factors like stress, physical ailments, unhealthy sleep hygiene, bad mattresses and so on. So, go start measuring out your queen size mattress today.

Vitamin Supplements Keep You Healthy –

We need vitamins to lead a healthy life. Vitamins are found in the food we eat and therefore, it is important to have a healthy diet. Sometimes, we take supplements to absorb the vitamins that we have not taken during the day. Right?

Truth–

People with certain conditions like pregnancy, older adults in risk of developing osteoporosis and people suffering from genetic conditions can benefit from taking vitamin supplements. If not, people don’t need to take vitamin supplements. The only time you may actually benefit from taking supplements is when you are constantly indulging in an unhealthy diet. However, supplements are not a replacement for a healthy meal. Marion Nestle, Nutrition, Food Studies and Public health professor at New York University, had this to say about supplements. “Vitamin supplements are powerful placebos,” Nestle says. “People feel better when they take supplements in the belief that taking more vitamins will improve health. Most evidence shows that they do not.” Larry Appel, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research, says “Pills are not a shortcut to better health and the prevention of chronic diseases. Other nutrition recommendations have much stronger evidence of benefits—eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and reducing the amount of saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and sugar you eat.”

One hour in the gym is enough physical activity –

The problem with long working hours is that it forces us into a sedentary lifestyle. One hour at the gym is unfortunately not going to make up for the physical activity that is lost. By sitting for hours on end, you are living an unhealthy, dangerous life.

Truth–

Our bodies are created to be constantly on the move. The number of hours we sit during the day is an indicator of our health. The only way to overcome this is to incorporate physical activity in your daily life. Taking calls on the move, standing or stretching on round outdoor rugs and taking conscious steps to sit less is important. Going for a brief walk every 30 minutes is better than an hour of high-intensity exercise. Your desk-job might be hurting your metabolism, your waistline and your health. Peter Katzmarzyk, working in a leading obesity research center, says “A person may hit the gym every day, but if he’s sitting a good deal of the rest of the time, he’s probably not leading an overall active life.”

With a lot of agenda-driven studies, it is quite normal to be confused about what is healthy and what is not. It gets difficult to differentiate between a research study and an advertisement. The key is to understand what your body is telling you. Regular health check-ups can also tell you what your body is lacking. Excessively worrying about health researches can disrupt your peace of mind. A good mental and physical state of being is not too hard to achieve. It is taking one conscious step at a time.