Six health dogmas that can be broken

There’s no need to obsess over healthy habits that aren’t “developed” perfectly. Health and nutrition experts have found that some of the healthy habits that we have always advocated to be strictly followed do not matter even if they are not done exactly as required.

Break the health myth 1: Weigh yourself every day

Experts say: There is no way to accurately measure the progress of a daily diet plan. She believes: "Everyone's weight fluctuates by several pounds every day. This is due to many reasons. It may be constipation or bloating caused by the menstrual cycle, or it may be an increase in body water due to excessive salt intake." Weighing yourself every day can easily lead to frustration and cause you to eat more. If you find that you have gained a few pounds after weighing yourself, you may cut back on food or starve yourself, and may end up having a big meal; or if you eat too much vegetarian food and do not eat oily food, you may always want to treat yourself and indulge in high-calorie food.

Tip: Use the size of your clothes to measure your weight loss progress or weigh yourself once a week (preferably at the same time of day).

Breaking the health myth 2: Eat breakfast every day

For years, we've been told that eating breakfast can help us achieve and maintain a healthy weight, so, day after day, we've crammed in the largest possible breakfast, whether we're hungry or not. However, a recent study found that eating breakfast every day does not necessarily prevent obesity. Experts say there is not enough data to support the view that eating breakfast is an effective strategy for maintaining a healthy weight. But wait, didn’t nutrition experts warn that “skipping breakfast can lead to overeating at lunch”? He believes that this makes some sense, but is not enough to explain the whole problem. Whether eating breakfast causes weight gain depends on how big a breakfast you eat in the morning and how much extra you eat at lunch. He pointed out: "Many people usually have 600 calories for breakfast. But people who don't eat breakfast usually only consume 100 to 300 calories more at lunch. In addition, they may not necessarily overeat at dinner." Another view is that breakfast can activate the body's metabolic system. Reminder: "Eating breakfast has both advantages and disadvantages for metabolism. Making metabolism more active means that the body needs more food to keep it running." The advice is: listen to your body's feelings, eat only when you are hungry, and stop when you are full.

Of course, remember that it takes 20 minutes for the body's fullness signal to travel from the stomach to the brain. So, don't wolf down your breakfast, and choose as diverse and healthy foods as possible.

Breaking the health myth 3: Worrying about nutritional intake

A study suggests: "The nutrition we take in from each meal may have already exceeded our expectations." In fact, people's intake of essential vitamins and nutrients through three normal meals almost reaches a good level. Even if the numbers don't cover all aspects, the deviation is generally less than 10%, which is not a big problem. Most of us believe that our bodies are lacking some very necessary nutrients, so it is easy to fall into the trap of "more is better" and buy a lot of supplements to supplement our nutrition. Scientists recently analyzed data from 300,000 people and found that vitamin and antioxidant supplements do not help extend life. In fact, they found that some supplements, particularly vitamins A, E and beta-carotene, may even shorten lifespan.

Any nutrient can be harmful if consumed in excess, and supplements cannot replace food. However, vitamin D is a rare exception because it is rarely found in natural form in food. But if we often do not wear sunscreen and are exposed to sunlight for a few minutes, the body will automatically produce vitamin D, which can at least meet part of our needs.

Break the health myth 4: You should exercise like a health fanatic

Forcing yourself to exercise with great enthusiasm will not bring as many benefits to your body as you imagine. Experts believe that taking 30 to 45 minutes of moderate exercise a few days a week can bring maximum health benefits to the heart. Normally, you can also do several 10-15 minute exercises at intervals to get similar benefits. During exercise, the intensity can be as low as possible, for example, you can talk to people without any effort. Of course, try not to chat with people throughout the process.

Increasing the intensity of exercise from time to time, or making the exercise time longer than 45 minutes, will undoubtedly burn more calories, but the health benefits are the same: a study of 50,000 people found that those who ran at a moderate pace 2 to 5 days a week had the lowest mortality rate. In addition, there are many disadvantages to regular strenuous exercise, including being prone to sports injuries and not wanting to exercise anymore due to being too tired. Therefore, it is better to relax yourself during exercise so that you can stick to it for a long time.

Break the health myth 5: Make sure you drink enough water throughout the day

Forcing yourself to drink a lot of water every day is not necessarily good for your health. People generally have the following misunderstandings about drinking water:

(1) Drinking more water can improve skin quality - Wrong!

Experts believe that when you drink a glass of water, only a very small amount can benefit your facial skin.

(2) Drinking more water can lead to more urination and remove toxins from the body - Wrong again!

In fact, drinking more water can reduce kidney function.

(3) Drinking water can make you feel full and suppress your appetite – it would be great if it were true!

Studies have found that drinking water before a meal does not affect the calories people consume during a meal.

Health myth #6: Get a mammogram every year

This view has always been controversial, but some health experts believe that women should receive a mammogram every other year starting at the age of 50, unless some lesions are observed or there is a family history of breast cancer, in which case it can be adjusted to once a year. They also emphasize that women between the ages of 40 and 49 should tell their doctors when and how often they should get a mammogram. Isn't it true that the more frequent the check-ups, the more timely your health status can be? In many cases, the answer is no.

Mammograms expose the body to radiation. The earlier you start getting X-rays, the more radiation exposure you will accumulate over the years, which can potentially cause cell damage and increase your risk of cancer. Experts believe: "The greatest harm comes from 'overdiagnosis.' Sometimes, something that looks like cancer on the screen may eventually disappear on its own, or spread very slowly and cause no harm. However, an X-ray may 'capture' it and then be diagnosed as cancer. The consequences are either a false alarm that causes great stress or completely unnecessary treatment." Ultimately, as doctors say, most women who have X-rays will not gain any medical benefit.