The 22 Worst Pieces of Health Advice You Should Never Follow
The 22 Worst Pieces of Health Advice You Should Never Follow
When it comes to being healthy, you’re just trying to do your best. But it can be tricky to know what you should and shouldn’t do when you’re constantly being bombarded with health advice from all directions. Turns out, some of the common and age-old stuff you’ve heard or read all over the internet is actually...wrong. Here are 22 of the *worst* pieces of health advice you should never follow—and why.
You should try an elimination diet to lose weight
Wrong. An elimination diet is just what it sounds like: It involves eliminating certain foods from your diet. But it's designed to help figure out if you have any food intolerances or allergies—not to lose weight.
For weight loss, focus on exercise over diet
People have argued this for years, but research actually suggests the opposite is true. The reason dieting is so much more effective than exercise is because it takes a ton of activity to create a 500 to 700 daily calorie deficit you'd need to lose a pound in a week through working out. That doesn't mean exercise isn't important—it is. But it's crucial to eat well when weight loss is your goal.
Don't eat before bed to avoid weight gain
Nope, you actually don't need to worry so much about taking this advice. Some studies suggest the opposite, that eating a snack before bed can help you feel more satiated and eat less overall. But there's really no convincing data to prove that eating just before bed is a significant factor in weight gain—or weight loss for that matter. Follow your hunger cues and eat when you need fuel.
You should worry about your genetics first when it comes to Alzheimer’s risk
Yes, having a family member with Alzheimer's disease may increase your risk of developing it yourself down the road. But lifestyle factors also play a big role. Diet, exercise, and sleep can help you slow or even stave off the brain degeneration associated with Alzheimer’s—and those are factors you actually have control over.
To kick a hangover ASAP, chug a sports drink
Certain drinks *might* help replace electrolytes—sodium, potassium, phosphorus, chloride, calcium, and magnesium—and generally help regulate fluid levels in the body. But most hangovers aren't linked to an electrolyte imbalance. So, while sports drinks might help you rehydrate, they're unlikely to magically cure your hangover.
To clean a wound, soak it in salt water
Actually, the opposite is true. Salt water, like you'd find at a beach or bay, isn't sterile and can contain harmful bacteria—including flesh-eating bacteria. That can open you up to a serious infection.
Drink apple cider vinegar when you have a cold
People claim that drinking a diluted solution of apple cider vinegar will change your body’s pH levels to create an environment where bacteria and viruses can't live. This isn't proven.
The effects of ACV have been studied on bacteria that's outside the body, but it's unknown how it works on bacteria inside the body. Plus, most colds are caused by viruses—not bacteria—which means it's not going to do much anyway.
Don't bother getting a flu shot
Yes, the flu vaccine is more effective at preventing the flu in some years than others. But getting the flu shot can also lower your risk of developing serious complications of the flu, and help ensure that you'll have a milder course of the illness if you do happen to catch it. So, get your flu shot.
Do a body wrap to lose weight fast
People claim that body wraps can help you drop pounds fast, but it's not the kind of weight loss you're after. Body wraps could make you look thinner and may even cause you to lose a few pounds, but it will all be due to losing water weight—and therefore will be temporary.
You should take turmeric for a sharp mind
Turmeric is anti-inflammatory and works as an antioxidant. But while many people claim it can sharpen your mind and stave off Alzheimer's disease, there isn't really scientific evidence to back that up.
You don’t need to wash your feet in the shower
When you shower, soap and water runs down your legs and onto your feet, making it seem like it's got the area covered. But you don't get a pass on not washing your feet in the shower—they accumulate a lot of dirt and could use a serious scrub.
Don't worry about getting the flu more than once
Unfortunately, that's not the case. There are several strains of the flu that circulate on any given year and, even if you caught one strain of the flu, it doesn't mean you're not able to catch another strain.
It's better to drink alkaline water than regular water
Alkaline water is water that falls around 8 or 9 on the pH scale, about 1 to 2 levels above regular water's neutral pH (7). Fans say that alkaline water prevents your body's pH from becoming too acidic, by counterbalancing anything that would bring down your pH. But there's really no conclusive evidence that alkaline water is any better than plain old water.
You don’t need to clean your belly button
Your belly button can trap all kinds of gunk, including dead skin cells that naturally shed daily, debris, sweat, oil secretions, and small clothing fibers. But bacteria and yeast can grow out of control in there and, worst case scenario, you could end up with a bacterial or yeast infection. So, clean your belly button regularly with gentle soap and water.
Eat honey to help with spring allergies
The concept behind this makes sense: Eating local honey exposes you to the local pollens (that you're allergic to) and can actually make you immune to them. Unfortunately, this is an urban myth. Local honey does contain pollen, but it's not the same as the airborne pollens that cause seasonal allergies (trees, grasses, and weeds, which are dispersed through the air). There's also no scientific evidence to back this up.
Get rid of a sunburn with coconut oil
It seems like a good fit for tackling burned skin, but there’s no evidence that coconut oil is better to proven treatments like cold milk soaks and aloe vera, says Estee Williams, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
It’s important to eat foods with probiotics added to them
While it likely can't hurt, getting your probiotics this way likely isn't doing much. Many of the probiotic strains added to foods are chosen because they're safe and can be manufactured cheaply and easily. Basically, they're not necessarily the best ones for your health. Instead, eat foods with naturally occurring probiotics, or speak with your doctor about a supplement.
You absolutely need to take a multivitamin
Not everyone needs to take a multivitamin. If you eat a well-balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables in it, you may be getting sufficient amounts of vitamins and other nutrients already. Before you waste your money, talk to your doctor and dietitian about your eating and lifestyle habits to help gauge whether a multivitamin makes sense for you and would actually fill a nutritional deficiency. It's also worth pointing out that supplements aren't rigorously regulated, so you should always check with your MD before popping any unknown pills.
You should do a coffee enema to detoxify the body
If you're a healthy adult, you really don't need to do an enema (which is when you pump water or another substance into the rectum to the large intestine in order to flush out poop) of any sort, let alone a coffee enema. There's a misconception that ridding the body of all feces is detoxifying and de-bloating, but that just isn't the case. Your body is perfectly capable of taking care of itself when it comes to your waste products.
Detox teas are safe and effective for weight loss
There are *tons* of teas on the market that claim to help you de-bloat and flush toxins out of the body, and help you drop pounds fast. Pause: These sips tend to feature ingredients with laxative or diuretic properties, meaning they really just make you have to poop or pee. (So, you might feel lighter in a sense, but you won't really lose weight in a meaningful, long-term way.) These teas also have icky side effects a lot of the time, like painful gas, diarrhea, nausea, and more. Steer clear.
You don't need to wear sunscreen indoors
Whoever told you this one? Correct them already. If you're sitting by a window or driving in the car, you're still exposed to UV rays. Also, just because you're inside most of the day doesn't mean you won't see *any* sunlight—so it's always better to be safe than sorry. Lather up with the SPF, stat.
Get vitamin D from the sun
Nope, there's no such thing as a healthy tan. Time in the sun without sunblock should be reserved for super-short stints. If you're deficient in vitamin D, your doctor would be the one to let you know. In those cases, it's still not an excuse to ditch the SPF—a supplement might help instead.
You know better.