when we see one. Smoking? Check! Not
exercising? Duh! Gorging on doughnuts?
Of course!
But what about, say, eating lunch at your
desk? Turns out that can be worse for you
than you'd think (and here we were just
trying to be extra-productive).
It's not always easy to know what's good
for us and what's not, especially because
medical advice keeps changing as new
research emerges. (Remember when
eating eggs was considered a no-no?) But
never fear: We have the lowdown on 10
potentially worrisome everyday habits so
you will know just when you can -- and
can't -- relax.
You skip a birth-control pill now and
then.
The verdict: It won't kill you, but...
It could get you pregnant. For every 100
women using oral contraceptives,
between two and nine get pregnant each
year, mostly because of errors like
forgetting a pill or starting a pack late,
says Dr. Lauren Streicher, assistant
professor of obstetrics and gynecology at
Northwestern University's Feinberg
School of Medicine.
If you miss your daily dose: "Take it as
soon as you remember, or take two the
next day," she says. "If you skip two pills,
take two pills for two days, and use
backup birth control, like a condom, for a
week."
The best birth control is the one you use
consistently, so if you find you're having
trouble staying on top of a daily pill, talk
to your doc about changing things up --
IUDs and implants, for instance, are
effective set-it-and-forget-it options.
Health.com: Are you making these birth
control mistakes?
You load up your coffee with extras.
The verdict: It won't kill you, but...
A heavy hand with the condiments adds
empty calories to your diet -- especially if
you go for extra-large drinks, because
you're adding more flavorings than you
would for a small cup.
And we're not just talking about whipped
cream and mocha syrup: Even stirring in
half-and-half and a couple of packs of
sugar can add 50 calories to your five-
calorie cup of joe. Over a year, if you
don't offset those extra calories each day,
that's enough to pack on five extra
pounds.
That said, if you're generally a healthy
eater, then a splash of milk and a little
sugar are "not a problem," says Kelly
Morrow, associate professor of nutrition
at Bastyr University in Seattle. Just stick
to real milk. Typically low-fat nondairy
creamers are made of mostly corn syrup
-- i.e., added sugar -- and trans fats,
which research suggests can up your risk
for heart disease and other ailments.
Health.com: How to kick the coffee habit
You weigh yourself daily.
The verdict: No worries! Really!
Now, we're not suggesting that you step
on the scale every 15 minutes: Body
weight can fluctuate by several pounds
throughout the day, and watching it
bounce up and down like the stock
market will drive you bonkers. And it may
not help you actually lose weight,
according to a recent review of research
in The New England Journal of Medicine.
But weighing in once a day, in the
morning, after you pee and before you
put on your clothes, can be a smart way
to keep tabs on whether you've been
gaining over time, says Rena Wing,
professor of psychiatry at Brown
University and director of the Weight
Control and Diabetes Research Center at
the Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode
Island.
The center is home of the National
Weight Control Registry -- a database of
more than 10,000 people who have lost
at least 30 pounds and kept it off for at
least a year.
About 36% of people in the NWCR weigh
themselves every day. The trick is to
approach the scale as a source of data,
not judgment, Wing notes. So even if
you're up a smidge, don't let it tank your
day.
"Daily weigh-ins allow you to detect small
changes before they become big
changes," Wing says. "If you're up one
pound, you can adjust your eating for a
few days and lose it. If you're up 10
pounds, that's going to take some time
and work."
Health.com: 16 ways to lose weight fast
You use your kitchen sponge till it
shreds.
The verdict: It won't kill you, but...
That sponge sitting in your sink is germier
than you might realize, according to a
study in the American Journal of Infection
Control, which found that squeezing out a
wet kitchen sponge could leave up to a
million potentially illness-causing bacteria
(like salmonella and E. coli) on your
hands.
If you use it to clean your sink or counters
-- especially after you've mopped up raw
meat and poultry juices and only quickly
rinsed the sponge -- you're just spreading
those germs all over the place. Ick, right?
That doesn't mean you should never
reuse a sponge. You just have to clean it
thoroughly enough to zap the bacteria in
it, either by running it through the
dishwasher or nuking the damp sponge in
the microwave on high for one to two
minutes once a week, says Marianne
Smith Edge, senior vice president of
nutrition and food-safety communications
for the International Food Information
Council in Washington.
You scarf down lunch at your desk.
The verdict: It won't kill you, but...
When you nosh as you work, especially if
you're sitting in front of your computer,
you're more likely to overeat, according
to research in The American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition. When we're distracted,
the study showed, we tend not to recall
very much about what we've just put in
our mouths.
"That blunts the satiety" -- that is,
fullness -- "response and leads to
overeating," explains lead author Jeff
Brunstrom, professor of experimental
psychology at University of Bristol in
England.
Try to relocate to your office's kitchen or
cafeteria, or a spot outside, to eat lunch.
But if you don't have that luxury (and
really, who does?), Brunstrom
recommends at least turning away from
the computer screen for the duration of
your meal so you can savor each bite.
Health.com: The 25 best diet tricks of all
time
You text while you walk.
The verdict: Danger! Danger!
Being absorbed in your smartphone while
crossing the street is a really great way to
become roadkill. In a recent study, people
who traversed several busy intersections
while texting were four times less likely
than non-texters to look before they
crossed, cross with the light or stay in the
crosswalk. It also took them two seconds
longer to navigate the intersection.
"Crossing less cautiously and spending
more time in the intersection raises the
risk of being hit by a car. We certainly saw
some near-misses," says senior study
author Dr. Beth Ebel, director of the
Harborview Injury Prevention and
Research Center at the University of
Washington. "It's dangerous to text when
you're doing tasks that require your full
concentration."
You sit your bare butt on public toilet
seats.
The verdict: No worries! Really!
The toilet seat is probably the cleanest
thing you'll touch in a public restroom,
according to research done at the
University of Arizona, largely because
anxious women either use those seat
covers or otherwise wipe the seat before
touching down. So go ahead and make
yourself comfortable!
"There's this idea that if you sit on a
toilet seat you're going to get some
dreaded disease," Streicher says. "That's
just not going to happen. Things like
gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV don't live on
surfaces. And your vagina doesn't touch
the toilet seat; it hangs over the bowl."
So hovering is unnecessary -- and might
be more of a nuisance than anything:
"When you crouch, you might not empty
your bladder completely, so you'll have to
go again sooner," Streicher says. "I'm a
gynecologist, and I sit down firmly on
public toilet seats."
Health.com: 9 things to stop worrying
about
You pop OTC pain relievers like candy.
The verdict: Danger! Danger!
Stuff hurts and you want it to stop, so you
pop an Advil or a Tylenol. Nothing wrong
with that. But where this habit starts
getting a bit troublesome is if you're
regularly taking a lot more than the
prescribed daily amount. That can lead to
liver issues if acetaminophen is your pain
reliever of choice.
If you prefer NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-
inflammatory drugs), stomach and/or
kidney problems can occur. And if you're
one of the 25% of women who get
migraines, taking over-the-counter pain
relievers two or three times a week for
weeks on end can actually cause more
headaches, says Dr. Brian Grosberg, co-
director of the Montefiore Headache
Center in New York. (That's due to a
rebound effect that can occur after your
body gets used tomedication.)
That doesn't mean you're stuck stiff-
upper-lipping it.
"If you need to take a pain reliever a
couple of times a day for a couple of
weeks for knee pain or after surgery at
your doctor's recommendation, that's
OK," Grosberg says. "If you're going to
take more than the prescribed dose for
an extended period, tell your doctor."
Health.com: Surprising ways to fight
headache pain
You blow off going to the doctor.
The verdict: It won't kill you, but...
It's very important that you get all your
regular preventive screenings, like Pap
smears (now recommended every three
years for most women), mammograms
and cholesterol tests. And you really
should visit your doctor if you're not
feeling well, says Dr. Ateev Mehtora,
associate professor of general internal
medicine at the University of Pittsburgh
School of Medicine.
"In a 2007 study we did, most preventive
tests ended up being ordered when
patients saw their physicians because
they were feeling ill."
In an ideal world, you'd also see your
primary-care doctor for annual physicals.
That way, she can check your vitals,
update your chart and recommend any
screenings you're missing out on -- and
you have a chance to talk to her about
any issues you've been having.
That said, if you slip up and skip a year,
don't panic: A recent Danish study found
that going in for yearly checkups simply
because it's "that time again" doesn't
lower your risk of an early death.
However, do schedule that appointment,
if you can, just to be on the safe side.
Source: cnn
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