Behavioral Patterns: 6 (supposedly) healthy habits that make you sick

It is well known that smoking and drinking are unhealthy habits. With other behavior patterns, this is not so obvious. On the contrary: you are considered healthy.

1. Hard training

Nobody has anything wrong with two to three training sessions a week. Exercise is great for the body, strengthens the immune system and promotes general wellbeing. However, if you overdo it, you increase your risk of serious illness. The muscles need time to regenerate after a workout. Do you just keep training? Then you have to expect that your bones "wear out" and your immune system is weakened. Because when the body is in a kind of constant stress, existing defense cells atrophy, which makes it easier for bacteria and viruses to penetrate the organism.

2. Skip breakfast

Do you skip breakfast to lose weight or avoid unhealthy snacks? Then let me tell you that this supposedly healthy habit is not doing your body any good. On the contrary: breakfast is not only the most important meal of the day, it also awakens the appetite for healthy food and dampens food cravings. It also gets your metabolism going. As a 2013 study by Harvard scientists found, skipping the first meal of the day can also increase the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

3. Get a tan

You probably all know that it's not healthy to spend hours in the sun without sunscreen. A little tan on the beach is okay, isn't it? After all, the skin looks healthy and rosy after sunbathing. No, because the fact is: every "unprotected" minute in the blazing sun can actively burn your skin cells and contribute to your skin cancer. The same also applies to the solarium! As experts have found, tanning salon goers have a 20 percent higher risk of cancer than tanning beds.

4. Take pain pills

Pain tablets can be a blessing in moderation and initially have a positive effect on the body. However, if taking pills becomes a habit at the slightest breath of pain, they can make you sick. Because: In the worst case, headaches are triggered by the pills themselves – which is not uncommon for people with chronic pain. In addition, ibuprofen, aspirin, and paracetamol can have negative effects on the stomach and liver.

5. Drink too much

Most women have trouble drinking enough and struggle with their two to three liters a day. For those who can drink water en masse, it should be said: Too much water can also be unhealthy. A special form of dilution natremia occurs when the water supplied in large quantities contains too little salt: This greatly dilutes the amount of sodium in the blood. In marathon runners this occurs quite often in a lighter form, they then report symptoms like those of brain edema, i.e. headaches, nausea and tremors.

6. Brush your teeth (over)

Three minutes – that's how long your teeth should ideally be brushed so that they get really clean. And that two to three times a day. Do you clean longer and more often? Then don't do it, because brushing your teeth too long increases the risk of damaging gums and tooth enamel. Little pressure should be used when cleaning. By the way: circular movements were yesterday, today you brush according to the sweeping technique – from red to white, i.e. from gums to teeth.

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