These Habits Can Put Your Immune System In Jeopardy

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These Habits Can Put Your Immune System In Jeopardy
These Habits Can Put Your Immune System In Jeopardy

These 4 Habits Can Jeopardize Your Immune System

(WellnessPursuits.com) – If ever there was a time to pay more attention to the good or harm that certain life choices can do to us, now is the time.

In an effort to substitute poor choices with better choices, unfortunately, some of our good intentions can lead to dangerous substitutes that jeopardize — rather than improve — our well-being. From juicing to vaping, here are four popular trends that may actually make your health worse.

1. Going Gluten Free With GF Packaged Foods

Gluten consumption has real risks for many adults and kids. Some people are sensitive to wheat and develop many negative health conditions, while others experience everything from thyroid issues to severe pain and gastrointestinal issues due to Celiac disease.

While it’s true that patients with gluten sensitive or gluten intolerant conditions benefit from eliminating gluten, they could also develop some issues if they substitute the wrong foods and/or they eliminate gluten without increasing folate levels from an additional source.

It must be noted that gluten-free food products, such as baked goods and prepackaged foods, also tend to be a great deal higher in sugar, carbs, fat and salt which bring their own set of health challenges.

If you decide to go gluten free, it’s best to stick to as many fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans and lean proteins as possible and avoid packaged foods. Do keep an eye on the scale. You’ll be pleasantly surprised if you go the fresh food route rather than reaching for pre-prepared gluten-free foods that contain many higher carbs than you’d expect.

2. Replacing Smoking With Vaping

A lit cigarette releases more than 7,000 chemicals, and smoke can also turn your teeth and nails yellow. Smoking-related issues claim the lives of more than 480,000 adults each year. Some people attempt to avoid these issues by replacing cigarettes with e-cigs, also known as vapes. While this may seem like a smart replacement, the truth is that vaping still has a lot of risks.

Many electronic cigarettes contain toxins that have been linked to asthma, inflammation and decreased lung function. Just like cigarettes, puffing on a vape may cause lung disease or even lead to cancer. Keep an eye on your health if you decide to take up vaping, and try to limit long-term use of electronic cigarettes. You might also consider talking to your doctor about other alternatives to help you quit smoking.

3. Eliminating Solid Food During a Juice Cleanse

Reducing calories during a juice cleanse may help you drop a few unwanted pounds, but not necessarily in a safe way. In fact, you may even gain weight due to the high sugar content of many juices. Even if you temporarily lose weight during a juice cleanse due to reduced calorie intake, the weight will come back on once you resume a regular diet. In addition, a juice cleanse may put you at risk for kidney stones, fainting and dehydration.

Although juice cleanses can be risky, juice itself can offer several benefits, including boosting your immune system and improving digestion. Instead of replacing every meal with juice, consider having a smoothie for breakfast instead of a stack of pancakes or a pack of donuts, or sip a small cup of juice instead of having chips or pretzles for a snack.

4. Using Coconut Oil for Everything

Coconut oil consumption has become increasingly popular, especially with the rise of keto and paleo diets. It’s thought to offer numerous health benefits, but coconut oil also increases your risk of developing heart disease. That doesn’t necessarily mean you should eliminate it from your diet completely; it just means you should be mindful of how much you consume.

The American Heart Association recommends limiting saturated fat consumption to 5% or 6% of your daily meals, which amounts to around 13 grams for an adult on a 2000-calorie diet. You can easily exceed that if you’re dropping dollops of coconut oil into smoothies, brownie batter, stir-fried veggies or coffee.

It’s often difficult to navigate the health fads that dominate social media these days. You may see friends losing weight on juice cleanses or kicking their nicotine habit with e-cigs, but remember that there are still risks associated with all of these seemingly healthy habits. If something seems like an easy fix for a health-related concern, be sure to run it by your doctor first.

~Here’s to Your Healthy Pursuits!

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