When it comes to our health, most of us do our best to keep things running smoothly. We eat healthy (for the most part), hit the gym a few times per week , and try to Zen out with some stress-reducing activities , like meditation, yoga class, and Friday night cocktails with friends.
But what if the things we’re doing for our health are actually causing more harm than good? Keep reading to find out what they are.
Eating spinach
Thanks to Popeye’s love of it, the world has been introduced to the firm notion that spinach is good for you. And it is — it’s rich in many nutrients , such as Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin C, iron, fiber, potassium, and more.
It’s also such a versatile leafy green to use.
You can add it to your favorite pasta sauces (yum!) to wilt or toss some into your morning smoothie. The trouble with spinach is due to something it contains called oxalates.
Since spinach contains some of this, it means that it blocks some calcium production.
So whenever you eat spinach, be sure to pair it with calcium-rich foods, like soybeans or cheese. A spinach and cheese dip sounds great right about now.
Wearing tight clothes
Who doesn’t like looking snatched? A tight dress or shirt will hug your body in all the right ways and even helps you stay on top of current fashion trends, like Kim Kardashian’s popular line of Skims.
But there’s a cost to this, as wearing tight clothing restricts blood flow and can even cause yeast infections.
There’s a reason you’re told to let your ladybits “breathe” down there. Tight-fitting garments, such as underwear and pants keep the vaginal area moist .
This creates the perfect breeding ground for fungus to grow and turn into a yeast infection.
This also helps prevent what’s called “tight pants syndrome.” This is when you experience a feeling of numbness going down your thigh when wearing constricting pants.
While this happening every once in a while isn’t dangerous, researchers say that continuous episodes could cause permanent damage.
For instance, you might experience abdominal problems. “When you put pressure on the abdomen, your food doesn’t digest,” Dr. John Michael Li, a neurologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, told CBS Miami .
“It risks not being able to be digested properly especially for people who have reflux esophagitis, heartburn or chronic heartburn,” they continued.
“Tight clothing can aggravate those problems.” Wearing tight clothes every once in a while is fine, but try not to make a habit out of it!
Eating beans
Another health habit that might be wreaking havoc is eating beans. Surprisingly, the issue doesn’t lie with the extra gas they cause. It’s because beans have phytates, an acid that stands in the way of our bodies absorbing calcium.
So if you eat lots of beans and not enough calcium, this can lead to weaker bones and weaker teeth.
The trick to avoiding these problems is to let beans soak in water for a couple of hours before cooking them.
Mouthwash
Mouthwash is a dental product that’s been advertised to kill bacteria and get rid of bad breath.
But it’s been found that many types of mouthwash contain substances that can actually cause dry mouth. This, as a result, causes bad breath. To avoid this, look for a therapeutic mouthwash instead.
