Are You Harming Your Health Without Realizing It?
By Sara Butler
Everyone knows that eating pizza and cheeseburgers every day, not exercising, and imbibing copious amounts of alcohol is not a recipe for a healthy body. But there are a lot of other habits that can be terrible for your health -- and you may not even realize it. That's because not everything that is bad for you seems as if it's really bad for you. Here are just a few of the things you may be doing that's inadvertently harming your health.
Using Artificial Sweeteners
At first glance, it may seem like a great idea to save calories by adding artificial sweeteners to your favorite beverages, but that may not be the case. Many artificial sweeteners don't provide a good environment for your gut's microbiome. Altering your gut bacteria can have a big impact on your health and may contribute to a problem being able to maintain a healthy weight.
It's best to try to reduce or eliminate your use of artificial sweeteners or opt for something natural, such as stevia.
Sleeping in Certain Sleeping Positions
There are some positions you can sleep in that are detrimental to your health. A good example is a fetal position. While this may seem like a cozy way to fall to sleep, it actually reduces your lung's ability to expand and can cause back pain to boot.
If you like to sleep in this position, then try to use pillows to help support your upper body and hips. This can help keep things working as they should. Or you could try a new sleeping position altogether. Back sleeping is often recommended as a healthy way to sleep for your whole body.
Not Drinking Enough Water
Water is essential to your continued health and wellness. If you don't drink enough of it each day, then it can have a big impact on nearly every system in your body. Staying hydrated can help to improve circulation too.
Make sure you're drinking enough water each day. There are apps you can install on your phone to help you remember to drink up. You can also buy a water bottle and make marks on it, challenging yourself to drink down to certain marks incrementally during the day. You may be surprised how much a water bottle you like can inspire you to drink more water!
If you need help deciding if what you're doing is hurting or helping your health, then the chiropractors at The Joint Chiropractic are happy to help.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Mission Viejo, Calif.