10 Well-known Health Tips that Are Completely Bogus

Gluten-free, “Farm-to-table,” Non-GMO, Juice cleanse, Paleo; these are just a few of the words we hear on an almost daily basis from people around us who are really into health, fitness, and such and such. We have heard many health enthusiasts argue that the best food to put in our bodies is the organic kind. Many would also argue that eating meat does more harm than good to our health.

The health and fitness movement is like a religion that branches out into different branches with a set of core beliefs – and while some of these beliefs do not agree with one another, the point is that people go to great lengths to stay healthy and be fir (at least for the next few months after making that New Year’s Resolution).

It is because of so much information on health and fitness flooding the internet, many of us are led to believe that all of them work without even finding out if any of them are true, to begin with. So, in this list, we are busting those myths and showing you 10 well-known health tips that are complete hoopla.

#10 - Dark Chocolate is a Healthier Alternative to Sweets

We have all heard of the so-called benefits of Dark Chocolate. Over the internet and in different advertising media, people have made convincing testimonies that dark chocolate has a variety of great things for our health such as improved skin complexion, benefits to our heart, as well as improved brain and memory function.

While there is some truth to it because part of chocolate’s composition is a chemical called flavanol which does improve blood circulation to the brain and, incidentally, gives dark chocolate that sharp, bitter taste; the downside to this is that most chocolate bars that are readily available commercially have little to none of this beneficial chemical at all. Because of the process of how commercial chocolate bars – dark or regular – are prepared, flavanol is practically obliterated to up the levels of taste and flavor. A bar of Hershey’s would have flavanol in it but not enough to even kick start your blood circulation.

#9 - A Thoroughly Washed Chicken is Bacteria Free

Logically, washing raw food before putting it on the stove is an absolutely sound idea. After all, you would not want that raw meat gunk on your plate once you serve it for dinner and among the many meat products in the market, chicken is the most popular animal to be washed before serving.

It has been common practice in many households to give poultry a thorough cleaning before preparing it. While, indeed, you do get to wash off all the bacteria from the carcass, however, this does not mean that you are safe from microbial bacteria.

A splash and a spritz of water can effectively transfer bacteria such as salmonella onto kitchen counters, cutting boards, and even our arms through the water droplets that splash back from the wash.

In truth, washing off bacteria from chicken or any other meat product is an exercise in failure and the best way to kill disease-causing germs and bacteria is to thoroughly and properly cook your food. A good and sufficient blast of heat from cooking can instantly eliminate microbes and germs.

#8 - Antioxidant Supplements are your Frontline Defense against Cancer Cells

We are all guilty of spending hundreds of dollars on dietary supplements and vitamins that promise to keep us in peak condition, but most of us have been duped by supplements claiming that they have antioxidants that can help prevent some cancers and diseases.

While antioxidants are essential to our body chemistry, having an excess of it can be much more harmful. Antioxidants occur naturally and can be easily found in certain fruits such as tomatoes and drinks like different kinds of tea, but the most popular kind of antioxidants come in the form of processed pills and supplements.

The fact of the matter is that the body has both Oxidants and Antioxidants, each keeping the other one in check. But the commercial health supplement market has overplayed the role of antioxidants and has been widely claimed as the one thing that can prevent cancer. Unfortunately, as our bodies consume these supplements on a regular basis, our body chemistry receives an imbalance as these supplements also attack the “good” oxidants in our body, making us much more susceptible to deadly diseases and cancers.

Antioxidant supplements are not entirely evil or harmful. As with anything else concerning diet and our health, everything is a matter of moderation and, if you can opt for more natural sources of antioxidants from the food you consume rather than buying it from a shelf.

#7 - Always Wash Your Hands to Keep Germs at Bay

The first line of defense against diseases is keeping your hands clean, literally. The benefits of washing your hands with soap and water are numerous and have been proven by science to deter illnesses such as the flu.

While it is, indeed, a good practice sometimes we can get a little overboard without even knowing it. Constant hand washing, especially with antibacterial soap, can strip away moisture from our hands and leave them sterile. The chemicals in the soap can eliminate bacteria indiscriminately leaving our palms even more vulnerable to the elements.

There are naturally occurring bacteria in the human body, and this is a by-product of millions of years of evolution. These bacteria actually help prevent diseases and germs from clinging to us and potentially infecting us with disease; the same bacteria that antibacterial soap and chemicals eliminate with constant washing.

Washing your hands should be a practice, but it is much more prudent to keep it at a maximum of two times a day or after doing a really messy job like gardening or picking up after your dog in the park.

#6 - Your Muscles Instantly Turn to Fat if You Don’t Workout

The general myth is that when you decide to quit the gym or give up on working out because of your schedule or because it’s just too hard, the muscle that you have gained will turn into flab.

The truth is that muscle and fat are two different sets of tissue and comparing them is like comparing apples to oranges.

You have to imagine your body as a machine, and each part of it has a role to play, and there are different ways to keep each part of the body in top condition. People who have stopped working out will indeed see a significant change in their bodies and notice that they are gaining an excessive amount of fat. The thing is, muscle mass is lost when it is not constantly exercised. You don’t gain fat when you stop working out. It is quite the reverse. You lose muscle mass when you stop your exercise regimen.

#5 - Juices Can Be A Healthy Alternative to Soda

True and false. A dietician or your doctor may recommend you to consume a glass of fresh fruit juice each day to keep up with your daily vitamin intake, but it is not a healthy alternative to, let’s say Diet Soda.

Fruits are, without a doubt, packed with vitamins and minerals enough to last you an entire day but it is also packed with sugar. Whether it is natural sugar or processed sugar, whatever form it comes in, it is still harmful in large doses, and juices count as one of the culprits.

People swear by juice cleanse and, admittedly, there are positive results from detoxifying by drinking juice for a specific amount of time but without proper information and education, going overboard on juicing can lead to obesity or diabetes.

Another point is that it is a known fact that fruits  - as well as vegetables – lose a considerable amount of their nutritional value when they are put in a blender. So, you’re getting less of the nutrients but still the same amount of sugar. Your best option is still to keep your consumption in moderation.

#4 - Sweat is the Best Way to Know that You Are Burning Fat

Sorry guys, but sweating buckets do not count as losing calories and shedding a few pounds.

Sweating is the body’s natural response to cool down in a hot climate or after an intense activity like running or working out. What triggers this is our metabolism that, to put it plainly, boosts our energy and excites our metabolism.

In fact, weight loss and calorie burning are attributed to our metabolism. Naturally, as we get older, the less energy we need to burn and our metabolism slows down to suit our needs, but to avoid packing on some pounds as we age, a good workout or exercise regimen will keep our body burning through energy as well as unwanted flaws.

While you may think that sitting in a sauna is good for weight loss, the only benefit you are actually getting out of it is opening up your pores and sweating out toxins from the body.

#3 - The Best Way to Get a Six Pack is by Doing Crunches and Sit-ups

Here is an eye-opener. We all have that six-pack we dream of. We do. The human anatomy is designed in such a way that our muscles have a definition no matter our body shape.

The problem with not getting the abdominal muscles we so ever thirst for is not because we don’t take time to develop them; it’s mostly because of our diet.

It has been pointed out by experts that doing crunches or spot training specific points in our bodies – especially the abs – can only do so much. Crunches and sit-ups actually do not shape and sculpt our abdominals. What they do is they strengthen the muscles in that area. Having a proper diet by lessening sugar and sodium from what we eat – coupled with a good workout routine – is a much, much more effective way of getting that beach-ready body.

#2 - Going Gluten Free is the healthiest diet choice you will ever make

This is a trend that has been making waves in the healthy living and diet communities around the world. To them, gluten is some kind of evil substance that ruins your body and invited some diseases. In truth, a gluten-free diet is only necessary for people who have celiac disease.

While many people have claimed of the wonders of a gluten-free diet because they were able to effectively shed pounds, the main reason behind it is because they have eliminated various food items from their table and ended up with a much lower caloric intake and not because they went gluten-free. Having to reduce food portions or eliminating junk from your diet will actually have the same result without needing to go on a trendy gluten-free life choice.

#1 - Carbs Make You Gain Weight

Ask a doctor or a nutrition expert about carbs, and they will most probably say that it is an essential part of any diet.

It is a mystery how this myth came to be and how it continues to catch on without any signs of letting up.

Carbohydrates are a primary source of our body’s energy. Without it, we will simply slow down and be lethargic. The myth that it makes you gain insane amounts of weight it, to be fair, a little bit baseless. While there is a variety of carbohydrates that we can get from different kinds of food, the “good” kind of carbohydrates come from crops like sweet potatoes and fruits. It is the “bad” kind of carbohydrates that give carbs a terrible reputation in the dieting community. Bad carbohydrates essentially give you a quick boost of energy and instantly dips and crash once you’ve used it all up. They are mainly partnered with sugar and starch and have little to no nutritional value like white bread and processed food.

Essentially, carbohydrates aren’t the bad guys. It’s just that we’ve come to love sugar so much that many of us fail to notice that this sinister ingredient is to blame for our widening waistlines.

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And there you have it. 10 completely bogus health facts! Let us know what you think and share your ideas with us in the comments section!

Sources:

http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20765578,00.html#myth-crunches-are-the-key-to-flat-abs--0
http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/health-myths-debunked/
http://www.cracked.com/article_22606_6-well-known-health-tips-that-dont-work-at-all.html

Insane Things People Have Done Through History to Achieve Eternal Youth

Man is in an endless pursuit to achieve immortality. For as far as mankind’s written history allows us to recall, humanity has always been fascinated in finding ways to extend our lifespan in the hopes of slowing, if not putting a permanent stop, to our body’s inevitable biological aging process. For some, our attempts at prolonging life is limited to the more conventional method of leading a healthy lifestyle by eating nourishing food, exercising and maintaining a positive and tranquil state of mind. 

However, at several points in our past, we find people who have pushed the boundaries of human creativity and imagination in their attempt to gain eternal youth. From a more scientific standpoint that we have today, some of the lengths these individuals had taken during their lifetime to become immortal are not only deemed as completely misguided but could also be regarded as bordering on insanity.  

And so, for this video, let’s enumerate the insane things people have done throughout history to achieve immortality or eternal youth. 

#1 —  Bathing in Sour Donkey Milk

Cleopatra came to be known in history as the last Ptolemaic queen of Egypt and is arguably the most famous member of the Ptolemaic dynasty’s royal line. But other than her role in the Roman political conflicts that eventually led to the downfall of the last dynasty of ancient Egypt, she also gained renown for her striking beauty and irresistible allure. As to how she managed to retain her youthful and brilliant glow, Cleopatra regularly bathed in sour donkey milk. In the ancient times, the donkey’s milk was used as some kind of chemical peel, as the lactic acid it contains peels off the topmost layer of the human skin. The queen was also believed to be fascinated with using other means to maintain and enhance her physical appearance such as utilizing crocodile feces as a rudimentary form of makeup foundation. 

#2 — Drinking the Blood of Gladiators

The Romans were very creative when it came to coming up with various and sometimes revolting concoctions in an attempt to improve their health or extend their lifespan. One example of an unpleasant habit that the Romans largely practiced for centuries is drinking the blood of gladiators. As people who fought to the death for a living, gladiators were highly-regarded for their bravery, strength and vitality. And it was believed that those who would want to inherit a gladiator’s power must drink the warrior’s warm blood in order to consume his essence and soul. In fact, some people who suffered from epilepsy at the time considered the blood of gladiators as an effective cure for their affliction. Their blood was such a hot commodity during this era that people would rush down into the arena and sip a vanquished fighter’s blood straight from his arm or throat to absorb his power. There were also concession stands that made a lucrative living by selling the blood of these gladiators while the blood servings were still warm. 

#3 — Consumption of Immortality Pills & Elixirs of Life

The Western world was not the only civilization interested in finding the answer to attaining eternal youth. Imperial China’s history is also filled with tales of men or groups of people who have dedicated much of their life in concocting immortality pills and elixirs of life that would grant ceaseless existence, be it physical or spiritual. Many Chinese alchemists have dared to make their own formulas of pills and elixirs that could supposedly cease and potentially even reverse the process of human aging. These efforts were largely supported by several emperors as well as members of the noble bloodline who hoped death would not be able to take away their power, influence and legacy. 

The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huang, for example, was not just known for being the first ruler to unify China; he was also known for his obsession in finding the key to immortality. He sent people away to look in different parts of his vast empire for a “real” Elixir of Life that would grant him eternal life. He even took immortality pills which were formulated by his alchemists. In the end, the emperor died young at 39 years of age and the most likely cause of his demise was mercury poisoning, perhaps from all the immortality pills he, consumed during his brief life. 

Unfortunately, the dream of living forever was not exclusive to Qin Shi Huang. Many other emperors of China that came after him also regularly consumed immortality pills and drank elixirs which contained toxic substances, and instead of extending their lives, these pills and elixirs only shortened the duration of their respective reigns.

#4 — Self-Mummification

Mummification is the process which involves the intentional or incidental preservation of a deceased’s skin, flesh and organs. But not all mummified bodies were preserved after their death; some people in the past deliberately commenced the preservation of their corporeal body while they were still alive in order to achieve a superior and more enlightened state of being.  

“Sokushinbutsu” is an ascetic practice of Buddhist monks largely performed in Japan which is believed to have started sometime in the 11th century. This extreme Buddhist practice of asceticism involved the shunning of all worldly pleasures to the point that the monks would enter a process of self-mummification even while they were still alive. The Sokushinbutsu requires a period of around 3,000 days up to ten years before the entire process is completed by devoted monks. They would have to follow a very strict diet referred to as “mokujikigyo,” which literally translates to “eating a tree.” This means that the monk could not eat anything more than the seeds and resins that could be gathered in the mountains, and must abstain from eating cereals. Eventually, these monks would fast and meditate for longer periods of time until they completely starve themselves, denying themselves even the consumption of liquids. Even in this weakened condition, they would continue to be in a state of “jhana” or meditation until they die. Their dehydrated bodies would become naturally preserved mummies that are still revered and venerated by many followers of Buddhism. Some people today even still regard these mummified monks as very much alive although their bodies are said to be in a deep meditative trance. 

Hundreds of Buddhist monks in Japan attempted to achieve this extreme form of meditative state, but only 24 monks so far were granted the status of being the “Living Buddha.” Eventually, the practice of Sokushinbutsu was outlawed by the government of Japan in the late 19th century although self-mummification in their culture still endured until the 20th century. At present, however, Sokushinbutsu is no longer an advocated Buddhist practice in the country. 

#5 — Drinking Gold Chloride

Among the most notable cases of people who have pursued eternal youth is that of Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of King Henry II of France. The king’s official wife was Catherine de’ Medici but he found much comfort in having the widow Diane de Poitiers as his companion even though she was 20 years older than him. History books wrote of her youthful appearance and her porcelain-like skin that never seemed to fade even as she grew older. 

King Henry II’s mistress took great lengths to ensure that she maintained her physique. She kept in shape by swimming daily, horseback riding and hunting. However, her beauty secret that ensured permanence of her great white skin is her regular consumption of an elixir which contained a mixture of gold chloride and diethyl ether. This concoction was very popular at French court and was believed at the time to be an effective anti-aging treatment for its ability to harness the power of the sun and transfer it to its drinker. 

However, Diane de Poitiers’s obsession with keeping her youthful beauty came at a great cost, as her desire to look forever young and the remedy she resorted to in order to preserve her appearance was the one that slowly and eventually killed her. At age 66, her daily dose of gold chloride indeed made her look half her actual age, but she is also thought to have succumbed to the secondary effect of the concoction – that is, chronic gold poisoning. 

Even in modern times, man remains engrossed in its quest for eternal youth and prolonging human life. Most people have chosen to stick with more conventional methods such as maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle, while others have turned to the breakthroughs of medical science for more radical options that would allow them to enhance their beauty and cling onto their youth for as long as possible. The priorities of modern science, of course, are beyond maintaining a person’s young and beautiful aesthetics. The field of medical science is also fixated with making the human body impervious to deterioration by finding a way to permanently suppress cell death and consequently achieve actual physical immortality. 

There’s no certainty when humanity may successfully unlock the secret to eternal life and perpetual youth, but should the time come that we do become immortals, what do you think would life mean for us then if we consciously know that we can never die? Perhaps that is the bigger mystery we should try and answer first.

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SOURCES:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4577860/Man-s-craziest-attempts-history-cheat-death.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleopatra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemaic_dynasty
http://hippocratescode.com/epilepsy/
http://io9.gizmodo.com/5917027/powdered-mummy-gladiator-blood-and-other-historical-medicines-made-from-human-corpses
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12953616
http://www.allday.com/these-real-people-actually-tried-to-achieve-immortality-2180824159.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pill_of_Immortality
http://io9.gizmodo.com/7-ways-that-people-died-trying-to-become-immortal-1691947345
http://nifymag.com/the-craziest-things-people-have-ever-done-throughout-history-to-try-and-cheat-death/#.WVcLKoiGPb0
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokushinbutsu
http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-gruesome-and-excruciating-practice-of-mummifying-yo-1515905564
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6865939/French-kings-mistress-poisoned-by-gold-elixir.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1236916/Dying-look-good-French-kings-mistress-killed-gold-elixir-youth.html