Staying healthy is an important part of life, so it’s no surprise that people are always looking for ways to take better care of themselves. They watch videos full of fascinating wellness hacks, follow advice they come across online, and try out routines that promise to help them feel their best. The trouble is, something can sound perfectly reasonable and still end up doing more harm than good.
One Redditor recently asked users to share the supposedly healthy practices that can actually be damaging, and they came through with plenty of interesting replies. We’ve rounded up some of the best ones below. Scroll down to read them and weigh in in the comments. And, of course, if you have any concerns about your health, it’s always best to speak to a doctor.
#1
Having worked in education, we are being too forgiving towards kids. They need to learn that bad actions require discipline and the longer we let them act up with no recourse, they lose the ability to control themselves in the real world.
If they harm another student or teacher and the reaction is “kids will be kids” then we’re raising a generation of people who don’t care about the effect they have on others .
If they harm another student or teacher and the reaction is “kids will be kids” then we’re raising a generation of people who don’t care about the effect they have on others .
48points
#2
The continuous hype of having everything protein enriched when it's the lack of fiber in diet that is increasing colon cancer.
30points
#3
Detoxes or Cleanses. Your organs like the liver and kidneys remove unnecessary or unhealthy things. Not turmeric, cayenne, juices loaded with sugar, or only eating eggs and cabbage. Some people are out here fermenting urine and drinking it thinking it's detoxing them. What a world.
29points
#4
Tracking everything. Steps, calories, sleep scores, HRV. At some point it stops being health data and starts being anxiety with a dashboard.
28points
#5
My sister and her husband went on a parasite cleanse, sold to them by a travelling "wellness practitioner".
They bought multiple bottles of silver iodized water (from him) at $30 a bottle. They were also taking Wormwood capsules.
After, a couple days brother started complaining of stomach pains. They were told it was just toxins leaving the body.
I Googled both substances and found they were toxic.
Snake oil salesmen are still a thing.
They bought multiple bottles of silver iodized water (from him) at $30 a bottle. They were also taking Wormwood capsules.
After, a couple days brother started complaining of stomach pains. They were told it was just toxins leaving the body.
I Googled both substances and found they were toxic.
Snake oil salesmen are still a thing.
24points
#6
I work in the AI industry and quite a bit of AI related things are wrecking us. If you write an email and ask Claude to "clean this up", you are one of millions of people using Claude to do that. It's efficient, quick and makes sense. However, we all sound like a Claude email now.
23points
#7
The perpetual and interminable cycle of “self-improvement” that only exacerbates stress because you’re striving for an unobtainable perfection.
Self-improvement is excellent in small and incremental goals. It’s when it becomes reading self-help books, tracking habits, optimising sleep, monitoring productivity, journalling, tracking calories, tracking steps….reading more self help books, always more and more improvement.
Just remember that you’re human. You are not infallible.
Self-improvement is excellent in small and incremental goals. It’s when it becomes reading self-help books, tracking habits, optimising sleep, monitoring productivity, journalling, tracking calories, tracking steps….reading more self help books, always more and more improvement.
Just remember that you’re human. You are not infallible.
22points
#8
All my friends in their 30s/40s whose main sports activity is jogging and marathons... look a decade older than the rest of us, and have constant knee and hip issues.
Go swimming/weight-training/kayaking etc etc guys. Don't stress your joints or jolt your faces.
Go swimming/weight-training/kayaking etc etc guys. Don't stress your joints or jolt your faces.
22points
#9
Forced early wakeups if you aren't adjusting your bedtime. Some people tend to overdo it on caffeine when they get up early to workout but then stay up too late out of habit/caffeine in their system.
21points
#10
Fad diets. Has been for a long time, but the current "protein, protein, protein" fixation isn't great for your health unless you also ramp up your intake of vegetables. You can't exist on Chipotle bowls with white rice, double-steak, and two scoops of queso without serious consequences. Rates of colorectal cancer are surging in young people, largely driven by diet.
21points
#11
Thinking they need to constantly replenish electrolytes (but it's what plants crave)
Unless you're a pro athlete or work outside all day, you aren't losing enough sweat to necessitate it. You're just taking in a bunch of excess salt and that's gonna cause kidney damage.
Unless you're a pro athlete or work outside all day, you aren't losing enough sweat to necessitate it. You're just taking in a bunch of excess salt and that's gonna cause kidney damage.
21points
#12
Constantly being on the lookout for 'red flags' in people and then immediately cutting them off. The price of community is inconvenience.
17points
#14
Brushing your teeth after drinking coffee. I didn't know you're supposed to wait for at least 30 minutes because the acidity softens your enamel and it's more susceptible to damage 😬.
16points
#15
I feel like the whole 'proteins' in everything trend that is happening. Obviously protein is good for you but the amount of overly processed, sugary bad food/ drinks being released that have 'protein' written on them is crazy. And for some reason people think its healthy. Like, ooo this chocolate bar, bag of chips, chocolate milk etc is 'extra protein ' so just be healthy.
16points
#16
Being so afraid of potential pesticides or microplastics or whatever that you just avoid eating fruit and veggies unless you can find and/or afford the "perfect" kind.
15points
#17
I don't know if it's considered healthy but the idea of "broadening horizons" "experiencing everything life has to offer." You're human. You have maybe 70-80 years, fewer of them GOOD years, there's no way you can experience everything - it will exhaust you physically and financially. Some people even use that as an excuse to run away from good relationships, good work.
15points
#19
The “vegan diet” where 90% of their diet is highly processed. Just because the food item is labeled as vegan or plant based doesn’t mean it’s healthier.
14points
#20
Constantly stimming off of high caffeine pre-workouts. starts as an extra boost but quickly turns into a baseline energy level.
12points