Everyone understands that unhealthy habits are harmful to their health. However, some of our lifestyle choices are more harmful than others. Some of them may even be silently killing you.
Knowing about these harmful health habits might save your life. It can be what you eat and drink to health concerns you may not be aware of.
This article covers thirteen such habits that might be killing you silently, according to experts, and how to protect yourself from these harmful lifestyle choices.
13 Daily Lifestyle Choices
Here is the list of 13 lifestyle choices that can change your life.
Unhealthy Lifestyle
Obesity and having unhealthy lifestyles are also highly dangerous to your health. “Obesity increases the chance of acquiring several lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, arthritis, sleep apnea, and atherosclerosis,” Dr. Mareiness continues.
Weight loss can greatly reduce this risk and may even be beneficial in reversing certain diseases. Obesity is the result of sedentary lifestyles, which may allow for continuous calcium loss in old age.
Avoiding Doctor
Ignoring to see a primary care physician or undergo medical screening is one of the most stupendous health decisions you can make.
For Example, “Refusal to screen for breast cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer can result in a severe health condition that might not be even treated due to its final stage” explains Darren P. Mareiniss, MD, FACEP, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Sidney Kimmel Medical College – Thomas Jefferson University.
A similar example, cancer that might have been treated earlier may have spread and become incurable. “Failing to report early signs or visit your primary care provider may also result in major medical problems being undetected.”
Improper Dental Care
Dental care should be a top priority at all times. “Poor dental care can result in not just poor appearance, but also terrible breath and oral pain,” Dr. Mareiniss explains.
It can also be a cause of serious head/neck infections as well as systemic infections.
Bad Sleep Habits
Dr. Mareiniss says that poor sleep cycles can lead to catastrophic accidents and daytime sleepiness. “Chronic sleep deprivation may raise the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart attack, and endocrine problems.
He mentioned, ” Undiagnosed sleep apnea can also lead to right-side heart failure/pulmonary hypertension. Patients with sleep apnea frequently snore and have apneic (not breathing) episodes”.
Patients who snore and have daytime sleepiness should undergo a sleep study.
Failing to Take Your Medications
Medication denial is one of the riskiest things you can do. According to Dr. Mareiniss, “depending on the disease and the medicine, irregularities might result in a wide range of emergencies.” Missing insulin or oral hypoglycemic medications, for example, in a diabetic patient can lead to life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) or hyperosmolar hyperglycemia (HHS).
A patient with heart problems can have a severe condition if they do not take diuretics.
A patient with a history of pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis can have a life-threatening pulmonary embolism if they do not take anticoagulation.
A patient with atrial fibrillation can have strokes if they do not take anticoagulation, and dialysis-dependent kidney failure patients can have strokes if they do not take anticoagulation.
Skipping Breakfast
Although many people do not have enough time to eat in the morning or are not hungry when they get up, missing breakfast can have long-term negative repercussions.
“Skipping breakfast is associated with an increased risk of acquiring cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in America, according to a research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology,” says Niket Sonpal, MD, an NYC Internist, and Gastroenterologist.
The most obvious reason for this relationship is that if you skip breakfast, you are more likely to overeat during the day. It is critical to not only have breakfast every day but also to ensure that it is nutritious.”
Heavy Dinner
Try not to eat your largest meal at night. “For breakfast, eat like a queen, princess for lunch, and bird for dinner,” advises John Morton, MD, MPH, chairman of bariatric surgery at Yale Medicine and professor of surgery at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn.
Why? “At night, metabolism slows,” he explains.
Having Cheat Meals
If your doctor advises a certain diet, stick to it. For example, Failure to follow a low sodium diet might result in exacerbations and hospitalisation for heart failure patients.
Similarly, failure to control sugar/carbohydrate consumption in individuals with diabetes mellitus might result in hyperglycemia, DKA, or HHS “Dr. Mareiniss says.
Refusing to Take the COVID-19 Vaccine
Dr. Mareiniss advises that failure to receive the COVID-19 vaccination poses a major danger. “Everyone eligible should be vaccinated. The Delta variation is more contagious as well more lethal than previous versions.”
Missing Important Vaccines
Maintain your vaccination regimen at all times. “Failure to pursue immunisation puts you at danger for numerous illnesses,” Dr. Mareiniss adds.
Without immunisation, children are vulnerable to severe bacterial illnesses, which can be fatal, as well as viral infections.
Unvaccinated children are considerably more likely to get potentially fatal bacterial illnesses.”
Excessive Exposure to the Sun
According to Dr. Mareiniss, failing to apply sunblock can result in burns and an increased risk of skin hostilities such as melanoma.
Sunblock should be worn to avoid burns and cancer risk, especially for fair-skinned persons and those with a family history of skin cancer.
Workout in Very Hot Condition
Jennifer Conroyd, Certified Fitness Trainer and Founder of Fluid Running caution that exercising in the heat might result in heatstroke. During the summer, many want to take advantage of the good weather by doing their workouts outside.
“While a change of environment might be refreshing, exercising in the heat can pose severe health concerns such as heat stroke,” she says.
“As your body’s internal temperature rises, more blood circulates through your skin, causing perspiration.” As a result, less blood is available for the muscles, causing your heart rate to rise.
Trying to be strong and pushing through symptoms of heat-related diseases can lead to heatstroke, which happens when your body’s temperature rises above 104° F.
Heat Stroke can be fatal if the body is not promptly cooled down. It is critical to keep hydrated, take pauses, and pay attention to changes in your body when working out in hot weather.”
Smoking
Dr. Mareiniss says why smoking is the worst thing patients can do to themselves.
“It not only raises the chance of almost every form of cancer, but it also increases the risk of coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, renal damage, hypertension, and strokes.
It is also the direct cause of COPD, lung cancer, and emphysema.” Another unanticipated method is that smoking can be harmful to your health? According to Gbolahan Okubadejo, MD, NYC Spinal and Orthopedic Surgeon, it is harmful to spine health.
Summary
These lifestyle choices sound very common and are part of almost every individual. However, we kept following these habits that might be poisoning us secretly. Now it’s time to take the reign of your life and eradicate these silent killers from your lifestyle habits.
