7/29/2019 Everyday Health Risks Good Health, January 2013

1/4525252

7/29/2019 Everyday Health Risks Good Health, January 2013

2/453

goodheath.

You do you best to ead a heathy iestye, but you coud be jeopadisigyou heath without eve kowig it, discoves Boie Vaugha

Wokig at a desk job

Oice wokes take ote

sittig o pooged

peiods ca shote you

ie spa. A ew Austaia

study detemied that

peope who sit o 11 o

moe hous a day have

a 40 pe cet highe isk

o death om ay cause

compaed to peope who

sit o ess tha ou hous

a day. Those who sit

betwee eight ad 11

hous have a 15 pe cet

geate isk. Ad egua

execise doest hep.

Accodig to D Hidde

Va De Poeg, study

co-autho, ou sedetay

iestye is to bame. I you

have a sittig job ad you

dive to ad om wok,

watch TV a eveig o

use the compute thats

a ot o sittig, he says.

The pobem is whe

we sit dow, we dot

cotact ou musces

a actio equied to

cea ou boodsteam

o gucose ad ats. The

og-tem cosequeces

icude obesity,

cicuatoy pobems, a

sow metaboism ad a

iceased isk o cace.

Heathie ateative:

Beak up you sittig time

as much as possibe. Wak

to the pite; stad up

ad stetch evey hou;

wak at uchtime; tak

ace-to-ace to wokmates

athe tha sed emais.

Eve stadig o the bus

wi make a dieece.

Diets designed to rid your body of toxins

often require fasting, eliminating entire

food groups or consuming only juices.

According to Dr Katherine Hanna from the

School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences

at Queensland University of Technology,

these diets are fraught with potential health

issues. They not only omit key sources of vital

nutrients, they can also disrupt your metabolic

rate and ush out good bacteriawith bad. These diets usually

focus on the short-term

rather than taking a sensible

approach to long-term weight

maintenance, says Hanna.

HEAlTHIEr AlTErnATIVE:

Stick to a balanced diet

as recommended byThe

Australian Guide to Healthy

Eating and avoid foods with too

much added fat, sugar and salt.Also, drink plenty of water.

Cea upyou

(heath) act!

Goig o a detox diet

7/29/2019 Everyday Health Risks Good Health, January 2013

3/454

Gettig a ge

maicueThis popular procedure might give you a

polished look that lasts for weeks, but you

could end up with something a lot more

permanent such as skin cancer. The lamps

used to cure the gel polish are exposing your

hands to UV radiation. According to a 2009

US case study, two women who developed

non-melanoma skin cancer on their hands

had both been frequently exposed to UVnail lights, even though neither had a

personal or family history of the disease.

HEAlTHIEr AlTErnATIVE:Apply a broad

spectrum SPF 30+ sunscreen to your hands

before placing them under the UV light.

Better yet, seek out a salon that uses LED

lights instead.

Spucig upyou home with

ai eshee

A ecet US epot detemied

that sceted spays, cades,

ois ad ges may be a wose

o you tha ay asty sme.

These poducts eease

chemicas kow as voatie

ogaic compouds (VOCs),

which ca tigge aegy

symptoms ad asthma

attacks. Eve poducts maked

a atua o ogaic may

cotai VOCs which, eeased

i high doses, ca cause

headaches ad dizziess.

A dieet US study oud

that may commoy used

ai eshees cotaied

phthaates, chemicas iked

to homoa disuptio.

Heathie ateative: Make

up bouquets o coves ad

ciamo to eave out i sma

bows, add a ew dops o a

essetia oi to puiied wate

i a spay botte to use as a

mist, o ty the most atua

optio o a ope a widow.

Super-snug clothes like skinny

jeans, compression underwear

or tight belts all carry the risk

of a potentially painful sideeffect known as meralgia

paresthetica, caused by

continuous compression of

a nerve running from the

pelvis into the outer thigh.

The symptoms are numbness,tingling, burning pain and

shooting sensations, says

Emeritus Professor John

Willoughby from Flinders

University. The result may be

permanent nerve damage.

HEAlTHIEr AlTErnATIVE:

Wear loose-tting garments

for several weeks to ease the

pressure. Avoid wearinganything too tight.

Micowavigi pastic

Chemicas used i mauactuig

pastic cotaies o pastic wap

ca each ito the ood theye

ecasig whe heated i the

micowave. O chie coce ae

Bispheo A (BPA) ad phthaates,

which have bee iked to beast

cace ad homoe dysuctio.

Athough D Ia Musgave,

phamacoogy ectue at the

Uivesity o Adeaide, says the

amout o BPA is way beow the

isk theshod, we shoud be

cautious o usig od cotaies.

I the pastic stats to degade

o beak dow, the ikeihood

o mateia eachig out is

much highe, he says.

Heathie ateative:

Oy use cotaies abeed

micowave sae. I sti i doubt,

heat you ood ad beveages

i ceamic o gass.

Squeezigito skiyjeas

PhotograPhy

GETTYIMAGES/HUG

HArnOlD/GAllErYSTOCk/SnAPPErMEDIA

7/29/2019 Everyday Health Risks Good Health, January 2013

4/4

Usig spot-o fea adtick pet teatmets

Although convenient, these

formulations contain pesticide,

which is harmful to animals and

humans alike. Spot-on treatments

are neurotoxins, states Patty

Walcott, founder of Healthy Pets

Naturally. They destroy the nerve

of the insect thats how they kill

them. And while they say on the

pack that the product only gets

into the top tissue layer of the

animals skin, thats not true.

In studies, traces of the products

have been found in the animals

organs, intestinal tracts, stools and

urine. Side effects include seizures,

hypersensitivity, hormone disruption

and possibly cancer, and other

household animals exposed to thesechemicals are also at risk. Equally

worrying is the US Environmental

Protection Agency's nding that

pronil, the main ea-killing

ingredient, is a possible human

carcinogen. Their concern has led to

a reassessment of labelling language

and dosage recommendations.

HEAlTHIEr AlTErnATIVE:

While most tick collars or oral

ea medications are safer options,

Walcott prefers such natural

methods as bathing, combing,

electronic tick repellents and using

cedar oil sprays and shampoos

formulated especially for pets.

Remember, you have to treat the

environment, she adds, so spray

furniture and pet bedding with

cedar oil, add it to the wash, put it inoor cleaner, and vacuum a lot.

Usig amobie phoe

The atest sciece hods

that thees a possibe ik

betwee mobie phoe use

ad bai cace, with studies

suggestig that itesive

use (moe tha ha a hou

evey day o at east 10

yeas) iceases tumou

isk. Athough o deiitive

eects have yet bee pove,

studies ae ogoig.

Poesso Adew Wood,

eseach diecto at the

Austaia Cete o

radioequecy Bioeects

reseach, poits out that a

the eseach to date has bee

o ist-geeatio systems

ad wee up to 4G ow.

Techoogy is movig o,

he says. Its ow usig

ew equecies, dieet

positios o ateas, a

kids o thigs. So wed be

wise to keep ou guad up.

Whee thees sight doubt

o saety o somethig

that is so pevaet i the

commuity, you woud wat

to assume some sot o

pecautio, he advises.

Heathie ateative:

The uthe you hod the

phoe away om you body,

the moe you educe you

adiatio exposue. Use a

hads-ee headset, a eto

hadset, the speakephoe,

o be exta sae ad text, but

ot whie divig, o couse.