Living Well These days, it's getting harder to know who to trust.
We often hear people say things like...
"One day they say coffee is good for you... the next, it'll kill you." Or, "Last year, the news said eggs are bad for your heart, but this year they're OK to eat?"
I can't tell you how often we hear comments like this. With so many conflicting sources of information out there, how can you tell what's good, true, or even useful?
That's where we come in.
My team and I pride ourselves on sorting through all the noise to distill what you really need to know to improve your health and your wealth. I subscribe to more than 25 magazines, newspapers, and journals. I attend medical conferences around the world. We talk to professionals in the field... doctors, yoga instructors, even a meditation coach... all to find out what really matters.
Today, we're telling you what to stop doing immediately. We're calling out habits and routines that ruin your health and shorten your life...
1. Stop worrying about eating fat.
Going on a low-fat diet is one of the worst things you can do. That's because low-fat foods are full of overprocessed sugars. Eating these foods can create a vicious cycle that perpetuates hunger.
The real culprit in weight gain is processed carbs, not fat. In fact, you should add more healthy fats. Unsaturated fats, like extra-virgin olive oil, are best. They help protect your heart and keep insulin levels in check.
Longtime subscribers know we've advocated for the Mediterranean diet for years. It has been shown to help reduce diabetes risk, improve brain health, and even reduce risk for age-related macular degeneration, a disease that causes blurred vision and blindness for about 10 million Americans.
This diet just ranked No. 1 in U.S. News and World Report for the best diets of 2021. So give the Mediterranean diet a try this year... Load up on lean meats, fish, olive oil, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies.
2. Stop sabotaging your sleep.
We've all been there... when too much work and too many commitments start to take away from our sleep time. We stay up late and often rely on surfing the web or reading on our phones to try to fall asleep.
Don't let this happen. Sleep is the best way to improve your health. It restores your immune system and allows your brain to clear out debris. And using electronics disrupts your ability to fall asleep.
A study from the University of California, Los Angeles showed that sleep deprivation is just as dangerous as drinking too much. Your neurons can't perform correctly, and you'll suffer everything from visual problems to memory lapses.
Dependence on sleeping pills isn't the answer either... A study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that folks taking a type of sleeping pill (an anticholinergic) for three years or more had a 54% higher risk of dementia.
A few tips to get good-quality sleep include keeping your bedroom dark, cool, and free from electronics like your tablet or cellphone. Also, make a sleep schedule and stick to it.
3. Stop taking Prilosec for occasional heartburn.
Taking proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) is one of the worst things you can do, particularly if you've taken them for years. PPIs include drugs such as Prilosec, Prevacid, and Nexium.
PPIs damage your kidneys and dramatically increase your risk of heart attack. They also increase the risk of hip fractures because they interfere with bone health.
We also saw that PPIs increase your risk of stomach cancer. And in 2017, we even found they increase your risk of contracting a dangerous (and sometimes fatal) antibiotic-resistant superbug called Clostridium difficile, or "C. diff" (pronounced "see-diff") for short.
About 60% to 70% of folks taking these pills don't meet the medical criteria for them... Before you turn to these pills, try appropriate methods for mild heartburn – like changing eating habits, losing weight, and exercising (which helps move food around).
These three small changes will lead to major health improvements. So get started on your "quit" list today for a healthier, happier year.
Are you trying to break any bad habits this year? Let us know what you're working on... [email protected]
What We're Reading...
- Read U.S. News and World Report's latest top diets list.
- Something different: Rental cars in Hawaii are so expensive that tourists are driving U-Haul trucks.
Here's to our health, wealth, and a great retirement,
Dr. David Eifrig and the Health & Wealth Bulletin Research Team
May 6, 2021