American consumers receive a steady stream of advice to drink lots of water, stay out of the sun, wash hands religiously, exercise regularly and on and on. Might we actually do ourselves harm with some of these seemingly healthful habits? Yes indeed, we learned from Kent Holtorf, MD, a leading physician in the fields of preventive medicine, endocrine dysfunction and immune disorders and founder and director of the National Academy of Hypothyroidism. He said that well-meaning efforts to improve our health can and often do backfire, sometimes with dangerous results. Dr. Holtorf offered advice on how to walk the line between taking steps to stay healthy and going overboard…
Not so fast — our water is not as safe as you think. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, as many as 19 million Americans are sickened each year by drinking water from the public supply. Not only has bacterial (and, though rarely, even viral) contamination been a problem, but traces of toxins including arsenic, uranium, radium, tetrachloroethylene and lead, along with minute amounts of pharmaceuticals and personal-care products, have been found. Bottled water isn’t the solution you might think, either. Many disposable plastic bottles contain bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical that has been linked with an increased risk for hormonal disturbances (especially thyroid), reproductive and fetal abnormalities, breast and prostate cancer, brain development issues and diseases, weight gain, neurological changes, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and liver disorders.
Best solution: Invest in a water filter for your home. Prices range from $20 for a basic water pitcher to hundreds of dollars for a home-wide filtration system. Shop at Web sites such as Brita.com. Dr. Holtorf notes that reverse osmosis home-filtration systems are most effective in eliminating contaminants. Buy reusable, BPA-free bottles (e.g., from retailers such as Nalgene.com) to bring drinking water along when you’re away from home.
Rising skin cancer rates motivate many to avoid the midday sun and/or slather on layers of sunscreen… yet Dr. Holtorf points out that most Americans are deficient in vitamin D, a key nutrient that our bodies most efficiently synthesize through sun exposure. Inadequate vitamin D levels raise the risk for heart disease and certain cancers. As for sunscreen, many formulas contain chemicals such as para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), which can cause allergic reactions and, potentially, liver problems as well.
The smart way: Do spend 10 to 20 minutes each day outdoors in the sunshine without sunscreen. If you want to sunbathe longer, liberally apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays and has an SPF of 15. Sunscreen with a higher SPF won’t hurt you, Dr. Holtorf says, but he views the extra strength as a waste of money.
It’s important to wash your hands frequently to avoid cold and flu germs and prevent food-borne disease… but using antibacterial soap causes more problems than it solves. Antibacterial soap is no better at getting your hands clean than regular soap—but its use contributes to the development of drug-resistant “super-germs.”
What to do: Keep washing your hands frequently with regular soap and warm water, but do not use antibacterial soaps.
More and more packaged foods are fortified with supposedly good-for-you vitamins and other supplements, but these aren’t always the best choices for your health. For some nutrients, such as folic acid, intake may climb too high if you are also taking a multivitamin and, in fact, research now links excessive folic acid consumption with cancer.
Instead: Choose whole, unprocessed, fiber-rich foods, and aim for a balanced diet that naturally provides a multitude of nutrients. One very good way to boost your nutrient intake is to drink freshly made vegetable juices, which contain an ideal balance of trace minerals and antioxidants along with thousands of beneficial phytonutrients that are not available in pill form.
Our fat-phobic society has thrown out the baby with the bathwater. Trans fats should absolutely be avoided, but other fats — even saturated ones — are vital to our health. The benefits of unsaturated fats in fish and flax oil are well known, as are the benefits of monounsaturated fats found in nuts, avocado and olive oil — which help balance cholesterol levels. Though saturated fats are generally considered to be unhealthy, they are an essential component of every single cell in our bodies, and there is some evidence that the kind of saturated fat in products such as coconut oil may aid in weight loss, digestion and cardiovascular health.
Try this: Rather than worrying too much about reducing fat intake, avoid simple and concentrated sugars, such as high fructose corn syrup, and avoid simple carbohydrates such as baked goods and white bread. Research shows that these are the worst culprits in weight gain, insulin resistance, high triglycerides and cardiovascular disease.
