Do You Do These? 5 Everyday Habits That May Be Bad for Your Health
Author: Eat Well · Feel Well · Live Well Editorial Team
Exercising regularly. Eating breakfast. Drinking enough water. Keeping food clean and safely stored.
All of these sound like part of a healthy lifestyle.
But some everyday habits we barely think about can work against us — especially when they are based on things we have simply always assumed were right.
This does not mean that doing something once will suddenly harm your health.
The point is much simpler: small habits repeated every day are worth looking at from time to time.
Here are five common routines that may deserve a second look.
1．A Workout Doesn’t Cancel Out a Day of Sitting
You went for a run in the morning. You made it to the gym.
So sitting at your desk for the next several hours should be fine, right?
Not necessarily.
Being physically active and spending too much time sitting are two different things.
The World Health Organization defines sedentary behaviour as time spent sitting or reclining while using very little energy. Longer periods of sedentary behaviour have been associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
WHO guidelines therefore recommend not only being physically active, but also reducing the amount of time spent sitting.
In other words, exercising in the morning does not completely cancel out spending the rest of the day barely moving.
Small changes can help: stand up while taking a phone call, walk to get a drink, or simply leave your desk for a few minutes throughout the day.
Instead of asking only, “Did I exercise today?”, it may also be worth asking:
“How long have I been sitting without moving?”
Worth remembering : Regular exercise matters, but so does breaking up long periods of sitting.
2．Eating breakfast before brushing your teeth
Wake up. Make coffee. Eat breakfast. Brush your teeth afterwards.
For many people, this is simply the normal order of the morning.
During sleep, however, saliva production decreases, allowing bacteria associated with plaque formation to accumulate more easily in the mouth.
Brushing before breakfast removes some of that overnight buildup and also leaves fluoride from toothpaste on the teeth before eating.
Some dental experts therefore favour brushing before breakfast.
That does not mean brushing after breakfast is unhealthy.
Timing matters.
If breakfast includes acidic foods or drinks such as orange juice or citrus fruit, brushing immediately afterwards may not be ideal because acids can temporarily soften the tooth surface.
Dental guidance generally recommends waiting before brushing after consuming acidic foods and drinks.
The most important habit remains simple: brush thoroughly twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
If you prefer an uncomplicated morning routine, brushing soon after waking up can be an easy option.
Worth remembering : Brushing before breakfast is a simple choice. If you brush afterwards, pay attention to what you have eaten and avoid brushing immediately after acidic foods or drinks.
3．Your Water Bottle Needs More Than a Quick Rinse
A reusable bottle goes everywhere with you.
And because it contains nothing but water, it can be tempting to think that a quick rinse is enough.
But the water itself is not the only issue.
Every time you drink from the bottle, open the lid or touch the mouthpiece, microorganisms from your mouth, hands and surroundings can be introduced.
The inside of a bottle can also remain damp for long periods, creating conditions in which microorganisms can survive and multiply.
Health specialists recommend washing reusable bottles properly rather than simply rinsing them with water.
The easy-to-miss areas are often the most important ones: the underside of the lid, rubber seals, straws and drinking spouts.
Research examining reusable bottles has also found microorganisms inside regularly used bottles, with microbial levels dropping substantially after proper cleaning.
So cleaning the bottle itself is not always enough.
Remove detachable parts where possible, wash them carefully, and allow everything to dry thoroughly.
Worth remembering : “Only water” does not mean “still clean.”Wash the lid, seals and drinking parts as well as the bottle itself.
Source: https://newsroom.clevelandclinic.org/2024/04/30/can-your-reusable-water-bottle-make-you-sick
4．Don’t Wait Until Food Is Completely Cold to Refrigerate It
Many of us grew up hearing:
“Never put warm food straight into the refrigerator.”
So a pot of soup, curry or leftovers stays on the kitchen counter until it has completely cooled.
From a food-safety perspective, however, leaving cooked food at room temperature for too long can be the bigger concern.
Food-safety authorities recommend refrigerating perishable cooked foods and leftovers within about two hours — or sooner when the surrounding temperature is particularly high.
And here is the part that surprises many people:
Hot food can be placed in the refrigerator.
There is no need to wait until it feels completely cold.
For large quantities, such as a big pot of soup, the better approach is to divide the food into smaller, shallow containers so that it cools more quickly.
So rather than leaving dinner on the counter for several hours, think about how quickly it can be safely cooled and stored.
Worth remembering:You do not need to wait until cooked food is completely cold.
Avoid leaving it at room temperature for long periods, and divide large amounts into smaller containers before refrigerating.
5．Washing raw chicken because you think it makes it cleaner
We wash vegetables before eating them. We may rinse certain foods before cooking.
So washing raw chicken can sound like the hygienic thing to do.
It is actually the opposite.
Food-safety authorities including the CDC advise not washing raw chicken before cooking it.
Raw poultry can carry bacteria such as Salmonella and Campylobacter.
Running it under the tap does not reliably remove those bacteria. Instead, splashing water can spread them onto the sink, tap, work surfaces, utensils or nearby food.
Research cited by food-safety authorities has also shown that bacteria can remain in and around sinks even after people have cleaned them following the washing of raw poultry.
The safer approach is not to wash the chicken, but to prevent cross-contamination and cook it thoroughly.
Hands, cutting boards, knives, plates and surfaces that come into contact with raw poultry should also be cleaned carefully afterwards.
Worth remembering :Raw chicken does not become safer by rinsing it. Prevent cross-contamination and cook it thoroughly instead.
Healthier Living May Start With Letting Go
When we think about health, we often think about adding something new.
Exercise more. Eat differently. Buy a supplement. Start another routine.
But sometimes it may be worth looking first at the things we already do every day.
Sitting for hours after exercising.
Putting off brushing until after breakfast.
Barely washing a reusable bottle because it only contains water.
Waiting for cooked food to become completely cold before putting it away.
Rinsing raw chicken because it feels cleaner.
None of these looks dramatic on its own.
And perhaps that is exactly why they so easily become habits.
Instead of adding one more health rule, we might start by letting go of one small assumption hidden in our everyday routine.
Perhaps that is another kind of decluttering — not of the things we own, but of the habits and ideas we no longer need.
