quarta-feira, dezembro 16, 2015
A Few "Healthy Habits" That Are Actually Doing You No Good At All (17 pics)
Using a standing desk
A recent long-term study looking at data on nearly 4,000 US adults found no benefit in terms of overall risk of dying from standing as opposed to sitting.
In the short-term, however, standing does burn more calories per minute; so if losing weight is all you're worried about, stand on!
Using toilet seat liners
Viruses like HIV and herpes are fragile, meaning they don't survive very well outside of a nice, warm human body. By the time you sit down on a public toilet seat — even if it was recently shared by someone else — most harmful pathogens likely wouldn't be able to infect you.
Plus, your skin is an effective block against any microbes. (Unless, of course, you have a cut or open wound there, which could allow the bacteria to get in.)
Avoiding gluten
Unless you're one of the 1% of Americans who suffer from celiac disease, gluten probably won't have a negative effect on you. In fact, studies show that most people suffer from slight bloating and gas when they eat, whether they consume wheat or not. So go ahead and eat that bagel.
Swapping dairy for almond milk
Alternatives to dairy milk have been surging in popularity in the last few years, chief among them almond milk. Yet almond milk is practically devoid of nutrients.
By themselves, almonds are protein powerhouses. But a typical glass of almond milk, by volume, is just about 2% almonds and contains almost no protein. And all the vitamins inside are added. So if you're looking for a truly healthy alternative, opt for soy, skim, or low-fat milk.
Juicing
When you juice fresh fruits and veggies, you remove all of their fiber, the key ingredient that keeps you feeling full and satisfied until your next meal.
What you keep is the sugar. In the short term, a high-sugar, low-protein diet means constant hunger pangs, mood swings, and low energy. In the long term, you can lose muscle mass since muscles rely on protein.
Taking tons of Vitamin C to ward off a cold
While a little extra vitamin C can boost an underperforming immune system, taking too much will make you sick.
The upper limit for an adult is 2,000 milligrams a day. Any more than that will likely cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, headaches, and other side effects.
Eating egg whites instead of whole eggs
Lots of people began avoiding egg yolks when nutrition experts came out with a recommendation that eating cholesterol was bad for you because it raised your cholesterol.
But there's good news: A growing body of research shows that for the vast majority of people, dietary cholesterol (from foods you eat) doesn't really have much of an effect on your blood cholesterol. So unless you have high cholesterol, ditch those nasty egg-white-only alternatives. Good morning, eggs Benedict!
Ear candling
The practice of ear candling — yes, ear candling — involves putting a lit, cone-shaped candle inside your ear. People who do it say it's helpful for relieving earwax and treating some infections. According to the Mayo Clinic, not so much.
"Research shows," they write, "that ear candling is ineffective at removing earwax and is also not an effective treatment for any other conditions." Plus, the practice can end up pushing earwax deeper into your ear. Even worse, you can burn your face, hair, scalp, or ear. So don't.
Slathering on hand sanitizer
If you wash your hands regularly throughout the day, hand sanitizer is almost entirely unnecessary. Plus, it can't kill all the germs that plain old soap and water can.
Norovirus and C. difficile, for example, are immune to sanitizing gels.
Taking multivitamins
Close to half of American adults take vitamins every day. Yet decades' worth of research hasn't found any justification for our pill-popping habit.
That isn't to say we don't need small amounts of vitamins to survive — without vitamins like A, C, and E, for example, we have a hard time turning food into energy and can develop conditions like rickets or scurvy. Here's the thing: Research shows we get more than enough of these substances from what we eat, so no need for a pill!
Avoiding MSG
Monosodium glutamate is an ingredient added to many foods to enhance their flavor. It's completely safe to ingest.
MSG is often associated with a series of symptoms, from numbness at the base of the neck to a general sense of fatigue, that are commonly lumped together and called "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome." Eating too much is the more likely culprit here, not eating MSG.
Holding your breath after someone sneezes or coughs
When someone sneezes or coughs without covering their mouth or nose, their bacteria shoots out into the air at speeds approaching 50 to 200 mph.
If you're nearby, holding your breath won't do much good in preventing them from landing on your mouth, nose, or eyes. It'll stop you from pulling in any bacteria hanging directly in front of your face, but that's about it.
Not cracking your knuckles
Until recently, it was common knowledge that knuckle cracking was not only annoying but also terrible for your joints. Several new studies have upended that idea, however. Some suggest it might serve as a good indicator that a joint is well lubricated.
Commenting on a recent study in PLOS One, Greg Kawchuk, lead researcher and professor of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Alberta, said, "Although speculative, we wonder if being able to crack ones joints is a sign that the joint is actually healthy and that the inability to do so could be a sign of joint problems to come."
Going on a "detox" diet
No one needs to detox. Unless you've been poisoned, you already have a superefficient system for filtering out most of the harmful substances you eat. It's made up of two toxin-bashing organs: the liver and the kidneys.
While our kidneys filter our blood and remove any waste from our diet, our livers process medications and detoxify any chemicals we ingest. Paired together, these organs make our bodies natural cleansing powerhouses.
Eating only low-fat foods
According to recommendations from the USDA in the '90s, millions of Americans seeking to lose weight opted for a low-fat, high-starch diet. They chose margarine over butter, "fat-free" instead of "regular," and curbed their indulgence on rich, creamy foods. But it didn't work.
An eight-year trial involving almost 50,000 women, roughly half of whom went on a low-fat diet, found that those on the low-fat plan didn't lower their risk of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or heart disease. Plus, they didn't lose much weight, if any. New recommendations show that healthy fats, like those from nuts, fish, and avocados, are actually good for you in moderation! So add them back into your diet if you haven't already.
Using a recumbent bike instead of a regular one
You've seen these at the gym — stationary bikes that've been revamped to position your body so that it's leaning slightly backward with your legs outstretched.
Unless you have a specific injury, though, like a shoulder, knee, or hip injury, these types of bikes are wholly unnecessary.
Avoiding the microwave
We've all heard the rumors about how "nuking" foods robs them of their nutrients. Fortunately for most of us, this is entirely false. Microwave ovens cook food using energy waves. The waves cause the molecules in food to vibrate quickly, building up their energy as heat.
Of course, some nutrients begin to disintegrate when heated, whether it's from a microwave, a stove, or something else. But since microwave-cooking times are typically much shorter than oven-cooking times, microwaving something often does a better job of keeping its vitamins intact than other cooking methods.
A recent long-term study looking at data on nearly 4,000 US adults found no benefit in terms of overall risk of dying from standing as opposed to sitting.
In the short-term, however, standing does burn more calories per minute; so if losing weight is all you're worried about, stand on!
Viruses like HIV and herpes are fragile, meaning they don't survive very well outside of a nice, warm human body. By the time you sit down on a public toilet seat — even if it was recently shared by someone else — most harmful pathogens likely wouldn't be able to infect you.
Plus, your skin is an effective block against any microbes. (Unless, of course, you have a cut or open wound there, which could allow the bacteria to get in.)
Unless you're one of the 1% of Americans who suffer from celiac disease, gluten probably won't have a negative effect on you. In fact, studies show that most people suffer from slight bloating and gas when they eat, whether they consume wheat or not. So go ahead and eat that bagel.
Alternatives to dairy milk have been surging in popularity in the last few years, chief among them almond milk. Yet almond milk is practically devoid of nutrients.
By themselves, almonds are protein powerhouses. But a typical glass of almond milk, by volume, is just about 2% almonds and contains almost no protein. And all the vitamins inside are added. So if you're looking for a truly healthy alternative, opt for soy, skim, or low-fat milk.
When you juice fresh fruits and veggies, you remove all of their fiber, the key ingredient that keeps you feeling full and satisfied until your next meal.
What you keep is the sugar. In the short term, a high-sugar, low-protein diet means constant hunger pangs, mood swings, and low energy. In the long term, you can lose muscle mass since muscles rely on protein.
While a little extra vitamin C can boost an underperforming immune system, taking too much will make you sick.
The upper limit for an adult is 2,000 milligrams a day. Any more than that will likely cause diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, heartburn, headaches, and other side effects.
Lots of people began avoiding egg yolks when nutrition experts came out with a recommendation that eating cholesterol was bad for you because it raised your cholesterol.
But there's good news: A growing body of research shows that for the vast majority of people, dietary cholesterol (from foods you eat) doesn't really have much of an effect on your blood cholesterol. So unless you have high cholesterol, ditch those nasty egg-white-only alternatives. Good morning, eggs Benedict!
The practice of ear candling — yes, ear candling — involves putting a lit, cone-shaped candle inside your ear. People who do it say it's helpful for relieving earwax and treating some infections. According to the Mayo Clinic, not so much.
"Research shows," they write, "that ear candling is ineffective at removing earwax and is also not an effective treatment for any other conditions." Plus, the practice can end up pushing earwax deeper into your ear. Even worse, you can burn your face, hair, scalp, or ear. So don't.
If you wash your hands regularly throughout the day, hand sanitizer is almost entirely unnecessary. Plus, it can't kill all the germs that plain old soap and water can.
Norovirus and C. difficile, for example, are immune to sanitizing gels.
Close to half of American adults take vitamins every day. Yet decades' worth of research hasn't found any justification for our pill-popping habit.
That isn't to say we don't need small amounts of vitamins to survive — without vitamins like A, C, and E, for example, we have a hard time turning food into energy and can develop conditions like rickets or scurvy. Here's the thing: Research shows we get more than enough of these substances from what we eat, so no need for a pill!
Monosodium glutamate is an ingredient added to many foods to enhance their flavor. It's completely safe to ingest.
MSG is often associated with a series of symptoms, from numbness at the base of the neck to a general sense of fatigue, that are commonly lumped together and called "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome." Eating too much is the more likely culprit here, not eating MSG.
When someone sneezes or coughs without covering their mouth or nose, their bacteria shoots out into the air at speeds approaching 50 to 200 mph.
If you're nearby, holding your breath won't do much good in preventing them from landing on your mouth, nose, or eyes. It'll stop you from pulling in any bacteria hanging directly in front of your face, but that's about it.
Until recently, it was common knowledge that knuckle cracking was not only annoying but also terrible for your joints. Several new studies have upended that idea, however. Some suggest it might serve as a good indicator that a joint is well lubricated.
Commenting on a recent study in PLOS One, Greg Kawchuk, lead researcher and professor of rehabilitation medicine at the University of Alberta, said, "Although speculative, we wonder if being able to crack ones joints is a sign that the joint is actually healthy and that the inability to do so could be a sign of joint problems to come."
No one needs to detox. Unless you've been poisoned, you already have a superefficient system for filtering out most of the harmful substances you eat. It's made up of two toxin-bashing organs: the liver and the kidneys.
While our kidneys filter our blood and remove any waste from our diet, our livers process medications and detoxify any chemicals we ingest. Paired together, these organs make our bodies natural cleansing powerhouses.
According to recommendations from the USDA in the '90s, millions of Americans seeking to lose weight opted for a low-fat, high-starch diet. They chose margarine over butter, "fat-free" instead of "regular," and curbed their indulgence on rich, creamy foods. But it didn't work.
An eight-year trial involving almost 50,000 women, roughly half of whom went on a low-fat diet, found that those on the low-fat plan didn't lower their risk of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or heart disease. Plus, they didn't lose much weight, if any. New recommendations show that healthy fats, like those from nuts, fish, and avocados, are actually good for you in moderation! So add them back into your diet if you haven't already.
You've seen these at the gym — stationary bikes that've been revamped to position your body so that it's leaning slightly backward with your legs outstretched.
Unless you have a specific injury, though, like a shoulder, knee, or hip injury, these types of bikes are wholly unnecessary.
We've all heard the rumors about how "nuking" foods robs them of their nutrients. Fortunately for most of us, this is entirely false. Microwave ovens cook food using energy waves. The waves cause the molecules in food to vibrate quickly, building up their energy as heat.
Of course, some nutrients begin to disintegrate when heated, whether it's from a microwave, a stove, or something else. But since microwave-cooking times are typically much shorter than oven-cooking times, microwaving something often does a better job of keeping its vitamins intact than other cooking methods.
Rob Ferrel Makes Amazing Celebrity Portraits Out Of Salt (10 pics)
Rob Ferrel, known to some as Rob The Original, is an artist from Texas that can do incredible things with salt. He uses the salt to create incredible celebrity portraits and once you see them your jaw will drop.
The Booming Ice Chasm of The Canadian Rockies
Booming Ice Chasm is a stunning ice cave in the Crowsnest Pass area of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta. The cave is so called for it's incredible acoustics. It is said that as rocks tumble down and crash to the cave floor, 140 meters below, it causes booming echoes. The cave is located about 700 meters up the side of a mountain with its entrance tucked behind a rocky ledge and nearly impossible to see. No wonder it remained undiscovered until 2005 when spelunker Chas Yonge first spotted the chasm as a mysterious dark spot on Google Earth.
Booming Ice Chasm is what’s known as a “cold-trap” cave, where cold air enters the cave and sinks to the bottom displacing any warmer air which rises and exits the cave. The cold dense air is never able to escape keeping the cave frozen all year round.
Booming Ice Chasm is what’s known as a “cold-trap” cave, where cold air enters the cave and sinks to the bottom displacing any warmer air which rises and exits the cave. The cold dense air is never able to escape keeping the cave frozen all year round.
NASA's Abandoned Launch Sites
The Mercury, Gemini and the Apollo Missions of the late 1950s and 60s still remain one of NASA’s greatest achievements — one that enabled humans, for the first time in history, to leave the surface of the Earth for another heavenly body. This monumental task was made possible through the hard work and genius of thousands of engineers, and the incredible infrastructure they built along the coast of Florida. With the advent of reusable rockets, private space programs and a change in NASA’s goals, unfortunately, many of these facilities were abandoned and left to the elements. American photographer Roland Miller has spent 25 years documenting these buildings in his photographs before they rot and crumble to the ground. Indeed, Miller estimates that about half of the locales he shot have already disappeared since he started shooting.
V2 Launch Site with Hermes A-1 Rocket, Launch Complex 33 Gantry, White Sands Missile Range, NM, 2006. “One of the earliest launch complexes built. Used to test launch captured German V2 rockets. Many of the features in LC 33's blockhouse made there way into other blockhouses at Cape Canaveral--like multiple panes of glass laminated together to allow for protected viewing of the launch from the blockhouse.”
The project began in 1988 when Miller, a photography instructor at Brevard Community College, was contacted by an environmental engineer at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station who needed help disposing of old photographic chemicals at the facility. Hoping to snag the free stuff from the photo lab, Miller visited Launch Complex 19 of Gemini Program, and was immediately awestruck by the way it was slowly rusting away. Miller has been obsessed with space for as long as he could remember. His own dreams of becoming an astronaut were dashed to the ground by his but poor eyesight. Seeing the deteriorating buildings, Miller resolved photograph them while there was still time.
It took two years of haggling with NASA officials before he was finally allowed permission to visit the ruins. Since then he has visited 16 space launch sites, research facilities, and museums, in Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, Utah, New Mexico, and California. Miler has now successfully raised over $25,000 through Kickstarter to publish a photography book titled “Abandoned in Place” which is scheduled to be published in January of 2016.
Wind Tunnel Test Chamber with Model, 7 X 10 Foot Wind Tunnel, NASA Langley Research Center, VA, 1997.
Horizontal Gantry from Base, Gemini Titan Complex 19, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, 1991. “This was the first abandoned launch pad I visited. It was 1988. I was amazed that the light bulbs were mostly intact 22 years after the last Gemini mission. The erector at Pad 19 was hinged at the base, and lowered before every launch. After the final launch, it was left horizontal.”
Shelter Dome, Rubber Room, Launch Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center, FL, 1996. “Adjoining the Rubber Room was a Shelter Dome room with the floor set on springs to isolate the occupants from whatever conflagration may be occurring above them as they seek shelter.”
Launch Ring Restored, Apollo Saturn Complex 34, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, 2000. “In 1998, the launch ring at Complex 34 was sandblasted and painted to protect it from weathering. I had been trying for years to capture the spiritual quality of this site. I made this photograph near sunset with the blue sky reflecting on the launch pedestal and the last pink rays of sunlight illuminating the ring and clouds behind.”
Liquid Fuel Tank Support, Apollo Saturn Complex 37, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, 1993. “There were two of these fuel pressure spheres near the entrance to Launch Complex 37. One has been repurposed and is now used to support Delta IV rocket launches. The other sphere was removed.”
Saturn V F1 Center Engine, Saturn V Center, Kennedy Space Center, FL, 1997. “I was asked, in 1997, to photograph the newly opened Saturn V Center, including access to a high-lift for vantage points like this view of the center Saturn V F1 engine.”
Telemetry Receivers, Strip Chart Recorders and Tape Recorders, Blockhouse, Redstone Launch Complex 26, Cape Canaveral, FL, 2000. “A stop on one of the Kennedy Space Center bus tours. The blockhouse is often staffed by retired NASA employees who actually worked in the blockhouse and on the Redstone rocket. They explain the procedures and technology of the day.”
Launch Ring, Launch Complex 34, (Apollo Saturn) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Blockhouse, Apollo Saturn Complex 37, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, 1992. “Many of these abandoned space launch and test facilities bring to mind other archeological sites. This blockhouse reminded me of a pyramid or ziggurat.”
Apollo Saturn F1 Engine Cluster, NASA Johnson Space Center, TX, 1996. “I made this image laying on my back with my camera on my face in a light rain. I enjoy the visual reference to Nefertiti.”
Flooded Room Beneath Pad 19, Gemini Titan Launch Complex 19, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL, 1992. “This is an image of a large square girder in a flooded compartment beneath the launch pad. What I couldn't have predicted were the swirling reflections of light in the water coming from openings in the roof. They looked like little galaxies.”
Fuel Tank, Lunar Module, Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, KS, 2002. “I photographed this fuel tank while it was in storage, attracted to the amazing colors the oxidation created.”
Gemini, Mercury, and Apollo Test Models, Spin Test Tunnel Office, NASA Langley Research Center, VA, 1997. “I asked the staff if I could photograph these models. I was planning on photographing right where they were. When I returned from photographing the Spin Test Tunnel, the staff had set them on the counter showing off the scientific illustrations on the blackboard behind them — a wonderful background.”
Launch Control Room. Titan II ICBM Silo 395-C. Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Apollo 1 Fire Commemorative Blockhouse Service. Launch Complex 34, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
The project began in 1988 when Miller, a photography instructor at Brevard Community College, was contacted by an environmental engineer at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station who needed help disposing of old photographic chemicals at the facility. Hoping to snag the free stuff from the photo lab, Miller visited Launch Complex 19 of Gemini Program, and was immediately awestruck by the way it was slowly rusting away. Miller has been obsessed with space for as long as he could remember. His own dreams of becoming an astronaut were dashed to the ground by his but poor eyesight. Seeing the deteriorating buildings, Miller resolved photograph them while there was still time.
It took two years of haggling with NASA officials before he was finally allowed permission to visit the ruins. Since then he has visited 16 space launch sites, research facilities, and museums, in Virginia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Kansas, Utah, New Mexico, and California. Miler has now successfully raised over $25,000 through Kickstarter to publish a photography book titled “Abandoned in Place” which is scheduled to be published in January of 2016.