Health Literacy,  Preparedness

Why Living In The Modern World Is Unhealthier Than Ever Before

MacBook Near Pineapple And Pumpkin

With every corner you turn now, there is a warning about something being incredibly hazardous to your health. And in the past, you were likely to take all of these health warnings with a little pinch of salt (but not too much, because it’s apparently so bad for you). But we have to sit up and take note of the things we do every day that is damaging us in ways we haven’t noticed. Here are some of the common ones.

Blue Light

We all rely on our computers and/or our smartphones on a daily basis. You use your phone on your commute to the office, where you sit down at your computer screen all day, before reading the news on your phone on your journey home, and then catching up with all the social media that you missed before you turn out the light. But did you know that you are seriously impacting on the quality of your sleep by staring at your screen day in, day out? The amount of blue light being emitted from your phone suppresses your body’s ability to produce melatonin, the sleep hormone. So if you spend a lot of time looking at your phone, especially a couple of hour before you go to sleep, you may have the amount of sleep you typically require, but the quality is seriously hampered! To overcome this, consider putting a blue light filter on your phone or use a free program like F.Lux on your computer.

Passive Smoke

The dangers of passive smoking have long been touted, so this is nothing new. But there have been more studies on the effects of second-hand smoke on children, and even exposing a child to second-hand smoke at the age of four months doubles the risk of them developing problems like tooth decay later in life. Children exposed to smoke have depleted levels of sialic acid, which leads to plaque formation. For parents who are desperately trying to cut down on cigarettes, e-cigarettes have been a very good substitute, as they help to gradually cut down, while also having the nicotine hit. There are sites like LizardJuice.com that have varying degrees of nicotine levels, to help prospective quitters get a better idea of how to quit.

Intolerances

It has become almost trendy to be lactose or gluten intolerant! But while a small percentage of the population are coeliac or have a real allergy to dairy, the effects of a gluten-free diet or cutting down on milk are being felt across the board. For people that are feeling the benefits of being without wheat or gluten have spoken of feeling more energetic, having increased focus, and generally being a lot better in their day to day lives. This is because gluten has an impact on the immune system, and the blood-brain barrier. So if you feel like you have a lot of headaches or feel tired a lot of the time, try and eliminate gluten products from your diet for 4 weeks and reintroduce them to see if you feel any different.

Beth Jones is a valued contributor to various CosmoBC.com blogs.

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