The way we choose to live our lives can either have a positive or a negative impact on our health. Conscious or not, we all have habits that make us feel comfortable or ease our days, but do we actually stop and analyse their value? When we do notice that our daily activities are not helpful, we are either closing our eyes, hoping that our system has enough fuel to fight against it, or run to our doctor to fix it. But even though most of the medical conditions we struggle with have a medical treatment, if our lifestyle doesn’t follow healthy principles, they won’t have the desired effect. For this matter, we've put together 7 bad habits that most of us have, that can seriously affect our health.

1. Forget to have breakfast

Most of the things you are tired to hear about, especially those regarding healthy habits are often true. One of those overstated things sustains that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and you don’t really need research to understand that. The first meal of the day is the first sign for your system that your day has started and if you skip it, the effects will be visible on your weight, your blood sugar and on your level of energy. If you don’t fuel your body first thing in the morning, your metabolism will have the tendency to function slower and you will develop an eat-more-later pattern. If you think that missing a meal will help you with your weight, you should know that breakfast-skippers tend to overeat later in the day and not to pay attention to what they are eating. Last but not least, not eating will lead to feeling weak and your body won’t be able to sustain your activities.

2. Decide on your own when to stop or skip treatment

It is true that we live in an era where you can instantly have access to a lot of information. For mild conditions, such as a sore throat or a cold, it is normal to decide on your own when and how to take a pill. But when it comes to more serious treatments, you should always follow your doctor’s advice. We understand that following a strict treatment can be a difficult chore and forgetting taking a pill can be really easy. But you should never stop taking pills just because you feel better, you have a mild side effect or skip it because your system won’t notice the difference. Saying you feel fine is not a justification for stopping a treatment. For each condition, there is a range of medicines that can help, so if one medication doesn't work, you can always ask your doctor to recommend you something else. 

3. Enjoy drinking a little bit too much 

There is a plethora of studies that suggest that a certain amount of alcohol may be good for your health - we all know that red wine can help with blood circulation. But it goes without saying that excessive alcohol intake represents a threat, as it can lead to liver damage, high blood pressure,  various cancers, heart failure and depression. If you will cut down a bit, you will notice that your digestion will improve, your blood sugar will be lower, you will sleep better and your brain functions will be stronger.

Thus, if you want to add alcohol to your healthy lifestyle, the recommended dosage for men is two drinks per day and one a day for women - one drink represents approximately 350ml beer or 120ml glass of wine.

4. Ignore your stress and fatigue levels

Feeling constantly stressed or tired can have serious health outcomes. Even if you are leading a healthy life, not working on your mental health will contribute to high blood pressure, depression, insomnia, headaches, digestion troubles, aches and pains, ulcers, excessive smoking and drinking, and gaining or losing weight. Moreover, even if it is normal for everyone to feel like this from time to time, how you react to your emotions will have a direct effect on your health and treatments. 

People who are prone to internalize stress are in greater danger and believing that it will go away by default is a destructive strategy. 

5. Base your meals on red meat

Red meat can have great benefits for your health, but only if you consider it an occasional treat and not the base of a daily diet. Red meat contains saturated fat and different studies have shown that processed red meat, such as bacon, ham or hot dogs, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. Nutritionists suggest that our diet should contain less than 10% animal products. Of course, having a steak a few times a month is perfectly fine, but the danger comes when you are eating meat two or three times a day.

6. Prefer salty meals and snacks 

It is as simple as it sounds: excessive salt intake will cause water retention and high blood pressure. To take this further, high blood pressure leads to stroke, kidney failure and heart attack. Even if you enjoy your food salty, try to stay away from packaged junk food, to check the product labels for sodium content and focus your meals on fruits, vegetables and nuts. Usually, you should keep sodium intake below 2,300 milligrams a day, and if you already suffer from high blood pressure, keep it below 1,500 milligrams.

7. Delay your medical visit

A study undertaken by The Information Standard for NHS England has revealed that four in ten adults have refrained from seeing their doctor, regardless of already experiencing symptoms they were concerned about. Most people wait for their symptoms to go away, but in most cases they need a stronger course of treatment because of the delay.

We understand that sometimes it can be really hard to explain to your doctor, face-to-face, what you are experiencing, hence our aim is to encourage you to talk to us online or through the phone. Delaying the medical check-up, self-diagnosing, self- treating or ignoring the symptoms can be really harmful for your health and there is no reason why to do it; our pharmacist and doctor are here for you, regardless of your enquiry.