6 Unhealthy Habits that Are as Bad as Smoking

By The Editors of Rodale News | Healthy Living 

Don't smoke? Doesn't matter. You could still be doing damage to your long-term health.
By Emily Main, Rodale News

You don't smoke. You live a generally healthy life, so you're in the clear as far as unhealthy habits are concerned, right?

Not so fast! It seems like every day, a new study comes out finding that habit X is "as bad for you as smoking," whether it's sitting all day or eating too much fat. So is there any legitimacy to those claims? We checked out a bunch of those studies to find out what the researchers mean when they claim that those things are as bad for you as cigarettes, and in most cases, they're not lying. The following six unhealthy habits either expose you to the same contaminants in cigarette smoke or lead to cancer rates equivalent to those caused by smoking. Fortunately, these are easy to fix with a few modifications to your daily routine so you (and your heart and your lungs) can be glad you don't in fact smoke.
PLUS: A recent report projected that cancer will be the leading cause of death in the U.S. by 2030. Take control of your life and learn how to cancerproof your environment!
#1: Sitting all day.
Even if you exercise regularly, habitually sitting for prolonged periods, whether at a desk or in a car, is being increasingly linked to a variety of health problems. According to Alberta Health Services-Cancer Care in Canada, inactivity is linked to nearly 160,000 cases of breast, colon, prostate, and lung cancer every year, about two-thirds as many cancer cases caused by smoking.
Make it right: Make it a habit to take breaks on-the-move at work, and even make (or buy) a standing workstation so you're less apt to sit all day. At home, resist the temptation to veg out in front of the TV. Go for a short walk around the block to relax, spend a few minutes cleaning, or schedule a gym date with your significant other.

PLUS: 9 Health Problems You Can Cure With Exercise
#2: Eating too much meat and cheese.
Animal proteins are rich in IGF-1, a growth hormone that can promote the growth of cancer cells. And a study from the University of Southern California published in the journal Cell Metabolism recently found that people on high-animal-protein diets during middle age were four times more likely to die of cancer than people on low-protein diets--a mortality risk factor comparable to smoking.
Make it right: Replace some of your animal proteins with these yummy vegetarian protein sources. The same study found that diets high in plant-based proteins like beans, which have protein levels equivalent to some meats, didn't trigger the same increase in cancer rates. In general, middle-aged adults should be eating 0.8 grams of protein for every 2 pounds of body weight daily. Interestingly, the study found that once you pass the age of 65, eating lots of animal protein isn't as harmful because your body's production of IGF-1 begins to slow down.
RELATED: The 15 Grossest Things You're Eating
#3: Cooking with natural gas.
If you're one of the 34 percent of Americans whose home is equipped with a gas stove, you're getting an added dose of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde every time you cook a meal. Those same three contaminants are common in secondhand cigarette smoke, and a December 2013 study in Environmental Health Perspectives found that all three contaminants in homes with gas stoves regularly exceeded public health guidelines.
Make it right: Use your vent hood when you use your gas oven or cooktop. Ventilating a gas range can reduce pollutant levels by 60 to 90 percent, even if the fan seems wimpy. Also, cook on your back burners: Most vent hoods aren't properly centered over a cooktop; using the back burners will help your vent hood capture the most pollution.
#4: Cooking with the wrong oil.
Even if you rely on an electric stove at your house, you aren't immune to cooking's polluting effects. Studies on restaurant and residential kitchens have shown that high-heat cooking with shortening and soybean oil (usually just called "vegetable oil" in the U.S.) releases particulate matter, aldehydes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, all compounds found in cigarette smoke and linked to airway inflammation.

Make it right: Pick the type of cooking oil best suited your use. For instance, olive oil isn't good for frying or high-heat cooking but is fine for cooking at low temperatures or in salad dressings. Avocado oil, on the other hand, is great for high-heat cooking. Look for the "smoke point" on oils that you buy to make sure the oil matches your needs. And don't forget to run the ventilation hood!
PLUS: 4 Cooking Oils That Belong In Every Kitchen
#5: Tanning indoors.
A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association estimated that indoor tanning causes roughly 420,000 cases of skin cancer in the U.S. every year. Smoking, by comparison, causes 226,000 cases of lung cancer.
Make it right: Learning to love pale skin is step number one. But if you really want a natural glow, eat more carrots and tomatoes, suggests a study published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior. Both foods are rich in carotenoids, which will boost your skin tone, and you won't have to worry about exposure to sketchy ingredients in sunless tanning sprays and lotions.
#6: Not getting enough sleep.
This will make you really cranky: Chronic sleep deprivation triggers high blood pressure, heart attacks, strokes, obesity, and a host of other health problems. One study even found that not getting at least six or seven hours of sleep led to mortality rates on par with those seen in cigarette smokers. Even getting poor-quality or fragmented sleep--when you don't necessarily fully wake up, but the cycle from light to deep sleep gets interrupted--can speed the growth of tumors.
PLUS: 10 Sleep Habits That Cause Weight Gain
Make it right: Don't assume that being tired is normal. If you feel like you aren't getting enough sleep regularly, talk to a health professional to see if you might be suffering from a condition such as sleep apnea that is interfering with your sleep.

Blood conditions - What you need to know about it.

By hematology.org 

 

When something is wrong with your blood, it can affect your total health. That is why it is important for you to know about some of the common blood disorders that may affect you.

People may be affected by many different types of blood conditions and blood cancers. Common blood disorders include anaemia, bleeding disorders such as hemophilia and blood clots; and blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.

Talking to your doctor is the first step to take if you believe you may have a blood condition. If you are diagnosed with a blood disorder, your doctor may refer you to a haematologist.

Anaemia

Anaemia is the most common blood disorder. When you have anaemia, your body lacks oxygen, so you may experience one or more of the following symptoms: weakness, shortness of breath, dizziness, fast or irregular heartbeat, pounding or “whooshing” in your ears, headache, cold hands or feet, pale or yellow skin, and chest pain.

At-risk group

Many people are at risk for aanemia because of poor diet, intestinal disorders, chronic diseases, infections, and other conditions. Women who are menstruating or pregnant and people with chronic medical conditions are most at risk for this disease.

The risk of anaemia increases as people grow older. People who engage in vigorous athletic activities, such as jogging or basketball, may develop anaemia as a result of red blood cells breaking down in the bloodstream.

If you have any of the following chronic conditions, you might be at greater risk for developing anemia: rheumatoid arthritis or other autoimmune disease, kidney disease, cancer, liver disease, thyroid disease, and inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis).

Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of anaemia can easily be overlooked. In fact, many people do not even realise that they have anaemia until it is identified in a blood test.

Bleeding disorders

Bleeding disorders are a group of conditions that result when the blood cannot clot properly. In normal clotting, platelets stick together and form a plug at the site of an injured blood vessel. Proteins in the blood, called clotting factors, then interact to form a fibrin clot, which holds the platelets in place and allows healing to occur at the site of the injury while preventing blood from escaping the blood vessel.

While too much clotting can lead to heart attack and stroke, the inability to form clots can be very dangerous as well, as it can result in excessive bleeding.

Haemophilia is perhaps the most well-known bleeding disorder, although it is relatively rare. It affects mostly males. Many more people are affected by von Willebrand disease, the most common bleeding disorder in America. Von Willebrand disease can affect both males and females.

Who is at risk?

Bleeding disorders such as haemophilia and von Willebrand disease result when the blood lacks certain clotting factors. These diseases are almost always inherited, although in rare cases they can develop later in life if the body forms antibodies that fight against the blood’s natural clotting factors.

Individuals and pregnant women with a family history of bleeding disorders should talk to their doctors about detection and treatment. Symptoms of bleeding disorders may include easy bruising, bleeding gums, heavy bleeding from small cuts or dental work, unexplained nosebleeds and heavy menstrual bleeding.

Blood cancers

Blood cancers affect the production and function of the blood cells. Most of these cancers start in the bone marrow where blood is produced. Stem cells in the bone marrow mature and develop into three types of blood cells: red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets.

In most blood cancers, the normal blood cell development process is interrupted by uncontrolled growth of an abnormal type of blood cell. These abnormal blood cells — or cancerous cells — prevent the blood from performing many of its functions, such as fighting off infections or preventing serious bleeding.

There are three main types of blood cancers:

Leukemia: A type of cancer found in the blood and bone marrow, is caused by the rapid production of abnormal white blood cells. The high number of abnormal white blood cells is not able to fight infection, and they impair the ability of the bone marrow to produce red blood cells and platelets.

Lymphoma: This is a type of blood cancer that affects the lymphatic system, which removes excess fluids from the body and produces immune cells. Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cells that fight infection. Abnormal lymphocytes become lymphoma cells, which multiply and collect in the lymph nodes and other tissues. Over time, these cancerous cells impair the immune system.

Myeloma: This is a type of blood cancer that specifically targets the plasma cells. Plasma cells are white blood cells that produce disease- and infection-fighting antibodies in the body. Myeloma cells prevent the normal production of antibodies, leaving the body’s immune system weakened and susceptible to infection.

Adapted from hematology.org