Friday , 29 March 2024
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5 Things You Had No Idea Were Good for Your Health

It seems that every time we start to heavily indulge in a particular activity, we realize that this streak cannot continue for too long. Take junk food for example – while it tastes oh-so-delicious, it’s unhealthy, comes in heavy meal sizes and will get you fat. Alcohol might sound like fun times, but if you overdo it, you’ll end up hooked onto a habit that will ruin your liver and even more.  Of course, moderation is the way to go – if you take it easy, you’ll get to reap the benefits of occasional moments of enjoyment, without ravaging your health. However, this article has little to do with this as we present you with five things that you wouldn’t think are good for your health.

1.      Learn to enjoy chocolate…

…and no, this doesn’t mean that you should stuff your face with food that contains more sugar than the Willy Wonka’s factory as the only thing this will cause you is health harm, ranging from diabetes and increased cholesterol, all the way to weight problems. Instead, train your body to love dark chocolate or cocoa as consuming small amounts of these two can help stimulate your brain, improve your circulatory system, and even help in terms of cancer prevention.
Finally, a couple of bites of dark chocolate can do wonders for stopping diarrhea.

2.      Crack open a cold one

Make no mistake, alcohol can be an extremely bad thing for your body; but then again, so can eating too many almonds a day, despite the fact that almonds are extremely healthy when taken in moderate amounts. Well, this can also be said about our favorite summer beverage (no, we don’t mean ciders) – beer is rich in flavonoids (found in hops), that boasts anti-cancer properties! If you think of beer as inferior to red wine with regards to health benefits, you are dead wrong as this refreshing beverage turns out to be an equally effective cancer fighter as red wine, while containing vitamin B6, which has a lot to do with your heart health.
Additionally, beer drinkers have lower blood pressure as a rule of thumb, as well as increased bone density!

3.      Coffee benefits

Tea has taken the caffeine spotlight over the recent years as it was proclaimed a healthier caffeine alternative. However, aside from helping us feel and be more alert (much more than tea), coffee has a positive effect on our ability to form memories. Coffee also contains antioxidants that work wonders for your cardiovascular system and it lowers blood pressure due to some compounds found in the bean that activate nitric oxide, a molecule that relaxes the arteries and improves overall circulation.

4.      Indulge occasionally

Moving on to something a bit vaguer, it is important for your mental health that you indulge in your “vices” occasionally. If you have made a deal with yourself not to drink excessively, feel free to indulge a bit by unwinding with your friends and stay up late (or early), drunk (no drinking and driving, though). If you are passionate about gambling, opt for a trip to the American city of lights a couple of times a year and relax with a ton of gambling and medical marijuana in Las Vegas.
If video games are your pleasure, but simply take too much of your time, go ahead, designate that one weekend per month for all-day gaming sessions. Indulging in things that you love is important for your mental health, but be careful not to overdo it, limits are of essence here.

5.      Don’t be afraid of getting dirty

Your parents might have been wrong when they urged you as a child to keep clean at all times. Although this in no way means that living in a pigsty is healthy, not being afraid to get dirty on occasion can actually be beneficial for your health: the exposure to parasites and bacteria can boost your immune system. However, this is not to say that seeing the doctor after getting bitten by an insect such as a tick is anything but obligatory!

Health comes from rather unexpected places – foods and practices that are bad when overindulged in are actually healthy in moderation. Learning how to enjoy a variety of foods, beverages and habits conscientiously is the key to a happy life.

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