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With so many viral wellness trends and health information circulating online, it’s sometimes hard to keep track of what’s healthy and what's not. It can get pretty confusing when you start scrolling on TikTok and the first video you see is promoting intuitive eating, while the second is trying to sell you the 75-hard workout plan.
Seeing this way too often, redditor Soren-J reached out to the AskReddit community with a question: “What is actually healthy but people think is not?” In response, netizens provided a list of things that undeservingly get a bad reputation in the wellness department.
Scroll down to find the most popular answers deserving a healthy rebranding and a conversation with the person who started this discussion in the first place.
We also reached out to Uta Boellinger, a BANT registered nutritionist, who kindly agreed to tell us more about what leads us to believe some things are unhealthy when they are actually good for us.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Doing literally nothing to decompress. Sometimes one just needs to breathe and look out a window.
Bored Panda contacted Soren-J, the person who started this discussion in the first place, who kindly agreed to share the inspiration behind it.
They told us they saw another thread where the opposite was asked. However, as interesting as the topic was, they were more curious to know what healthy things were labeled as harmful.
When asked what makes people believe something is bad for them when it actually isn't, they told us that it all comes down to each person. "Things that seem healthy or unhealthy to us will initially be seen from a subjective point of view based on what we already know and believe about the world.
Access to information is not the same for everyone, and neither is its processing. We all grew up in different contexts and have different ways of seeing the world. This means that two people can think differently about the same thing, with one seeing it as healthy and the other as unhealthy."
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#2
Frozen fruits and vegetables. The modern flash-freeze technique preserves almost all of the nutrients and they are always picked when they are in season, so they are as nutritious as their fresh in-season counterparts, and more nutritious if it is not the season.
Their advice on navigating misleading health information is to go to a professional when a person has any serious questions. "If you feel saturated with information, there is nothing like a doctor to clear up doubts, and although each doctor has their own opinions and approaches, at the end of the day, they look after the patient's well-being and will give their answer based on that.
But since we cannot take a doctor as a private consultant for any question of the day, we must look for reliable sources of information.
Using Google Scholar is a good option because it will take you to at least two official publications from scientific media, magazine articles, theses, and publications from universities that have been published on their websites."
They concluded by saying, "To be able to navigate contradictory information... you have to do a very honest job of research, not take anything for granted, and have a healthy minimum of disbelief in the face of new information, to question and verify it."
We also reached out to Uta Boellinger, a BANT registered nutritionist, who kindly agreed to tell us more about what leads us to believe some things are unhealthy when they are good for us.
She explained, "Over the years the food and diet industries have spread so much misinformation in an attempt to sell their products. This coupled with false information spread by fitness influencers and the media has left people brainwashed and confused."
#4
Living life without religion.
Lydsylou (she/her) 9 months ago
Both ways can make people happy. It's up to you and what you believe in and what gives you happiness
Emma S 9 months ago
My religion brings me comfort. Believing that my Dad is in heaven waiting for me helps me to grieve. When I am struggling I often pray and feel better. I have never forced my religion on anyone as it's a deeply personal thing. People can believe or not believe in anything they want.
Tracy Wallick 9 months ago
Smugly telling people their religion is garbage is no better than religious people smugly telling people that their religion or lack thereof is wrong.
Daniela Lavanza 9 months ago
Religion can definitely be a problem, and I say so as a Catholic. Spirituality, faith, on the other hand can be good things as long as they remain private and quiet. BTW even as a believer, I don't get why we should follow X rule whereas the same God told my neighbors to follow others. How come? Aren't those "rules" just man-made stuff God doesn't care about? Just be good to other as it's it's a win-win situation: if there is God, you're saved. If there's none, you've lost nothing and lived making this world better. This is Blaise Pascal's challenge and my way of life. :-)
Rob D 9 months ago (edited)
The priests in the US (SE at least) end every mass praying for "politicians that support pro-life" ...."Lord hear our prayers." So every Catholic for the last 40 years has been told to vote republican. This s**t is NEVER private or quiet.
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A Jones 9 months ago
Religion doesn't make you a good person. Your actions determine who you are.
Astar_ALT 9 months ago
If you need an omniscient deity threatening your life/afterlife to be a good person maybe you aren't a good person
Carrie B 9 months ago
It blows my mind that some think you need fear of retribution by "god" to keep you from being a bad person. No, I just try to be a good person.
Load More Replies... George Costanza 9 months ago
Given the rise of secularism and the overall decrease in people following organized religions, I would argue more and more people are finding life without religion to be the healthier choice.
scotty 9 months ago
It would seem that there is not an over all decrease in the absolute number of people who ascribe to an organized religion. It is the percentage that decreases within an increasing population. Actively religious people are more likely than their less-religious peers to describe themselves as “very happy” according to surveys. The same surveys indicate that actively religious people are more likely to engage with others in non-religious activities and are less likely to smoke or drink than their less/non-religious peers.
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Jules (they/them) 9 months ago
Answering the prompt with "religion" doesn't mean that practicing religion switched into the place of not practicing religion this rendering it unhealthy and obsolete, but rather it is saying that not practicing/believing in a religion is not in itself *un*healthy. This is to say that you can do either, or both, depending on your own PERSONAL choices.
Regina Holt 9 months ago
Be kind to your neighbor, or something like that, is what christianity was supposed to be about. But, I've known christians who were not. My parents were catholic, and very prejudiced, against non-catholics, against Jews, against blacks, etc. And I was talking to someone who was "born again christian" and she told me that I would not get to heaven until I accepted jesus christ as my savior. I told her that I just try to be a good person, being nice, doing good deeds, but she still insisted I would burn in H E L L because I didn't accept jesus christ as my personal savior. I'm sorry, but I would rather be a decent person to EVERYONE. Not believing in her god is not gonna make me a bad person. I'm not gonna murder someone but then accept jesus, so I can go to heaven. I no longer associate with this woman.
steven mayes 9 months ago
Imagine a world without religion, humans would have landed on the moon in 969 not 1969. Okay we may of blown ourselves up by now.
RosenCranzLives 9 months ago
All children are born atheists. What's more wholesome and innocent than a healthy newborn?
The Original Bruno 9 months ago (edited)
Actually, while it is no reason to adopt a religion you don't believe in, religion does increase lifespan, wellbeing and happiness. The exceptons? The Pew [corrected from Gallup] survey on wellbeing in Ecuador, South Africa, Belarus and Spain. Pretty much no-one was happy in Belarus or Spain. And while the survey included all the big Western and Pacific nations, it did not include any predominantly Muslim nations. Now, you might think that unhappiness causes people to disaffiiate from their religion, but even the formerly religious were much happier than the never religious, although still far less happy than the religious.
The Original Bruno 9 months ago
And those wonderful people who hate religion for being "intolerant" came by to demonstrate their tolerance.
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Tee Mor 9 months ago
The problem is that this list is for things that are really unhealthy but people are saying it is healthy. So this post is basically saying that living without religion is unhealthy. This is not an appropriate post here because religion can be unhealthy. It is too complicated to be on a simple list
UpQuarkDownQuark (he/him) 9 months ago
No, it’s a lack of religion. For it to be a religion it needs to have unifying tenets and rituals. Being simply the lack of something, it has neither of those things.
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Baby Jenks 9 months ago
I've seen & met plenty. Perhaps you haven't been looking in the correct places?
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#5
Admitting when you don't know something. Its okay to not have the answer. Too many people would rather b******t an answer, than accept what they don't know.
Daniela Lavanza 9 months ago
Sometimes the hardest part is not even to admit it, it's to realize it. Too many people think they are knowledgeable on topics they hardly know anything about. Since you're judging your ignorance according to your knowledge, the more you learn, the more you realize you're clueless.
#6
One thing I've noticed as a nanny is that people don't think it's okay for their infant/toddler to chill in their crib alone after a nap. It's actually really healthy and good for them to chill alone in their cribs after they wake from a nap, especially if they aren't distressed about it! The parents will run to get them the moment they pop their eyes open, which eventually makes the kids start crying when they wake, because they expect someone to get them the moment their eyes open. These are also the babies that won't let you out of their sight for a moment.
But the ones who are able to chill alone for 10-20 minutes from the time they are really small, usually just roll around and babble to themselves for 10-20 minutes before they get upset. And the kids who can chill alone are usually really chill during wake times too, and don't freak out when you leave the room.
It's perfectly healthy for your kid to be by themselves even as babies.
majandess 9 months ago
Thank you! Also... Legit playpens are safe spaces for littles. New ones aren't built the same way - the one my mom used had sides that could be raised and lowered. She left us in them with one side down, and that was our designated play space that she could move around in case of showers, doing art projects in her studio, working in the kitchen, etc. It wasn't treated like a baby jail. We played and chilled there by ourselves a lot.
One example of this is fat. "Far too many people still believe that anything high in fat is automatically unhealthy. This could not be further from the truth. In reality, we all need fat as our body is literally made from fat (cell membranes, our brain, hormones, etc. are all made from fat!).
There are of course good and bad fats and some fats can become unhealthy if they are heated at high temperatures but at the end of the day, high-fat foods such as avocado, oily fish, nuts & seeds are good for us.
Another reason foods can be seen as unhealthy is if they are naturally high in sugar (such as the poor old banana). The issue here is that statements are often taken out of context! Whether something is healthy or unhealthy depends a lot on when you are eating it, how big a portion is, and whether you are combining it with other foods or not. "
#7
I keep hearing more and more people say that eating fruit is 'bad' because 'sugar'.
No, eating sweets made of processed ingredients is bad, fruit (as with everything, in moderation) is good. Fibre, vitamins and minerals, nutrition in something that just grows out there. Good. Eat fruit.
Marie Dahme 9 months ago
Just be careful with fruit juice, that's a different beast altogether
#8
Shocked that no one has said potatoes. They're one of the healthiest foods we know of - packed full of nutrients and vitamins, and carbohydrates. They're nearly enough to live off of entirely on their own.
It's the oil we cook them in that's the unhealthy part .
Anonymouse 9 months ago
Heck - an astronaut could live on Mars eating nothing but potatoes... You could make a movie about it.
#9
Silence. We've gotten so used to noise pollution, real silence has become anxiety inducing. Silence improves sleep, helps your brain process what you're learning, reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, the list goes on.
Kathy Richardson 9 months ago
I love silence. When my husband goes somewhere I turn off everything I can and just sit and listen to the quiet.
In order to help people be more cautious about conflicting information online and make the right decisions for their health, Boellinger emphasizes the difference between whole foods and highly processed foods, and how important it's to listen to your body and find reputable sources.
"For example, a banana may technically have the same amount of sugar as a chocolate bar but in reality, it is still healthier because it also contains fibre and vitamins and minerals.
Secondly, listen to your body. If you feel well, have great energy levels, good sleep, and balanced moods you are likely doing the right thing. Don’t let anyone tell you something is unhealthy just because it didn’t work for them.
Finally, find reputable sources! Follow the advice of registered nutritionists over that of a fitness influencer and don’t listen to anyone who is trying to also sell you products (such as weight loss shakes etc)."
#10
Crying.
S. E. in Indiana 9 months ago
Occasionally, you just have to let it out. Nothing wrong with this at all.
#12
Sunlight.
There are specific times of the day where the UV days aren’t as damaging.
You need vitamin D, you need sunlight. Just don’t be lying out there for 3 hours tanning/burning.
#15
Nuts. Specifically unsalted nuts. Many ppl think they're not healthy because they only look at calories, but they're high in healthy fats, fibers, vitamins, so good to eat one or two hands per day of them (sure, not the whole bag at once ;-)).
#16
A man expressing his feminine side occasionally without feeling “gay” about it.
#17
Drinking coffee - it's loaded with antioxidants and has been linked to a lower risk of several diseases.
Daniela Lavanza 9 months ago
As an Italian, I approve this! :-) And drink it the way you like: with sugar, milk, whatever, as long as you enjoy it.
#18
You know what, I'm going to say it. Calories. Everyone acts like calories are the worst thing in the world, but they're just the numerical amount of energy a food gives you. There's nothing inherently bad about calories.
Marie Dahme 9 months ago
I look at calories as my daily "food budget" for the day. Do I want to blow all those calories for the day on one meal or spread it out thru out the day ?
#19
Saying no to certain social events even if you have the time to attend.
CooperDooper81 9 months ago
If you say no to everything long enough, people stop asking. It's fab!
#21
Taking care of your mental health is not a weakness, it is a strength to recognize your problems and learn to overcome them.
#22
Vaccines , but that is just a small parcel of people with 3 neurons. .
#23
Genetically modified foods.
WindySwede 9 months ago
Everything is genetically modified, mostly naturally by Agrobacterium or normally occurring mutations throu misses in the genome. And more recently through selective breading. Then even radiations and others that causes random mutations and hoping any of the come out any better.. 🙈 then CPRISPR doesn't sound to bad? It's as always how the technology are used. If for good, then it could be beneficial. Based Everything living has genes, that have some way been genetically modified from the start some 4,3 billion years ago.
#24
Saying sorry.
#25
Maintaining work boundaries.
A lot of oldies and bootlickers would immediately gang up on you and call you lazy and have poor work ethics for even thinking about working only during your paid hours and utilizing your PTOs.
Luke Branwen 9 months ago
Remember kids! If you work hard, go above and beyond, do a lot of overtime, put your work above everything else and never take a day off, then one day, your boss may go to space!
#27
Butter.
just pure butter.
while we're at it: lard, tallow as well.
Justin Tyme 9 months ago
Fat doesn't make people fat. How are people not aware of the fact that foods get digested? They don't go directly from your mouth to your fat cells.
#28
Having a balance of being both negative and positive. Too much positivity is bad. You need to have a balance.
#30
Sunscreen.
What do you think ?
Guess Undheit 9 months ago
Playing in dirt. Low exposure to bacteria strengthens natural immunity. Kids who are shielded, not allowed (or able) to play outside on grass or dirt are more likely to have immunity problems later on. [ https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220929-how-outdoor-play-boosts-kids-immune-systems ]
General Stukov 8 months ago
I used to barefoot everywhere and my immune system is incredibly strong thanks to it.
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Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 9 months ago
Consuming a liquid made of H20 is highly dangerous. Every person who consumed it will eventually die.
Looz-ashae 9 months ago
This post is the reason why you should never ever listen to what the Internet says.
The Original Bruno 9 months ago (edited)
Religion. Religious people score far higher on happiness, wellbeing and lifespan. Correlation or causation? If it were a matter of religion doing better at attracting healthy, well and happy people, or people losing faith when they face struggles, you'd expect that formerly religious people scored especially poorly, but in fact, the never-religious are those that score significantly worse. Funny how BPs fumbled over themselves to upvote "lack of religion," when BP is so filled with miserable, angry people bitterly awaiting some Thanos to put them out of their misery. (for whatever reason, the global surveys excluded most predominantly Muslim countries. Probably because it's too dangerous to acknowledge disbelief in those countries. No, not all religions are the same. But the benefit caused by religion did extend beyond traditionally Christian regions.)
The Original Bruno 9 months ago
I'm not trying to convert anyone; I think it's safe to say that those insincerely adopting religion for external benefits are a great harm to religions and secular communities alike. I am trying to say to BPs to back off the notion that all religion is generally harmful.
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Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 9 months ago
This could be unhealthy, depending on which end of the weapon you're at :D
Load More Replies... Guess Undheit 9 months ago
Playing in dirt. Low exposure to bacteria strengthens natural immunity. Kids who are shielded, not allowed (or able) to play outside on grass or dirt are more likely to have immunity problems later on. [ https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220929-how-outdoor-play-boosts-kids-immune-systems ]
General Stukov 8 months ago
I used to barefoot everywhere and my immune system is incredibly strong thanks to it.
Load More Replies... Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 9 months ago
Consuming a liquid made of H20 is highly dangerous. Every person who consumed it will eventually die.
Looz-ashae 9 months ago
This post is the reason why you should never ever listen to what the Internet says.
The Original Bruno 9 months ago (edited)
Religion. Religious people score far higher on happiness, wellbeing and lifespan. Correlation or causation? If it were a matter of religion doing better at attracting healthy, well and happy people, or people losing faith when they face struggles, you'd expect that formerly religious people scored especially poorly, but in fact, the never-religious are those that score significantly worse. Funny how BPs fumbled over themselves to upvote "lack of religion," when BP is so filled with miserable, angry people bitterly awaiting some Thanos to put them out of their misery. (for whatever reason, the global surveys excluded most predominantly Muslim countries. Probably because it's too dangerous to acknowledge disbelief in those countries. No, not all religions are the same. But the benefit caused by religion did extend beyond traditionally Christian regions.)
The Original Bruno 9 months ago
I'm not trying to convert anyone; I think it's safe to say that those insincerely adopting religion for external benefits are a great harm to religions and secular communities alike. I am trying to say to BPs to back off the notion that all religion is generally harmful.
Load More Replies... Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 9 months ago
This could be unhealthy, depending on which end of the weapon you're at :D
Load More Replies... You May Like Person Wonders How People Unknowingly Altered Their Bodies For The Worse, Receives 31 Responses Medical Professionals Debunk 39 Health Myths They Wish You’d Stop Believing
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