10 Toxic Habits That Are Making You Sick & Tired

These are 10 toxic habits that are making you either obese, sick or tired or perhaps all! Correct these habits for better health, longevity, energy, good digestion and restful sleep. 

All of us have few unhealthy habits and from time to time, we must enjoy life and allow ourselves to indulge in life's tasty delicacies. The problem comes when these habits start to take over our self-discipline and instead become a source of self-sabotage.

In this article, I write the 10 toxic habits that I think are making you sick and taking the best of you!

These are 10 toxic habits in modern times that a lot of people have developed over the years and almost always get these wrong! If you want optimum health, then you MUST let go of these habits right away!

While there are many reasons for chronic fatigue or just waking up feeling tired or diseases like obesity and diabetes, here are top 10 reasons that are focused on your daily habits - see which ones you are doing wrong so that you can fix the root cause of your fatigue, malnutrition and digestive issues and instead hopefully wake up feeling more energized in the morning.

Top 10 Reasons You Are Waking Up Tired -

1. You are eating way too much sugar or sugary foods - Are you eating too much sugar in your recipes or baked goods or are you snacking on too many processed foods that are filled with sugar?

For those with a sweet tooth, sugar is highly addictive - we are now consuming 150 times more sugar than our ancestors just a century ago! White sugar is highly toxic - from causing cancer to diabetes to cavities, it can also lead to obesity, congestion, digestive issues, too much jittery energy, blood sugar spikes and most of all, it is damaging to all doshas.

Your daily menu should be mostly savory meals with some snacking on fruits or if at all, your favorite treat which should be made with unprocessed, unbleached sugars like jaggery or date paste and that too, you should only have this during the earlier part of your day.

2. Your last meal of the day is too late - Are you eating late dinner or snacking after dinner and it is too late in the night? If so, your cut-off time for eating needs a serious fix - fix your schedule and priorities so that you are done eating a few hours before bed (with no late night snacks anymore!).

When we eat late dinner, our body is busy with digestion and as you lie down to go to bed, you burn less calories as your metabolic rate slows down. Eating late at night can therefore lead to weight gain, obesity, insomnia, metabolic syndrome and it may even cause acid reflux disease. 

Your dinner should ideally be a minimum of 3 hours before bedtime followed by some walking after dinner and no snacks or anything after dinner. 

3. You are watching negative content on tv, YouTube, phone, etc. - Whatever you watch or think or talk right before bedtime is what's going to run in your mind during sleep as well as when you wake up and such will be your reality as well.

This point is very important because we all have a habit of worrying about things and thinking about them when we are in bed - thus we wake up with the same mindset and no wonder, it manifests in our reality day after day.

Whatever you think right before falling asleep is what you will wake up with and that is what will manifest in your reality - day after day. So, change your nighttime routine and change your life - literally.

The only thing you should be listening to before bedtime is some relaxing, positive sleep music or affirmations - period. Do this 3-4 hours before your due bedtime and see the difference.

4. Your breakfast is sweet or in other words, it resembles American breakfast (SAD - Standard American Diet) - All this nonsense about having 'healthy' smoothies filled with fresh fruits, sugar and dairy milk is HIGHLY misleading!

Smoothies are one of the worst things to have in the morning or even during noon - they create a huge blood sugar spike and moreover, you should start your day with light savory drink like my ragi malt or even better, have an early lunch around 10 am or 11 am and that is it - yup, this is really how rest of the world eats!

About smoothies - You can have a smoothie as a snack for your sweet tooth if you must but you need to have it in a very small size (8 oz. max) with fresh fruits and vegetables with no added sugar, pinch of sea salt, few soaked nuts and seeds and swap your hormones and antibiotics filled dairy milk for an organic, plant-based milk. Smoothies are okay as mid-afternoon snacks but must be light and NOT large size! 

5. You are dealing with heavy emotions like grief, regret, loss, worry, anger, depression, etc. - When we go through tough times, our body is carrying heavy emotions and that becomes tiring when it continues for a long time. Talking to someone with whom you feel safe with and who you can trust 100% wholeheartedly can be very helpful.

Finding support,  journaling, music therapy, spending time in Nature, getting that heavy, stuck energy moving and getting some sunshine daily can be very helpful. Tapping is another great way to move the energy stuck in the body and for getting rid of toxins. 

6. Drinking water near meal times - I have said this again and again that in Ayurveda, drinking water or any fluids near meals times or with meals is strictly prohibited!

The reason is because it dilutes your stomach acid which weakens your digestive fire (agni) and really hurts your gut health.

Drink water if you must but -

-drink minimum of 1 hour before the meal and 1.5 hour after the meal. Two hours before and after is even better.

-do NOT drink a large glass or a whole jug!!

-drink in sips and small quantities each time.

7. You are eating too often during the day - You eat too much during the day and back to back with little to no gaps in between = disaster for your health!!

You have been told by the Western doctors and 'experts' to eat every 2 hours so you have lunch then you must have some dessert or drink or perhaps both.

Now, some time has passed so now you must have some snack in between or a smoothie?! You get the point...

Give long gaps between your meals and drinks - in fact, eating ONE main meal during lunch and then having some lentils, soup, salad or veggies for dinner is enough.

8. You drink '8 glasses of water' daily! - Fiasco! for your kidneys. Unless you want kidney failure or kidney issues, this is another Western lie that we need to drink 8 glasses per day!

You ONLY need to drink water when you are truly thirsty - listen to your body's needs and it will guide you when it needs water. Also, take small sips, bless the water and drink small quantities at a time.

When do you need more water? - If you are outside and sweating a lot or exercising, etc. then listen to your body's needs and you definitely would need more hydration + electrolytes. But other than that, just drinking water for the sake of drinking '8 glasses per day' is wrong! Really, it's very hard on your body, especially kidneys!.

9. Your breakfast is too heavy! - If your breakfast is too heavy like bagel, donut, smoothie, hash browns, bacon, orange juice, Starbucks coffee at work or latte, etc. then all you are doing is sending a huge blood sugar spike in your body and that too, right in the morning!

After this, soon it will be time for lunch and in between, we just had something to drink...now you are seeing the points from above also and you can see how it is disrupting your blood sugar and insulin levels in the body.

If you truly want health and longevity, skip the heavy breakfast and the blood sugar spikes! In Asian countries like India, people just have a small cup of tea and maybe a small biscuit or two in the morning and off they go to work and then at noon, they have brunch - this is it.

I never ever remember my grandfather having a heavy breakfast and then lunch again in the afternoon while he was working (and even after he retired). The same goes for my grandma and all of that generation and still it is the same in India pretty much...we only eat ONE main meal in the early part of the day and rest is very small snacks or tea till dinner time.

For women who are home-makers like my beloved grandma was and who need to wake up around 4 am to do all the cooking, etc., a breakfast of one thin paratha with some vegetables and lentils is what we eat. Then, lunch is generally after 4-5 hours gap and it is roti, vegetables along with lentils and salad.

We do NOT ever have sweet or processed breakfast (unlike in America!) - all Asian countries that are known for having good health like India, Japan, China, Iran, etc. as well as African countries always have savory breakfast. Period. It is never sweet! .

10. Your 'snacks' are killing you! - In Asian countries, snacks mean few nuts and seeds, fox nuts, finger millet malt, small biscuits or savory spiced chickpeas or dry fruits snacks, fruits, fermented soups or veggies and so on.

In Western world, especially in America, snacks mean large drive-thru dairy filled shakes, the 'super healthy smoothies', French fries, processed protein bars, ice cream buckets, pancakes or hash browns, burgers, bakery desserts, and so on - you get the point.

Change your snacks and you change your health. Choose better - choose plant-based, whole food, unprocessed snacks - enjoy them in small quantities and have with gaps between meals.

So, here are my 10 points to help you combat fatigue - which point/s resonated with you and what steps will you take to fix the issue?!

I hope this list helps you to take better care of your health - by changing one toxic habit and swapping it for a healthier one!

-Somyata