It is said that 90% of our daily activities are out of habit, which is in turn implicated in our health conditions. Some are seemingly good habits though, such as keeping early hours, no smoking or drinking, more sports, reading and smiling, while some others of what we believe is hygienic in life are actually harmful, instead of being purportedly salubrious.

Here we have listed 12 ‘good’ habits that need to be corrected.

1. Wrap food with blank paper

For the ‘whitening effect’ of the blank paper, many manufacturers use bleaching agents in the production process, which, after contacting with food, will cause a series of chemical reactions with harmful substances to contaminate the food.

2. Use tissue paper to wipe dishware and fruits

The results from the national inspection services show that many kinds of toilet paper are not disinfected or at least not done thoroughly with more or less bacteria easily transferable to the wiped objects. Only high-grade napkins under strict sterilization can meet the hygienic standard.

3. Use plastic tablecloth

Although tablecloth looks good, but it can easily be deposited with dusts and bacteria, particularly some made of toxic vinyl chloride resin likely to contaminate dishware and food susceptible to unwanted diseases and poor health.

4. Use food cover

This kind of food cover can keep off flies not to drop right on the food but its gauze will be left with some eggs of the flies which, if falling from the gauze holes, will contaminate the food with pathogens.

5. Use towel to clean dishware and fruits

The tap water in the Chinese cities is strictly sterilized, meaning the water-washed plates, cutleries and fruits are basically clean free of any additional wiping of towels that would more or less contain germs, bringing undesirable secondary pollutants.

6. Use Baijiu to disinfect dishware

Some people use Baijiu (Chinese liquor) to wipe bowls and chopsticks for the purpose of disinfection. In fact, the clinically used alcohol content is 75% whereas Baijiu is under 56%, far lower than what can be used as disinfector.

7. Recook not-so-fresh food

Some housewives tend to keep not-so-fresh food by recooking it with high temperature or in the pressure cooker believing that bacteria can be killed in that way. According to clinical test, the bacteria-secreted toxins before entering the human body can be highly resistant to high temperatures from inhibition and decomposition.

8. Wipe table with dishcloth

You will be shocked at the number of germs a brand-new rag can produce after one week of use. Any dishcloth used for cleaning your table must be prewashed thoroughly and disinfected in boiling water every three to four days.

9. Begrudge the unrotten part of fruits

Some people tend to cut out the rotten part of the fruit and eat the rest, thinking it's all right. In fact, the unrotten one has been introduced into bacterial metabolites through fruit juice, multiplying microorganisms, in which mold can cause mutations in human cells and cause cancer.

10. Fold quilt as soon as you get up

Humans sweat a lot every day, with no exception to sleep. To fold your quilt after getting up is to keep your unevaporated perspirations inside, which, for a long while, will stock bad smells and affect your comfortability in sleep, not mentioning it can also harbor unfavorable pathogens. Therefore, a better habit will be to turn the quilt over and air it flat for 10 minutes before folding it!

11. Stick to one type of medicinal toothpaste

Medicinal toothpaste will certainly inhibit some bacteria. However, if the same drug is used for a long time, the bacteria in the mouth will be adaptive and become drug-fast. Therefore, toothpaste should also be replaced regularly.

12. Use waste fluorescent tube to hang towels

The fluorescent tube contains mercury, phosphor and a small amount of ammonia and other toxic substances. If such a waste tube is eroded or has some tiny cracks, the harmful substances in the tube are likely to seep out if affected by humidity. Especially when the temperature is high, mercury leaks out more fouling the towels, which, if enter the eyes when you are using these towels, will cause visual impairment or even blindness.

[Images via上海热线侬好上海]