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Think You Know What’s Healthy? Think Again.
Sometimes the best advice sounds downright backwards. What if the key to losing weight isn’t eating less—but eating more? Or what if that refreshing iced coffee on a scorching day isn’t actually helping you cool down? Science has a funny way of flipping conventional wisdom on its head, revealing surprising truths that can actually improve your health and well-being. Ready to challenge what you thought you knew? Let’s dive into some counterintuitive remedies that just might work better than the usual advice.
1. Skip “Diet” Soda
If you’re reaching for a diet soda in hopes of trimming your waistline, you might want to rethink that strategy. Despite their sugar-free labels, diet sodas aren’t the slimming solution they claim to be. In fact, they may be doing more harm than good.
“Many people assume terms like ‘low-fat,’ ‘low-sugar,’ or ‘light’ automatically mean fewer calories—but that’s not always the case,” says Amy Goodson, RD, dietitian with Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. “To make these products taste just as good, manufacturers often add other ingredients like extra sugar or artificial sweeteners.”
And the science backs this up. A study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that overweight adults who drank diet beverages actually consumed more calories—particularly from food—than those who drank regular soda. Why? Artificial sweeteners may mess with your body’s hunger cues, leading to increased cravings and overeating.
Even more startling: a 10-year study from the University of Texas found that diet soda drinkers experienced a 70% increase in waist circumference compared to those who skipped the stuff entirely. Some participants even saw up to a 500% increase over the decade.
The bottom line? Just because it’s labeled “diet” doesn’t mean it’s doing your diet any favors. When in doubt, skip the soda altogether and hydrate the old-fashioned way—with water.
2. Cool Off by Drinking Hot Beverages
It might sound backward, but on a scorching day, sipping a steaming hot drink can actually help your body cool down. While the instinct is to reach for an iced coffee, opting for a hot one could be the smarter move.
According to research from the University of Ottawa’s School of Human Kinetics, drinking a hot beverage raises your core temperature slightly, prompting your body to produce more sweat. While this might sound uncomfortable, there’s a payoff: as the sweat evaporates from your skin, it carries heat away from your body, resulting in a net cooling effect—as long as the sweat can evaporate properly. This means it works best in dry, breezy conditions where sweat can escape, rather than humid climates where it lingers.
So next time you’re sweating it out under the summer sun, don’t be afraid to order that hot latte. It may not be refreshing in the moment, but it could leave you feeling cooler in the long run.
3. Exercise When You’re Tired
After a draining day at work, collapsing on the couch might feel like the only thing you have the energy for. But if you’re battling mental or physical fatigue, skipping your workout could actually leave you feeling worse. Surprisingly, light to moderate exercise can be one of the best energy boosters around.
According to a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, just 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity significantly improved feelings of fatigue, reduced symptoms of depression, and boosted mood—even among people suffering from chronic exhaustion. The researchers found that participants who stuck to a consistent exercise routine felt more alert and energized over time.
The key isn’t to push yourself to exhaustion, but to get your body moving. A brisk walk, short bike ride, or low-impact gym session can increase blood flow, release endorphins, and help “reset” both body and brain after a long day.
So, the next time you’re feeling wiped out, don’t cancel your workout—just scale it back. A little movement might be exactly what you need to feel more like yourself again.
Furthermore, if you’re interested in learning more about how resting too much can impact your health, check out our other article ‘Are There Risks of Excessive Sitting?’
4. You’ll Take Better Notes by Hand
In the age of laptops and lightning-fast typing, taking notes by hand might feel outdated. But when it comes to learning and remembering information, your pen may be mightier than your keyboard.
Research from Princeton University and UCLA found that students who took notes by hand consistently outperformed their laptop-using peers when tested on conceptual understanding and long-term retention. Why? Because typing often encourages transcription—capturing every word without truly processing it. Handwriting, on the other hand, naturally slows you down, forcing you to summarize, paraphrase, and engage with the material in real time.
This process, known as generative note-taking, enhances memory by reinforcing the brain’s cognitive pathways. And when you physically look at and write on a page, your brain is more likely to connect ideas and retain them longer. So even though you might end up with fewer words on paper, you’ll walk away with a stronger grasp of the subject.
5. Empower Your Nap by Drinking Coffee
It sounds like a contradiction, but drinking coffee right before a nap—yes, before—can actually supercharge your energy. This phenomenon is known as a “coffee nap,” and science backs up its surprising effectiveness.
A study from Japan found that participants who consumed about 200 mg of caffeine (roughly one to two cups of coffee) and then immediately took a 20-minute nap felt more alert and performed better on computer-based tasks than those who napped without caffeine. The trick lies in the body’s chemistry.
As you go about your day, a compound called adenosine builds up in your brain, making you feel drowsy. A quick nap helps clear some of that adenosine—and caffeine works by blocking the brain’s adenosine receptors. So when you nap right after drinking coffee, you’re clearing out the fatigue-inducing compound and making room for the caffeine to be even more effective when it kicks in 20 minutes later.
“It’s a one-two punch,” explains Dr. Allen Towfigh, medical director of New York Neurology & Sleep Medicine. “Napping clears out the adenosine, and when combined with caffeine—an adenosine-blocker—it further reduces fatigue and amplifies the alertness boost.”
So next time you hit an afternoon slump, don’t choose between coffee or a nap—try both!
6. Don’t Brush Your Teeth Right After Eating
Think about this: you wash your hands right after using the bathroom to avoid spreading germs and you shower right after you work out to mitigate bacteria buildup (and odor). Applying that same logic to other hygiene habits, you might feel inclined to brush your teeth right after eating or drinking. Here’s why you should hold off.
Acidic foods and drinks — like citrus fruits, orange juice, soda, and sports drinks — temporarily soften your tooth enamel. If you brush your teeth right away, you’re essentially rubbing that softened enamel down, accelerating erosion beneath the surface. According to Howard R. Gamble, past president of the Academy of General Dentistry, it’s best to wait 30 to 60 minutes before brushing to give your saliva enough time to neutralize the acid and reharden the enamel.
Even though it sounds crazy, you’ll want to avoid brushing your teeth directly after vomiting too. Try some water to get the taste out of your mouth and pick up a brush a little bit later.
In short: be kind to your teeth. Let them recover before giving them a scrub!
7. Lose Inches by Gaining Weight
Muscle weight, that is! When it comes to the scale, a pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat, but muscle is much denser and takes up less space. Mark Nutting, fitness director of SACO Sport & Fitness in Saco, Maine, explains that a woman who weighs 130 pounds and regularly lifts weights will likely fit into smaller clothing than a woman of the same weight who doesn’t strength train.
“You can build bigger muscles and still get smaller overall if you lose fat,” Nutting says. “The bulk many women worry about only happens if they gain muscle on top of existing fat, without shedding the fat itself.” The key is to combine a sustainable calorie deficit with resistance training to slim down inches while improving body composition.
8. Eat Less by Eating More
It might seem like grabbing a low-calorie snack pack is the healthier choice, but it can actually leave you hungrier and craving more carbs later on. Amy Goodson, RD, explains, “Eating small amounts of carbohydrates causes blood sugar to spike, which often leads to even stronger carb cravings.”
Instead, she recommends pairing your snack with protein and healthy fat—like an apple with peanut butter. “Protein and fat help you feel full faster and keep you satisfied longer, so you end up eating fewer calories overall,” Goodson says. This simple shift can help you control your appetite and make healthier choices throughout the day.
9. Reduce Bloat by Drinking Water
It might seem like drinking water would make bloating worse, but it actually does the opposite. If you eat a high-fiber diet, water helps your digestive system work more efficiently. James Lee, MD, gastroenterologist at St. Joseph Hospital in California, explains, “Water mixes with water-soluble fiber and forms a gel-like substance. This improves gut motility and helps reduce bloating symptoms.”
On top of that, dehydration can cause your body to hold onto water, leading to that tight, uncomfortable feeling of bloating. Staying hydrated prevents this water retention, making drinking plenty of water an effective way to ease bloating.
Takeaways
Health and wellness don’t always follow the rules we expect. Sometimes the most effective solutions come from challenging conventional wisdom and trying something a little counterintuitive. Whether it’s working out to fight fatigue or holding off on brushing your teeth after breakfast, these surprising tips are backed by research and could make a real difference in your daily life.
Of course, no matter how well you take care of yourself, unexpected health challenges can still arise. That’s why protecting your well-being with the right health insurance coverage is just as important as following smart wellness advice. Reach out to a licensed agent today to find a plan tailored to keep you healthy and covered—so you can confidently embrace whatever life throws your way.
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Article updated 6/10/25.