Everyone has his or her own definition of what wellness is—and especially what it isn’t.
This is never more obvious than on the Internet, where strangers will spend hours publicly duking it out over whether Paleo is superior to Veganism or if GMOs are actually bad for you.
Certain “taboo” words really grind people’s gears, so if you want to avoid an argument, we suggest you tread lightly when using these seven provocative words.
Diet
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When you hear the word diet you either think of 1) the torturous challenge of limiting your caloric intake and restricting yourself from all the foods you know and love or 2) the way you choose to eat.
Whether you're a pescatarian, gluten-free or giving the Whole30 a shot, everyone follows a different diet—but it's the word people can't seem to get on the same page about.
Personally, I'm on the "eat healthy until 11 P.M." diet.
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Your Next RaceDetox
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Want to spend an hour arguing with strangers on Facebook? Talking about detoxing is the way to do it. If you hate the word detox, it's probably because you either don't believe your body needs help getting sludge out of your system or you can't imagine spending $250 just to drink icky juices for five days straight.
Detoxing can mean many different things, however, and it doesn't always involve crazy diets or drinking charcoal. Your own personal detox could just be consuming whole foods or starting the day with matcha tea—the options are unlimited.
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Your Next RaceCleanse
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Much like detox, there's just something about the word cleanse that gets people going. But what's wrong with a cleanse? It could be that people feel they're getting duped into spending outrageous amounts of money for something they don't need, but at the root of it, people cleanse to get a fresh start.
It's a mental challenge to change your habits, and sometimes telling yourself that you can cleanse away the damage you've done to your body through toxins and processed foods will actually help get the ball rolling to a healthier lifestyle.
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Your Next RaceProcessed
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Everyone can agree that fresh food is the best choice if you're trying to live a clean lifestyle, but processed foods are just so convenient. Processed foods are known to have large amounts of sodium, fats and sugar, and yet, it's nearly impossible to eat like a normal person and avoid them. According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 61 percent of the groceries Americans buy are processed items and, on average, Americans consume nearly 1,000 calories a day from processed foods.
But just how processed is processed food anyway? After all, there's a difference between buying a bag of potato chips and a gallon of milk, both of which are technically processed.
I guess the real question is… can I still have bacon?
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Your Next RaceGMO—and non-GMO
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Genetically modified foods were first commercially sold in 1994. They're now used to optimize the nation's cash crops such as soybeans and corn in order for them to have longer growth seasons and feed more people.
But the backlash against GMOs has since followed, and now pricier, non-GMO food products are taking over the shelves of every grocery store—and no one seems to be able to conclude whether you actually need to avoid GMOs or not.
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Your Next RaceGluten-Free
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A gluten-free diet is an effective treatment for people with celiac's disease, but now skipping out on wheat and other types of grains is considered trendy. Perfectly healthy people are eradicating gluten from their diets and all of us bread-lovers out there are really salty about it.
Is consuming wheat actually bad for you? Or will we find out later that wheat has been fine all along?
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Your Next RaceBikini/Beach Body
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Folks in the fitness community love throwing the phrase "bikini body" around. One of the top—and most followed—fitness gurus out there, Kayla Itsines, has made her legacy on her "Bikini Body Guide." But even Kayla preaches about positive body image and self-love, so what's the deal?
Our take: Do you have a body? Do you have a bikini? Boom. You have a bikini body.
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