Give It Up!
Eliminate the negative and you will definitely accentuate the positive
Now cut that out! Sometimes, the easiest way to make your life better is to eliminate unnecessary purchases and needless annoyances.
Calls from telemarketers. Sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov (888-382-1222). Since its inception in '03, nearly half of U.S. phone numbers have registered. Telemarketers purge newly registered numbers every 31 days. Cellphones are covered.
Antibacterial soap. Scientists have now tested it head to head with regular soap in places as germy as New York City and a squatter's community in Pakistan. Antibacterial cleansers did nothing extra to reduce infections or even the amount of germs left on the hands. Just scrub hard 20 to 30 seconds with any soap, and work up lots of lather.
Homeopathy. Large amounts of substances cause disease, but tiny amounts of the same elements--in some cases diluted into nonexistence--make you better, according to this popular alternative medicine. The principle is called "like cures like." But there's nothing to like about it, says the medical journal Lancet . Rigorous studies show no real benefit. Though advocates damned the Lancet , the journal concluded that homeopathy added up to a few tablets of nothingness--and don't call them in the morning.
Trans fats. Turns out partially hydrogenated oils like margarine cause just as much trouble for your heart as butter and lard, maybe more. Their trans fatty acids raise bad (LDL) cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease, says Nirupa Matthan, a Tufts University cholesterol researcher. In January, the Food and Drug Administration will require labeling of foods with more than half a gram of trans fats a serving. Luckily, Fleischmann's and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter make spreads without trans fats, so no need to forgo fake butter on toast.
Vitamin E capsules. In 19 vitamin E studies, researchers found that doses above 150 IU (international units) correlated with a slight increase in death rate. While there is some evidence that a small dose can act as an antioxidant, neutralizing harmful free radicals in cells, large doses might encourage oxidation, reports researcher Edgar R. Miller III of Johns Hopkins. Vitamin E capsules could crowd out other fat-soluble antioxidants and might also increase the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. For your fix, eat sunflower seeds or peanut butter instead.
ATM fees. Two dollars here, $4 there. In a year, it's easy to lose a couple hundred to ATM fees. The average cost of using another bank's ATM is now $2.91, up 6 percent in the past six months. But there are ways to stay fee free. A few banks, like Citibank, don't charge for using a competitor's machines. ATMs at the 547 Wawa stores in the Northeast don't add a surcharge. Nor do most supermarkets and drugstores if you buy something with a debit card and ask for cash back. Things may improve in '06. A few banks, like New Jersey-based Commerce Bank, are waiving and refunding any ATM charges for customers with $2,500 or more on deposit.
This story appears in the December 26, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.