7 things health experts said were bad for you in 2018

Ibuprofen might make you infertile. Grilled meat could jack up your blood pressure. And more!

Meat.
(Image credit: Lisovskaya/iStock)

1. Ibuprofen could contribute to male infertility when taken in large doses on a regular basis. French scientists gave 14 healthy men, ages 18 to 35, a 600 mg dose of ibuprofen twice a day for six weeks, and a placebo to 17 others. After only two weeks, those taking the anti-inflammatory drug developed compensated hypogonadism, a testicular condition that can lead to infertility. "We normally see this condition in elderly men, so it raises an alarm," says senior author Bernard Jégou. It remains unclear why ­ibuprofen — the active ingredient in Advil and Motrin — might have this effect; compensated hypogonadism normally occurs when the testes don't produce enough testosterone.

2. Grilled food may increase the risk for high blood pressure. Harvard researchers analyzed the diets of some 103,000 people for up to 16 years. Those who ate grilled, broiled, or roasted meats or fish more than 15 times a month were 17 percent more likely to develop high blood pressure than people who ate them fewer than four times a month. And participants who preferred their meats well done were 15 percent more likely to suffer hypertension than those who opted for rarer meats. Lead researcher Gang Liu says that chemicals produced by cooking meats at high temperatures induce oxidative stress, inflammation, and insulin resistance in animals, possibly leading to a raised risk of developing high blood pressure.

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