Flip Flops. You Shouldn't Wear Them and Here's Why.

My least favourite shoe is the flip flop. Those $5 sandals that you see on adults and children everywhere during the summer. They're terrible and here's why.

• They are just thin cheap pieces of plastic and foam glued together. There's no support to the ankle, foot or arch. This lack of support makes it easier to twist or sprain your ankle. They also break. I have seen more than enough flip flop corpses on the street. (How do these people get home?)

• Your foot works harder. You are just using your toes to hold on to flip flops which can cause overuse injuries, such as plantar fasciitis (inflammation of the bottom of your feet) and even stress fractures to the 5 bones that lead out to your toes! They should definitely not be used for hiking (!) or when walking for long periods of time.

• Dirty, dirty, dirty. Streets aren't clean and the thin material in flip flops provide you little to no protection from germs. You're more likely to come into contact with germs like Staphylococcus aureus (which can cause skin sores or worse) or E. Coli! And if you have a cut on your foot, those germs can travel into your bloodstream.

• Driving safety. They can easily slip off when you're going from the gas to the brakes, possibly leading to accidents.

• Increase in body pain. Because you have to walk differently in flip flops, it can cause pain in your hips, low back, and knees. Any work you're doing at the chiropractor's, physiotherapist's, acupuncturist's or massage therapist's will be undone. 

What I recommend is using these flip flops to take out the trash. And then throw them out too.

Get a pair of sandals that have arch supports and straps. There are a lot of stylish options out there. They cost a little more but definitely worth it to your feet and the rest of you.