According to statistics, almost 75% of the population have bad habits. Many do not even realize what consequences this can lead to. The most common addictions include smoking, addiction to alcohol and drugs, and unhealthy eating habits. How do these factors affect the human body?
Improper nutrition
An unbalanced diet and lack of food intake is a serious problem that can destroy health in a short time.
The most common errors in diet and diet are:
- Eating before bed. This greatly complicates the work of the gastrointestinal tract, leads to interruptions in the digestive system.
- Excessive consumption of sweets. Sweets are fast carbohydrates that dramatically increase blood sugar levels. After a sharp jump comes the same sharp decline. Frequent jumps can cause a malfunction in the endocrine system of the body. In addition, sweet tooth often overeat, because. drop in sugar levels cause an acute feeling of hunger. In addition, excessive consumption of sugar causes diseases of the oral cavity and disrupts digestion.
- Lots of salt in the diet. Excess salt adversely affects the kidneys and the urinary system as a whole. It can also cause problems with the musculoskeletal system.
- Eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia deserve special attention. Anorexia is the refusal of food or a significant restriction of nutrition, and bulimia is uncontrolled overeating, after which a person feels shame and causes himself to vomit. Eating disorders lead to beriberi, anemia, malnutrition, and disorders in the cardiovascular system. These are life-threatening conditions that require mandatory consultation with a nutritionist and psychiatrist.
Smoking
One of the most harmful habits is smoking. Inhaling nicotine and other impurities of tobacco smoke is a real drug that is addictive and slowly destroys the body. Most smokers with experience have chronic diseases of the respiratory system. Many people have bronchitis.
Smokers also experience the following health problems:
- The risk of oncological diseases increases;
- Often there are colds;
- There is a constant dry cough;
- The work of the heart and blood vessels worsens;
- The ability of blood vessels to respond to changes in the environment is reduced (to narrow or expand);
- Manifested by the formation of blood clots.
Each cigarette is a cocktail of dangerous poisons. The sooner you give up a bad habit, the longer and better your life will be.
Alcohol
Addiction to alcohol also does not pass without a trace for the body. There are more and more alcoholics every day. Previously, most of them were adult men. But today the situation has changed radically: women and even teenagers are increasingly becoming addicted to alcohol.
First of all, it should be noted the detrimental effect on the brain, with the constant use of alcohol, it begins to gradually break down – healthy brain cells die off.
Also, alcoholism is fraught with such consequences for the body as:
- Serious liver problems that can even lead to death;
- Problems with the digestive tract, increased risk of developing peptic ulcer;
- Problems with memory and attention;
- Violation of coordination of movements and balance, even outside the state of intoxication;
- kidney disease;
- Increased risk of developing cancer;
- Psychological instability.
You can often hear that drinking alcohol is a way to cheer up. But this is a trap: a slight euphoria from alcohol the next day turns into a sharply lowered mood with a feeling of hopelessness and longing. And the more often a person drinks, the more pronounced this condition becomes. Therefore, alcohol is more of a cause of low mood, and not a cure for it.
Narcotic drugs
Every year the variety of narcotic preparations is growing, this increases the number of drug addicts. The reason for this is the apparent harmlessness of “soft” drugs. With the onset of the use of illicit substances, changes can not always be noticed. But all drugs harm the body.
Taking drugs is a stressful state for the body. The heartbeat quickens, blood vessels dilate, the production of “hormones of joy” – serotonin and dopamine – increases, the central nervous system becomes excited … All this is a stressful mode for which the body is not intended, and therefore being in this state wears out the body’s systems – first turn nervous and cardiovascular. Excess stress on the nervous system leads to the destruction of nerve fibers, which leads to a change in behavior and reactions.
A drug addict is irritable, often experiences unreasonable longing, it becomes more difficult for him to perceive new information and remember it, his circle of interests sooner or later narrows down to the search for a drug.
Some types of drugs contain substances that are similar to the body’s own neurotransmitters – and therefore they first cause acute euphoria, and then – strong addiction, because. the delicate regulatory system of the body cannot withstand the load and breaks down. The normal functioning of the body is disrupted and the drug addict experiences strong discomfort and excruciating pain, which disappears only when taking the drug.
When taking any drugs, the perception of reality changes, the reaction and the sense of danger are dulled, and therefore a person in this state can pose a threat to himself and to others. Refusal to take drugs will save the life and health of yourself and those around you.
Breaking Bad Habits and Positive Health Effects
All of the above addictions adversely affect the body, impair health and undermine immunity. Breaking bad habits has the following positive consequences:
- The weight will return to normal. If you switch to proper nutrition, your metabolism will automatically improve. It also normalizes the work of the gastrointestinal tract.
- If you refuse alcohol, the composition of the blood will improve, since the liver will be able to work at full capacity and fully filter the blood. The level of arterial pressure is normalized.
- If you quit smoking, your lungs will gradually clear up, your cough will go away, and the frequency of colds will decrease. The risk of developing a stroke or heart attack will be reduced to a minimum. Your health will be excellent, in the morning you will wake up cheerful and full of energy.
- When you stop using drugs, your life will change drastically. The nutrition of the brain is normalized, headaches, aggression, muscle pains will pass, relationships in the family will improve, mood will normalize, life will again acquire bright colors.
- Effective is a collective rejection of a bad habit, for example, in a work team. In our practice, there was a case when a Health Day was held at the enterprise, aimed at combating smoking. This resulted in an 11% reduction in the number of smokers. But the event also had a delayed effect – those who were able to stop smoking became an example for others. And those who had already quit smoking supported their quitting colleagues – and as a result, the percentage of those who were able to give up the bad habit was 85%. And the number of sick leaves received at the same time decreased by three times!
Three steps to quit bad habits
Conventionally, the entire period of the struggle can be divided into three stages:
- The first is the direct rejection of addiction, the decision.
- The second is the breaking stage. Unfortunately, this is an inevitable step, no matter what kind of habit we are talking about. If there is a feeling that you are about to break loose, it is better to turn to specialists.
- The third stage is the restoration of health. It should be understood that immediately upon giving up cigarettes, alcohol or drugs, the positive effect will not be noticeable immediately, it takes time. It will take from 1 month to 1 year in order to remove all decay products from the body.
- Experts say that the most difficult thing is in the first three weeks after giving up a bad habit – but after this time a new habit is formed: a healthy lifestyle.
