Facts: Smoking, Alcohol & Junk Food

Table Of Contents

The danger of smoking
facts about alcohol
Junk food
1. How often can I eat junk food?
2. Why is junk food bad?
Junk food facts

Smoking, alcohol, and junk food are definitely the biggest three idiots of nutrition and health. And sadly everyone seems to love this trio even though their harmful effects are evident, apparent, and known to all.

We all are aware of the ill effects of the above-said things, like smoking can cause cancers and lead to various other lung diseases, alcohol can damage liver adversely and junk food can make you obese.

Now have a look at some alarming facts related to them.

Table of Contents

The danger of smoking

Cigarettes contain more than 4,000 chemical compounds and 400 toxic chemicals that include tar, carbon monoxide, DDT, arsenic, and formaldehyde. The nicotine in cigarettes, in particular, makes them highly addictive. Smoking causes many diseases and it is difficult to determine where it starts

Any amount and type of smoking is bad for your health. Besides being a notorious risk factor for lung cancer, coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke, smoking can damage almost any organ in our body, leading to leukemia and cancers of the kidney, pancreas, bladder, throat, mouth and uterus. It can damage the airways and air sacs of our lungs to cause chronic bronchitis and breathing difficulties. It can also raise our blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reduce bone density in women and increase the risk of infertility, preterm delivery, stillbirth and sudden infant death syndrome.

facts about alcohol

The “alcohol” in alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, and spirits is actually ethanol, or ethyl alcohol. It’s the only type of alcohol that you can drink without causing serious damage to your body.
Alcohol is a depressant. This means that it slows down activity in the brain.
According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 86.4 percent of adults reported having drank alcohol at some point in their lifetime.
The NSDUH also found that 70.1 percent of American adults had had a drink in the previous year, and 56.0 percent had had one in the previous month.
Alcohol has a wide variety of effects. In the brain, it triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that’s associated with pleasure and satisfaction.
Stress relief is another side effect of drinking alcohol. the uptake of another neurotransmitter causes an increase, called GABA.
Alcohol is among the most commonly misused Trusted Source addictive substances. About 12.7 percentTrusted Source of American adults meet the criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD). That’s 1 in 8 adults.
According to a 2015 studyTrusted Source, light-eyed Americans of European descent consume more alcohol than dark-eyed Americans of European descent.
The same studyTrusted Source found that blue-eyed Americans of European descent had the highest levels of alcohol misuse, suggesting a genetic link that makes them more susceptible to AUD.

Read: Does your Immune System get destroyed by Alcohol?

Junk food

Junk food is used to describe food and drinks low in nutrients (e.g. vitamins, minerals and fibre) and high in kilojoules, saturated fat, added sugar and/or added salt. They are also known as discretionary choices.

1. How often can I eat junk food?

Junk foods are not required as part of any diet.

If you are a healthy weight, try to eat junk foods occasionally and in small amounts.
If you are trying to lose weight, you will be more successful if you limit junk food.

2. Why is junk food bad?

Eating junk food on a regular basis can lead to an increased risk of obesity and chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and some cancers.

We know Australian’s eat too much junk food.

35% of adults’ daily energy intake (kilojoules) comes from junk food.
41% of children’s daily energy intake (kilojoules) comes from junk food.

This means junk food is taking the place of other more nutritious foods in our diets.

Junk food facts

Leads to obesity
A regular glass of cola drink contains 8-10 spoons of sugar
One normal size burger contains 350 calories
Processed and canned stuff contains HIGH quantities of sodium
Most of it is loaded with trans fat, which is responsible for increasing cholesterol
Replaces nutrition with empty calories