Two-year-old Cigarette Addict July 1, 2009
Posted by adrienneka in Addictive Drugs.Tags: Cigarettes, Youngest Smoker
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A two-year-old Chinese boy is the world’s youngest smoker.
Tong smoked his first cigarette at the age of 18 months in bad faith to reduce the discomfort caused by his hernia.
Tong Liangliang was taught how to light up by his father, who believed the habit would alleviate the pain.
The toddler now smokes a pack of cigarettes a day and throws a tantrum if he can’t get his drug.
‘The father wasn’t aware of how serious the toddler’s habit became until the child began to increase the number of cigarettes he smoked per day’, China Radio International reported.
To my mind, this is simply stupefying! I was aware that smokers are getting younger and younger, but that young? If you don’t believe, you can watch the video here. I think that these parents should simply be adjudged. What do you think?
Top 4 Workout Mistakes June 29, 2009
Posted by adrienneka in Workout.Tags: Workout, Workout Plan
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Number 1: Hurly Burly
Hurly Burly means you are having no written goals or plans, no training journal etc. It’s when you just do whatever strikes you or you have become accustomed to. That ultimately means you do not know where you are. To avoid such a hurley burley you should develop a plan. Ask questions like “where am I now?”, “where do I want to go”, “how will I get there?”. Throughout your training also check where you are at the moment, maybe you will have to adjust your plan.
Number 2: Starving
A calorie deficit is the only way to lose body fat but it has to be kept small. When calories are cut too much, or held too low for too long, your body thinks you are starving which results in muscle loss, slow metabolism and plateaus. You should rather exercise more, because then you are burning a lot more body fat. So to lose weight, create only a little calorie deficit and exercise more.
Number 3: Skipping scheduled workouts
Successful body transformation is the result of dozens or even hundreds of successful workouts. Each workout brings you one small step closer to your goal. Each workout missed takes you one small step backwards. Most people underestimate “that one workout” they miss. But generally you should see your workout plan as law!
Number 4: Comparing to others
Comparing yourself to others is a great way to lower your self esteem and stay perpetually frustrated, unhappy and dissatisfied. As UCLA basketball coach John Wooden always advised his players, “Never try to be better than someone else; but never cease trying to be the best you can be. That is under your control. The other isn’t.”
To my mind, these tips are a good opportunity to actually structure you work out. I used to do most of these mistakes, but now I am actually aware of them and can therefore better fight against them. I also like to create my own work out plan here. So it works for me, but what do you think?
Deal With Stress June 26, 2009
Posted by adrienneka in Mental Health.Tags: Stress
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It is exam time at the universities and that means stress for like every student. But stress can have severe consequences like insomnia or other physical diseases, so how do we cope with it best until the longed for break comes? So here are just some tips:
Generally the stress is just around the exam time, so keep in mind that you are going to be done soon and you will have a break for around two month. But for all the others who are still suffering from too much stress (at work, in the family etc.) it of course works as well.
To my mind, these tips are really useful. I never really believed in these things just as autogenic training, but I think you just have to get into it and have a try. I myself feel more relaxed afterwards. What do you think?
Nutrition important regarding sleep disturbance June 21, 2009
Posted by adrienneka in Addictive Drugs, Food & Beverages.Tags: Alcohol, Caffeine, Cigarettes, Insomnia
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Some of you might know that feeling when you are tossing and turning all night, but you just won’t fall asleep; and once you do, you will wake every other hour.
One out of five people suffers from insomnia.
But sleep is so important, because in the long run insomnia impairs the immune system and therefore increases the susceptibility to infections. The main factor is usually stress, but even the nutrition can have an affect.
Here is some products affecting your good night’s rest:
Positive Negative:
- milk -black tea/ coffee
- alcohol in moderation -cigarettes
(like beer or red wine) -oranges/ tangerines/ lemons
- tea – white and sparkling wine
- bananas
To my mind, it is really astonishing, that even oranges or tangerines can have a negative impact. I knew about caffeine, but not about the rest. So when paying attention to your nutrition, we could soon have no more trouble sleeping. I am going to try it! What do you think?
Unborn Smokers June 14, 2009
Posted by adrienneka in Addictive Drugs.Tags: Baby, Cigarettes, Pregnancy
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When looking at such a picture, most people probably get a shock. But though the number of smoking pregnant women has declined, there are still way too many.
Around 30% of the woman smoke at the beginning of their pregnancy; half of them do not manage to stop!!
Smoking while being pregnant does not only have a minor effect on the baby, it can lead to:
- spontaneous abortions
- fetal brain damage
- growth retardation/low birth weight
- lower or higher than normal infant blood pressure
- infant death from prenatal disorders
- sudden infant death syndrome
- mental retardation
- Attention Deficit Disorder
- behavioral problems, violence, and criminality
…and those are only a few! If you try to quit, you will find some useful information here.
To my mind, 15% of smoking pregnant women are exactly 15% too much! There are already loads of negative effects to your body when you smoke, even without the pregnancy. But that is your own choice, the unborn does not even have one! So I think, it is simply unacceptable when pregnant women smoke. What do you think?
Health Problems due to a Bra June 7, 2009
Posted by adrienneka in Studies.Tags: Bra, Cancer
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Women in the movement of ’68 burned it as a sign of freedom, nowadays it became a treasured piece of fashion: the bra.
But especially in the last time it became the subject of a heated controversy: Are they causing lumps in the breast if they are too tight? Are they responsible for damages in the tissue if they are too loose? None of these speculations could be proven, but true is that
Black bras can cause cancer!
“Ökotest” a German testing agent just recently examined 25 black bras and only one passed with a “very good”.
A lot of the black bras contain a dangerous chemical compound that can cause cancer and allergies. Some even contain a tin-organic softener that influences the immune and hormone sytem, which can therefore cause dwindling fertility.
So maybe you should either decide for another color or have a look here, so that you are not buying the unhealthiest one!
To my mind, this is really scary, of course especially for all the women. But how do we know, that such compounds are not contained in other fabrics as well? Shouldn’t there be regulations concerning such things? Shouldn’t we, as the costumers, have a possibility to influence these decisions? What do you think?
The Danger of Energy Drinks May 30, 2009
Posted by adrienneka in Food & Beverages.Tags: Energy Drink
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Have you ever drunk vodka mixed with energy drink? Most young people probably did, but the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment recently published a survey that explains:
Energy drinks can cause kidney failure, seizures and arrhythmia!
Allegedly there has even been a case, where a young man died due to a high consumption of these drinks. The eighteen years old guy wanted to concentrate on learning for his driver’s license and therefore drank several cans of an energy drink a couple of days running. Eventually he collapsed having a pulmonary and brain edema.
The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment further proclaims that the mixture with alcohol is even more dangerous. Pregnant women as well as children should keep their hands off these drinks completely.
But should not everybody do so? After the publication of the study, the German government asks the energy drink producers to at least reinforce warnings on the cans. In France these drinks were treated as medicine until recently, but this restriction was abolished a couple of weeks ago. But is that justified in this context?
To my mind, it is not. I think if energy drinks can actually cause such damages to your body, they should be treated just as alcohol and cigarettes. Especially children should not have access to them. Such warnings are at least a good start, since a lot of people do not even know about the dangers of energy drinks. But I think even more has to be done. What do you think?
Four Falsities about Food May 24, 2009
Posted by adrienneka in Food & Beverages.Tags: Chocolate, Right Time to Eat
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Probably everybody has heard of those great pieces of wisdom, just like “Don’t eat after 6pm!” or “Chocolate is addictive”, but which of them are actually true and which are simply complete nonsense? Let’s have a closer look:
Frozen Vegetables have less Vitamins than Fresh Ones
Nonsense! Frozen vegetables are usually quick-frozen, which is a procedure where the vitamins are conserved pretty well. Moreover, vegetables that are meant to be frozen are usually gathered ripely, whereas vegetables that are set aside for fresh sale are often gathered before they are ripe. This way they are often still ripening on the way to or in the store without the important sunlight and nutriments from the soil. That means that both kinds of vegetable loose some of their vitamins in the end, but there is no real difference. But fresh and ripe vegetables out of your own garden are still coming off best!
Eating after 6 p.m. thickens
Nonsense! People in the southern countries are usually eating after six in the evening and are not thick. It does not matter at which time exactly you eat, but your last meal should be at least three hours before you go to bed. Your body needs these three hours to digest most of your meal.
Eggs for Breakfast every day is unhealthy
Nonsense! Eggs do contain cholesterol, which causes cardiovascular diseases but it does not cause a high cholesterol level in your body. That is due to another substance of an egg: lecithin. Lecithin neutralizes the cholesterole. The main reason for a high cholesterol level is animal fat.
Chocolate is addictive
Nonsense! The discussion came up when scientists found out that chocolate contains “anandamid”, which is also contained in cannabis. A survey of the university “Gießen” proved, however, that a child had to eat around 12’000 bars of chocolate to be intoxicated. But that chocolate makes happy is proven, due to the endorphins that chocolate contains.
To my mind, it is really weird to read such data, since especially those four things I have always heard. May it be my grandmother who used to not let me eat another egg for breakfast, since it is “really really unhealthy” or even things you see on TV when so-called expertise tell you how to loose weight. But still I want to believe that chocolate is addictive, it’s my only excuse! So, what do you think?
Prevent Alzheimer’s disease May 17, 2009
Posted by adrienneka in Studies, Workout.Tags: Alzheimer, Workout
3 comments
For the first time scientists of the Seattle university found out, that…
…there is a direct relation between doing sports and the Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists analyzed 1740 people at the age of 65 years. At the beginning of the research none of the probands have had any kind of dementia. 6 years later, however, 158 test takers sickened.
The analysis showed, that the risk of contracting dementia was decreased by 40%, if the people worked out at least three times a week – and not extremely strenuous sport; just three times a week a fifteen minutes work out.
To my mind, that is yet another stimulation to work out regularly. Sometimes it is just too hard to get up and do something, may it be a lack of time or simply laziness. But for me it helps to bare in mind, that it positively affects the body in all kinds of ways. And isn’t it such a great feeling afterwards? What do you think?
Is that what you want – holes in your brain? May 10, 2009
Posted by adrienneka in Addictive Drugs.Tags: Alcohol, Alzheimer, Caffeine, Cigarettes
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Did you go out lately? And, did you drink alcohol? Did you smoke? And did you need a good coffee the next day to finally get alive again? If you have to answer at least one of these questions (except for the first one of course) with a “yes”, this should be pretty interesting to you:
Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine cause holes in your brain!
I am not speaking of tiny insignificant ones; the continuous use of these substances can result in a pattern of holes akin to those caused by the Alzheimer’s disease. Don’t believe it? See for yourself:
These black holes are areas of very low or no blood flow and result, depending on where they are situated, in different malfunctions like a low ability to think reasonably, a defective speech area etc.
And for all of you who had to answer more than one question with a yes: twice the dose results in a twice as high brain damage. So the next time you resort to any of these things: reconsider, because a drastic abstinence leads to a recovery of your brain.
To my mind, these pictures are absolutely shocking. Probably everybody has his vice, but I already find it hard to finish my cup of coffee in front of me; it feels like I feel the holes growing in my brain. It should not be that hard to reduce the consumption of either one - or even quit? What do you think?
