Originally published January 9 2012
Avoid being in a death zone - actions and non-actions that can make you a statistic
by Fleur Hupston
(NaturalNews) The prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, certain cancers and chronic lung diseases is greatly influenced by lack of exercise, poor nutrition and tobacco smoking. Good health is not difficult to achieve if one gives up smoking, eats correctly and exercises regularly. This is stating the obvious, of course. Despite knowing this, however, many people find it very difficult to break bad habits, even if that means they may be at risk of developing serious diseases.
Numerous articles have been written and studies conducted which prove that good health can be easily attained through lifestyle changes. So why is it that many people ignore the evidence and continue to put themselves in line for health problems?
One reason may be the highly addictive nature of fast foods. It would seem that not even a heart attack can stop some people from indulging regularly in these types of foods. When researchers examined the data of over 2000 heart attack patients, they discovered that a large majority ate unhealthy fast food at least once a week in the month prior to their heart attacks. Worse still, at least 25% of these patients went back to their old habits after recovering. Junk food addiction can be as serious as drug addiction - the pleasure centers in the brain are stimulated by highly palatable food, which is often drenched in fat, sugar, salt and preservatives.
Similarly, cigarette smoking is an extremely hard habit to break for many. Over 13 million smokers try to quit each year yet the success rate for first time quitters is about 2.5%. Nicotine is an addictive chemical that facilitates the natural release of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.
Obesity statistics
Obesity has become a world-wide epidemic; the World Health Organization predicts that there will be 2.3 billion overweight adults globally by 2015, more than 700 million will be classified as obese. Obesity causes a huge strain on health care costs, with statistics showing increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer. Small lifestyle changes can make a big difference. For example, reducing BMI (body mass index) by only 1% per annum will significantly lower the number of chronic diseases that an obese individual may develop. According to some doctors, this may be achieved by consuming a mere 20 calories
less per day for three years.
Good nutrition is hard to come by these days with many processed and nutrient-deficient food products flooding the market, masquerading as healthy convenience food. It is time, however, we took the overwhelming body of evidence seriously when it comes to a healthy lifestyle. Change from being a
two-pack-a-day smoking, pizza and beer guzzling couch potato and, in that way, avoid being in a potential death zone.
Sources for this article include:
http://www.naturalnews.com/025351_smoking_nicotine_quit.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/034478_junk_foods_addictive_brain_chemistry.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7151813.stm
About the author:
Fleur Hupston is a professional freelance writer. She is passionate about living as natural a life as possible and reducing damage to the environment wherever possible. She spends a lot of time researching and writing about alternate medicines and healthy, green living, and manages to find the time to home-school her two daughters.
Fleur Hupston is a professional freelance writer. She is passionate about living as natural a life as possible and reducing damage to the environment wherever possible. She spends a lot of time researching and writing about alternate medicines and healthy, green living, and manages to find the time to home-school her two daughters.
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