You know how dangerous addictions are.
But maybe you are addicted? [A big Rebbe in Yerushalayim defined addictions as א שרעקליך יצר הרע - A terrible Yetzer Hara].
Here are a few possibilities:
1. Sugar
Sugar is the most widely abused substance in the Western world.
The average American consumes more than 70 pounds of sugar each year, which is roughly 22 teaspoons per day.
That’s a lot.
We know how bad sugar is for us, so why do we consume so much of it?
Because it’s addictive.
Sugar is the most widely abused substance in the Western world.
The average American consumes more than 70 pounds of sugar each year, which is roughly 22 teaspoons per day.
That’s a lot.
We know how bad sugar is for us, so why do we consume so much of it?
Because it’s addictive.
The harms of sugar [from Harvard Medical School - would they lie??]:
In a study published in 2014 in JAMA Internal Medicine, Dr. Hu [Who??] and his colleagues found an association between a high-sugar diet and a greater risk of dying from heart disease. Over the course of the 15-year study, people who got 17% to 21% of their calories from added sugar had a 38% higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with those who consumed 8% of their calories as added sugar.
"Basically, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk for heart disease," says Dr. Hu.
How sugar actually affects heart health is not completely understood, but it appears to have several indirect connections. For instance, high amounts of sugar overload the liver. "Your liver metabolizes sugar the same way as alcohol, and converts dietary carbohydrates to fat," says Dr. Hu. Over time, this can lead to a greater accumulation of fat, which may turn into fatty liver disease, a contributor to diabetes, which raises your risk for heart disease.
Consuming too much added sugar can raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, both of which are pathological pathways to heart disease. Excess consumption of sugar, especially in sugary beverages, also contributes to weight gain by tricking your body into turning off its appetite-control system because liquid calories are not as satisfying as calories from solid foods. This is why it is easier for people to add more calories to their regular diet when consuming sugary beverages.
"The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke," says Dr. Hu.
Here’s how you can cut down on your sugar intake:
"Basically, the higher the intake of added sugar, the higher the risk for heart disease," says Dr. Hu.
How sugar actually affects heart health is not completely understood, but it appears to have several indirect connections. For instance, high amounts of sugar overload the liver. "Your liver metabolizes sugar the same way as alcohol, and converts dietary carbohydrates to fat," says Dr. Hu. Over time, this can lead to a greater accumulation of fat, which may turn into fatty liver disease, a contributor to diabetes, which raises your risk for heart disease.
Consuming too much added sugar can raise blood pressure and increase chronic inflammation, both of which are pathological pathways to heart disease. Excess consumption of sugar, especially in sugary beverages, also contributes to weight gain by tricking your body into turning off its appetite-control system because liquid calories are not as satisfying as calories from solid foods. This is why it is easier for people to add more calories to their regular diet when consuming sugary beverages.
"The effects of added sugar intake — higher blood pressure, inflammation, weight gain, diabetes, and fatty liver disease — are all linked to an increased risk for heart attack and stroke," says Dr. Hu.
Here’s how you can cut down on your sugar intake:
Replace all soft drinks with water
Cut back on desserts, you don’t need one after every meal
Eat more vegetables so you feel full
Read labels to see how much added sugar is in a product
Consume a lot of protein and don’t skip meals
2. Screen Addictions
Cut back on desserts, you don’t need one after every meal
Eat more vegetables so you feel full
Read labels to see how much added sugar is in a product
Consume a lot of protein and don’t skip meals
2. Screen Addictions
The average American spends 7 hours and 4 minutes looking at a screen each day.
3. Drugs
Putting aside the usual drug people talk about [opioids, cannabis etc.] there is another one we might not think about:
Caffeine.
Yes, caffeine is not good for you and also addictive.
How do you stop drinking so much? By not drinking so much. Or any.
