Here’s a look at 36 of the most interesting things about the fast food industry you never knew of.

1. The world’s most unhealthiest burger can be found in Heart Attack Grill, Las Vegas. The Quadruple Bypass Burger has been certified by Guinness Book of Records to be the Most Calorific Burger, with a total of 9982 calories! The recommended daily intake for the average adult male is only 2500 calories.

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2. According to Advertising Age, Ronald McDonald has the 2nd most powerful resonance in the marketplace.

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3. In 1970, US$6 billion was spent on fast food. In 2006, it shot up to US$142 billion!

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4. Properties of fast food like its high glycemic index and fatty acid composition may induce excess levels of insulin to circulate the blood and eventually cause diabetes. Almost 2 million new cases of diabetes were diagnosed in the year 2010 alone.

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5. Male cattles that are castrated to improve fattening and docility in feedlots are known as steers. Manufacturers combine the fat trimmed from beef steers to produce leaner meat with meat from retired dairy cows, which generally don’t have enough fat to taste good. This way, they get all of their meat cheaper, and they can precisely control the fat percentage of the product.

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6. McDonald’s french fries were once flavoured with beef tallow, a processed form of hard white fat found on the kidneys and loins of cattle.

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7. A single hamburger patty could contain beef from 100 different cattle.

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8. Prices of soft drinks are marked up by at least 1200%. In the UK, the syrup in a 75¢ cup of coke costs only 5¢.

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9. A strawberry milkshake from a fast food restaurant contains at least 50 different kinds of chemicals. Phenethyl alcohol, one of them, is also used as a preservative for soaps and detergents.

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10. Cup holders started appearing in car designs around the 90′s as the drive-thru became increasingly popular. As the cups grew wider, so did the cup holders.

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11. Nope, the highest selling fast food product is not the hamburger. It’s actually french fries. McDonald’s alone goes through 9 million pounds of potatoes everyday.

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12. The term hamburger originally derives from the city of Hamburg in Germany where many people emigrated to the US. Hamburger is a German noun that is used to refer to someone from Hamburg. Think Dubliner, Londoner or New Yorker. No effort guessing now where the word frankfurter or wiener originated from.

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13. Otto Kuase the cook invented the hamburger back in 1891 when he created a special beef patty and cooked it in some butter then topped it off with a nice fried egg.

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14. The first ever fast food restaurant chain in the US is White Castle.

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15. The world’s most expensive burger can be found in Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. Created by Chef Hubert Keller, the $5000 Fleurburger 5000 is loaded with such items such as foie gras, black truffles, and a black truffle brioche bun.

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16. Hundred dollar hamburger is a slang used by pilots needing an excuse to fly. A $100 hamburger trip involves flying a short distance, eating at an airport restaurant, and flying home.

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17. Pizza originated from Naples, Italy where the Napoletanos used bread as a blank slate for relishes from Greece where bakers had been dressing their potteries with oils, herbs and cheese since 400BC. Romans refined the idea to develop placenta, a sheet of fine flour topped with cheese, honey and bay leaves. The Napoletanos earned the right to claim the pizza as their own invention when tomato was included in the recipe.

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18. The Pizza Royale 007 is the most expensive pizza in the world costing a whopping 3000 Euros, created by Domenico Crolla. It is topped with edible gold, lobster marinated in the finest cognac and champagne-soaked caviar, Scottish smoked salmon and medallions of venison.

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19. Pizza comes from the Latin word ‘pissa’ which means flatbread in 9th century. Actually, many languages around the Mediterranean has similar sounding words for flatbread like ‘pita’.

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20. No one person is known to have invented fried chicken but the Scottish have been known to fry chicken long before most other places in the world.

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21. A 1781 family manuscript recounts that potatoes were deep fried prior to 1680 in Spanish Netherlands (called Belgium today). It said the poor had the custom of fishing in Meuse valley for small fish and frying but when the river was frozen and fishing became perilous, potatoes were cut into forms of small fish and fried. Belgians believe that the word ‘French’ was added when American soldiers arrived in Belgium during World War 1 and as a result tasted the fries. French was the official language of the army at that time.

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22. FDA laws allow for an average of 60 insect fragments per 100 grams of chocolate.

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23. A can of classic Coca Cola contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, which is exactly 100% of the recommended daily intake. Ingesting such large amounts of sugar can result in a burst of energy known as a sugar high that ends in a sharp drop (crash).

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24. Tater tots were created to utilize potato scraps. Today, 70 million pounds worth are consumed every year.

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25. Fast food is directly related to obesity. An annual average of 250,000 deaths cite obesity, the no.2 cause of preventable death, as a contributing factor. Here’s a list of 9 diseases that obese people are prone to get. Stop overeating with these 20 effective ways.

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26. High Fructose Corn Syrup, a type of artificial sugar commonly found in almost all kinds of processed food and beverages, tricks your body into wanting more, resulting in weight gain.

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27. McDonald’s true business is not in food and beverage, but real estate. Profit from collecting ‘rent’ trumps fast food sales. Just like how Google’s true business is not in search, but advertising and they are the largest advertising agency in the world.

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28. McDonald’s is the largest purchaser of beef, pork, potatoes and apples in the US.

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29. Amazingly, you can order beer in all McDonald’s restaurants in Belgium (Jupiler) and France (Kronenbourg 1664). They do serve beer in some locations in Cyprus, Germany, Netherlands and Austria too.

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30. When McDonald’s opened an outlet in Kuwait in 1994, shortly after the end of the Gulf War, the line of cars waiting to eat there was 7 miles long.

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31. There are only 2 countries in the world where you cannot find Coca Cola. North Korea and Cuba.

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32. 50 million Americans eat at fast food restaurants daily. 50 million people is the entire population of New York, Florida and Illinois combined!

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33. Smoking rates in the United States have dropped by half from 1965 to 2006 falling from 42% to 20.8% of adults. However, obesity rates went the other way, increasing by two folds from 14.5% to 30.9%. If nothing is done about it, obesity will soon surpass smoking as the leading cause of preventable death.

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34. 1 in 3 American child born after the year 2000 will develop diabetes. The odds are worse for Hispanic children as 1 in 2 will be affected.

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35. In the lawsuit against them, McDonald’s stated that it is a matter of common knowledge that any processing its foods undertake serve to make them more unhealthier than unprocessed foods. Case in Point: McNuggets.

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36. Smart, isn’t he?

    

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After water, protein is the next most abundant in our body as it makes up about 20% of our body weight. Protein has a lifespan of at most 2 days and is necessary for repairing body tissues. As it comes in many shapes and sizes, the simplest ones look like little trains, like lots of cars linked together. Each ‘car’ is called an amino acid and there are 20 kinds of amino acids. As our body can only produce 11 types, we have to get the other 9 types, called essential amino acids, from these food sources below.

Legumes

Soy Protein Isolate

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Soy protein isolate is a highly refined or purified form of soy protein with a minimum protein content of 90% on a moisture-free basis. It is made from defatted soy flour which has had most of the nonprotein components, fats and carbohydrates removed. 1 ounce (28g) of soy protein isolate is enough to meet 45% of your protein RDI(recommended daily intake)!

Soymilk

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An average cup of soymilk contains about 14% of your RDI of protein. However, it is also a very good source of vitamin C (highly effective antioxidant), vitamin D (healthy bones), vitamin E (stronger immune system), riboflavin (energy metabolism, maintain good vision), niacin (energy metabolism), vitamin B6 (cell growth), vitamin B12 (building proteins in the body) and calcium (healthy bones and teeth).

Tofu (dried-frozen)

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1 piece of dried frozen tofu (17g) will meet 16% of your protein RDI. It is also a very good source of manganese, an essential nutrient for processing cholesterol, carbohydrates, and protein.

Soy Nuts

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1 ounce (4tbsp/28g) of soy nuts meets 22% of your protein RDI. It is also a very good source of manganese, a trace element necessary for bone health.

Peanuts (dry roasted without salt)

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1 ounce (4tbsp/28g) of peanuts provide 13% RDI. It is also a good source of manganese and niacin (helps the digestive system, skin, and nerves to function).

Dairy

Eggs

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The protein in eggs are of the highest quality obtainable from food. Nothing compares to it. A large hard boiled egg (50g) contain 13% RDI of protein. It is also high in selenium, a mineral needed in small amounts to make certain enzymes.

Parmesan (low sodium)

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Of all the cheeses, low-sodium Parmesan cheese has the most protein, with each ounce (5½tbsp/28g) providing 23% of your protein RDI.

Milk

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A cup (244g) of whole milk contains 16% of your protein RDI. Calcium is also plentiful in milk, essential in maintaining the nervous system.

Yogurt

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A cup (245g) of plain low fat yogurt contributes 26% to your protein RDI. It is also a very good source of calcium (helps the blood clot formation process) and phosphorus (essential for healthy cell membranes).

Nuts

Walnut

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One of the highest protein content among nuts. 1 cup (80g) provides 24% of your daily needs. It is also a real good source of manganese, providing 137% RDI for the same amount of weight.

Cashew Nut

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Cashew nut provides the same amount of protein as the walnut. It is also a very good source of copper (synthesis of hemoglobin) and magnesium (production and transport of energy).

Seeds

Pumpkin Seeds

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Pumpkin seeds have the highest protein value of all seeds. 1 ounce (28g) of dried kernels contain 14% of your protein RDI. It is also a very good source of magnesium (contraction and relaxation of muscles, production of protein), phosphorus (formation of bones and teeth, synthesis of protein for maintaining cells and tissue) and manganese (healthy skin, bone, cartilage formation).

Sesame Seeds

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1 tablespoon (8g) of sesame seeds provide about 3% of your RDI. It is also a very good source of selenium, a trace mineral that protects your cells from free radical damage.

Sunflower Seeds

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Sunflower seeds come in third, fulfilling 12% of your protein RDI for each ounce (28g). It is also a very good source of vitamin E, preventing propagation of free radicals in tissues.

Vegetable

Spirulina

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An ounce (4 tbsp or 28g) of dried spirulina provides 32% of your daily protein needs. It is also rich in thiamine (helps convert carbs into energy), riboflavin (helps maintain good vision), niacin (proper nervous system function), iron (hemoglobin and myoglobin production), copper (helps formation of red blood cells) and manganese (maintain bone health). This stuff is highly nutritious!

Fish

Shellfish

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Contains very high amounts of protein. 3oz (85g) of cooked shellfish meets 81% of your RDI of protein. It also contains a lot of vitamin B12(building red blood cells), iron(formation of hemoglobin), copper(proper iron metabolism) and selenium(ensure proper thyroid function). However, it is also pretty high in cholesterol, with the same amount of weight contributing to 37% of your RDI.

Cuttlefish

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3oz (85g) of cooked cuttlefish meets 55% of your recommended daily intake of protein. It is also very high in riboflavin (building tissue), vitamin B12 (maintaining normal function of nervous tissue), iron (blood production), phosphorus (utilization of carbohydrates and fats), copper (maintenance of blood vessels) and selenium (makes antioxidant enzymes that prevent cell damage). However, it is very high in cholesterol, meeting about 63% of your RDI for every 3oz, so keep it to a minimum.

Octopus

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3oz (85g) of cooked octopus provides 51% of your RDI of protein. It is also a champion provider for vitamin B12(a whopping 510%), Selenium(109%), Iron(45%), and Copper(31%). The downside, like all mollusks, is that it is high in cholesterol(27%).

Salmon

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3oz (85g) of cooked salmon provides 48% RDI of protein. Also a very good source of niacin(36%), vitamin B12(49%) and selenium(69%). However, cholesterol is considerably high at 19% for the same weight.

Anchovies

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Every 3oz (85g) of canned anchovies provide about 48% RDI of protein. It is also a good source of niacin and selenium. However, sodium content is over the RDI at 129% for the same weight.

Tilapia

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3oz (85g) of cooked tilapia contributes to about 45% of your protein RDI. It’s also a good source of vitamin b12(27%) and selenium(66%).

Tuna

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3oz of canned tuna in oil provide 43% RDI of protein. It is also a very good source of niacin (digestion), vitamin B12 (helps in the production of DNA and RNA) and selenium (prevention of oxidative stress).

White Meat

Chicken

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½ a cooked chicken breast with skin removed, weighing at 3oz (85g), provides 67% of your RDI of protein. It is also high in niacin(74%), important for a healthy nervous system. However, cholesterol is also considerably high at 30% for the same weight.

Pork

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Pork is the most consumed meat on the planet. 100g of cooked lean pork shoulder provides 65% RDI of protein. It is also high in selenium(53%). However, cholesterol is also high at 38% for the same amount of weight.

Turkey

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100g of cooked turkey breast provide 60% of your RDI of protein. It is also high in niacin (lowers “bad” LDL cholesterol), vitamin B6 (helps make neurotransmitters) and selenium (helps maintain regular heartbeats). Cholesterol is also high at 28% for the same amount of weight.

Red Meat

Beef

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The top round is the leanest type of cut that you can find. A 100g of cooked top round beef contains about 72% of your RDI of protein. It also comes with a lot of vitamin B12(45%) and selenium(47%). However cholesterol is pretty high at 30% for the same amount of weight.

Lamb

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Lamb or also known as mutton, is another kind of red meat. Each 100g provides 71% of your daily protein needs. It is also high in selenium (lower risk of joint inflammation), zinc (cell reproduction) and vitamin B12 (prevents anemia).

Insects

Caterpillar

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Large caterpillars provide 28.2g of protein in every 100g. Insects are cheap and a sustainable source of protein. Asian countries such as Thailand, China, Japan, Vietnam are no strangers to bug eating. Aborigines in Australia have been doing it for thousands of years.

Grasshopper

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Insects are more nutritious than many other common forms of protein. Every 100g of large grasshoppers contain 20g of protein and just 6g of fat. Additionally, farming insects emit 10 times less greenhouse gasses than farming livestock.

Typically, proteins from animal foods such as meats, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs are complete. Incomplete protein sources usually include nuts and vegetables. As a rough guide for vegetarians, consuming a mixture of plant based protein like the ones listed above increases the biological value. These complimentary protein sources should be consumed together at the same meal to provide optimal benefit. Meat should also be consumed moderately, especially meat organs and shellfish as they are relatively high in cholesterol.

HEAL

Water

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Water plays an important part in not only helping to remove kidney stones but also helps to prevent them. The kidneys need a lot of water in order to perform their crucial functions of removing toxins from the body and maintaining the correct concentration of the blood and other body fluids. Along with these 33 facts about the kidney, the recommended daily volume for men is 1 gallon (3.7 liters) while women is 0.7 gallon (2.7 liters).

Cranberries

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Cranberries is effective in preventing urinary tract infections, as the chemicals found in cranberries keep bacteria from sticking to the cells that line the urinary tract where they can multiply. As with anything, consume in moderation.

Grapes

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Anthocyanins are a polyphenol antioxidant that gives the red to purple color to grapes, grape juice and red wine. Resveratrol is another polyphenol antioxidant found in grapes that protect against heart disease by keeping blood vessels relaxed, preventing inflammation and oxidation of free radicals. This may be a benefit to anyone with kidney disease because cardiovascular disease and inflammation risks are greater in kidney patients as compared to the general public.

Vitamin D

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Kidneys produce calcitriol, a type of activated vitamin D, responsible for regulating the level of calcium in the blood by adjusting the uptake of calcium from the gut into the blood, and possibly organizing the release of calcium into the blood from the bone. Vitamin D is important to ensure that your metabolism stays on track. Fish oil supplements, such as cod liver oil, contain very high levels of vitamin A and vitamin D providing 340% RDI in a single tablespoon. For each 100g serving, canned salmon provides 127% RDI, oil packed sardines 45% RDI, oil packed Tuna 39% RDI.

Chinese Rhubarb Roots

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Chinese rhubarb roots have been used long ago in traditional medicine to treat kidney diseases. Not until recently did the west start to recognize the potential of this Chinese herb. Taken orally, it helps to clear toxins and lower creatinine levels efficiently and safely.

AVOID

Alcohol

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Alcohol is a toxin that the kidneys will filter out but abusing it destroys a good amount of glomeruli, the functional unit of the kidney, leading to kidney related problems. But if alcohol is consumed responsibly, the effects should be negligible. So know your recommended daily intake limits and learn to drink less alcohol.

Caffeine

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Since caffeine is a diuretic it can also cause dehydration, potentially leading to urinary tract infections and cystitis. If left untreated, a urinary tract infection can travel to the kidneys and cause severe infection. Consuming more than 400mg of caffeine (about 4 cups of coffee) a day increases the risk of developing urinary incontinence (involuntary peeing) among women. Stay away from coffee, energy drinks and black tea. If you are a caffeine addict, here’s 11 methods to help you kick your habit.

Sodium

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Kidneys are responsible for controlling the level of sodium in our bodies, passing excess into urine. The RDI for sodium is 2400mg or less per day but if too much is consumed regularly your kidneys may eventually fail to eliminate it properly. As sodium and fluid build up in tissues and the bloodstream, your blood pressure increases.

The top 5 most salty food found everywhere are:

• Table salt

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Contains 40% sodium. Just 1 teaspoon of salt is enough to satisfy 100% of your recommended daily intake.

• Cured meat

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One slice of bacon contains about 8% of your salt RDI, while one slice of salami contains about 9%, and 1 large piece of beef jerky contains about 18% of your salt RDI.

• Cheese

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All types of cheese contain salt and can be a disaster for you, especially if you’re a cheese lover. The top 5 popular cheeses with the highest sodium content per 100g are Parmesan (71% RDI), Cheddar (66% RDI), Swiss (65% RDI), Blue (58% RDI), Mozzarella (31% RDI).

• Junk Food

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You should know by now that all kinds of junk food is bad for you. For example, every 100g of regular pretzels contain 71% of your RDI of sodium. Every 100g of Lay’s Wavy Original potato chips contain 28% of your RDI of sodium.

• Fast food

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Fast food is just the same as junk food, if not worse. A McDonald’s Big Breakfast with Hotcakes will almost meet your RDI of sodium at 94%. A KFC Original Recipe Thigh Value Box contains 64% of your RDI of sodium. Even Subway isn’t as healthy as you think. A Footlong Egg & Cheese on Flatbread contains 86% of your RDI of sodium.

Protein

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It has been shown in studies that even people with mild kidney conditions experience a deterioration of kidney function when following a high protein diet. A person with normal functioning kidneys should not have any problems. However, it should be noted that kidney function naturally declines with age due to the gradual loss of nephrons (at a rate of 1% every year after 40 years old) which are the kidney’s filtering units.

1. High blood pressure is the major cause for Chronic Kidney Diseases worldwide. 1 billion people worldwide have high blood pressure. Also, did you know that long term regulation of blood pressure predominantly depends upon the kidney? It is of utmost importance to keep your kidneys healthy.

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2. Other risk factors for CKD include diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, advanced age, family history, and tobacco use.

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3. Compared to the brain and liver, kidneys have a higher blood flow.

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4. The kidneys reabsorb and redistribute 99% of the blood volume and only 1% of the blood filtered becomes urine.

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5. The largest ever kidney stone was the size of a coconut weighing a crazy 2.5lb/1.1kg.

   

6. Simple carbohydrates like sugar, white bread and white rice are quickly broken down by the body, causing a rise in blood glucose levels which in turn triggers the pancreas to release large amounts of insulin. Insulin makes it possible for the body to utilize glucose for energy but excess insulin in the blood can lead to kidney stones.

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7. People who experience heartburn or gastritis frequently tend to ingest antacid such as milk to correct the acidity in the stomach. Excessive antacids may cause kidney stones.

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8. A smaller right kidney than the left is normal.
9. A lower right kidney than the left is also normal. The reason being that the right kidney sits under the liver, the body’s largest internal organ while the left kidney sits under the spleen, a much smaller organ.

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10. The kidneys of a newborn baby are about 4X larger in proportion to body weight as in the adult. A baby’s kidney weigh just a little under 1 ounce (28 grams) while an adult’s weigh about 5 ounces (142 grams).

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11. Not drinking enough water is the most common cause of kidney stones. So drink more warm water but make sure it is purified or filtered to avoid any long term repercussions. Pee away your day!

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12. The recommended amount of water per day for men is 3.7 liters (1 gallon) and 2.7 liters (0.7 gallon) for women. You will also reap these other health benefits by drinking lots of water.

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13. Serious bodybuilders drink at least 6 liters (202 ounces) per day all year round. Imagine how much Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson drinks per day!

    

14. Most donated kidneys come from deceased donors although living donors are on the rise especially in the US. 47% of donated kidneys in 2006 were from living donors.

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15. The average bladder can hold anywhere from 50-500 ml (1.7-17 ounces) before the urge to urinate becomes overwhelming.

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16. ½ a healthy kidney could do the work of 2 kidneys.

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17. 26 million American adults have Chronic Kidney Disease and millions of others are at increased risk especially African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and Seniors.

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18. While Chronic Kidney Disease is more common among women, men with CKD are 50% more likely than women to progress to kidney failure.

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19. More than 500 million people worldwide, roughly 10% of the adult population, have some form of kidney damage, and every year millions die prematurely of cardiovascular diseases linked to Chronic Kidney Disease.

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20. Our kidney contains about 1.15 million nephrons, tiny filtering units responsible for removing harmful toxins and excess fluids from the blood, keeping it clean and maintaining its correct volume and concentration.

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21. A single kidney with only 75% of its functional capacity can sustain life very well.

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22. If a kidney is missing from birth, the other functioning kidney can grow faster, heavier and larger than a normally paired kidney. It may function at a level about 40% more than a single, paired kidney.

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23. If only one kidney is present, that kidney can adjust to filter as much as two kidneys would normally. In such a situation, the nephrons compensate individually by increasing in size, a process known as hypertrophy, to handle the extra load.

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24. Although nephrons stop functioning at a rate of 1%/year after 40 years old, the remaining nephrons tend to enlarge and fully compensate for this natural collapse.

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25. Most kidney diseases attack the nephrons, causing them to lose their filtering capacity. Damage to the nephrons can happen quickly, often as the result of injury or poisoning. But most kidney diseases destroy the nephrons slowly and silently. Only after years or even decades will the damage become apparent. Most kidney diseases attack both kidneys simultaneously.

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26. Placed end to end, the nephrons of one kidney would stretch about 8km (5miles).

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27. In 1933 Russian surgeon Yuri Voronoy performed the first human kidney transplant in Kiev, Ukraine that failed, just like the others performed all over the world. It wasn’t only until 21 years later in 1954 that a team lead by Joseph E. Murray in Boston finally achieved success for a transplant between two twins.

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28. 12 people die everyday waiting for a kidney transplant.

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29. There are over 90,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list. Many wait more than 5 years for a kidney from a deceased donor. This just shows the importance of getting yourself registered to be an organ donor. Your kidneys have the potential to save 2 lives!

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30. The kidneys and bladder are silent when they are sick. Many other parts of the body will give you warning signs in the form of symptoms when there is loss of function, but with the kidneys, you may not feel anything until you have lost 80% of your kidney function.

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31. A CKD patient is more likely than the general populace to develop long term complications related to the cardiovascular system.

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32. Acute kidney failure is caused by a sudden halt in function. It is reversible but deadly if left unattended to. Chronic Kidney Disease on the other hand is not reversible.

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33. The only surefire way of preventing kidney disease is raising your awareness. Get a blood and urine test done yearly to stay informed of your body’s health condition. The two most important indicators of your kidney’s health is the urea and creatinine count.
    
    
    Urea, passed out in urine, is the waste product formed from the breakdown of proteins. The lower the better. A high count may simply mean you’re not drinking enough water or worse, your kidneys aren’t as healthy as they should be.
    
    Creatinine, a more accurate marker of kidney function than urea, is a waste product made by the muscles. Creatinine passes into the bloodstream, and is usually passed out in urine. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is even more accurate as it takes into account your age, race and gender together with your creatinine count. Check out your most recent blood test result’s creatinine count and calculate your eGFR here. The normal range of eGFR is between (100 – 130) ml/min/1.73m² in men and women.
34. You are what you eat. Discover which of these 9 types of food are good for your kidney.

    

There are mainly 5 types of brainwaves.

1. Gamma (30 – 100+Hz)



Optimal brain function, awareness of reality and increased cognitive capabilities.

2. Beta (13 – 30Hz)



Alert, active, busy, or anxiously thinking.

3. Alpha (8 – 13Hz)



Relaxed


4. Theta (4 – 8Hz)



Drowsiness/state of arousal.

5. Delta (0 – 4Hz)



Deep sleep.

Music, the science of combining sounds to produce beauty of form and harmony, affects both your emotions and body. Music even helps chickens lay more and better quality eggs! Music at a slower tempo, preferably around 60bpm(beats per minute), causes the brain to synchronize with the beat, resulting in Alpha brainwaves, putting the person at a state of relaxation. When used correctly, music is like the most cost effective chill pill.

Here are some brilliant examples of sounds that help induce sleep.

White Noise

• An atmosphere of rain and thunder may be especially relaxing as you may feel like you cannot go out to work.
• The sound of running water from a stream, or river creates a hypnotic effect to help induce sleep.
• The sound of steady, rhythmic ocean waves provide a sensation of relaxation and calm.

Try out TMSoft’s free White Noise Lite app for iOS, Android and Windows. If you like it you can get the paid full version for your iOS, Android, Mac and Windows.

Example Of Slow Tempo Songs

Rock Ballad

John Lennon – Imagine
Roy Orbison – Crying
Beatles – Hey Jude
Everly Brothers – All I Have To Do Is Dream

Blues

T-Bone Walker – Stormy Monday Blues
Howlin’ Wolf – Smokestack Lightning
Son House – Preaching The Blues
Bessie Smith – Nobody Knows When You’re Down And Out

Jazz

Louis Armstrong – What A Wonderful World
Frank Sinatra – My Way
Nat King Cole – Unforgettable
Ray Charles – Georgia On My Mind

R&B / Soul / Doo Wop

The Five Satins – In The Still Of The Night
Percy Sledge – When A Man Loves A Woman
The Flamingos – I Only Have Eyes For You
Otis Redding – I’ve Been Loving You Too Long
John Legend – Again

Classical

Johann Sebastian Bach – Mass in B Minor BWV 232: Crucifixus
Ludwig van Beethoven – Symphony No. 9 “Choral”
Richard Wagner – Tristan and Isolde: Prelude
Tchaikovsky – Waltz of the Flowers

Country

Roy Rogers – Happy Trails
Willie Nelson – Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain
Hank Williams – Jambalaya
Sons of the Pioneers – Tumbling Tumbleweeds

Piano

Beethoven – Moonlight Sonata
Smetana – The Moldau
Richard Clayderman – Ballade Pour Adeline
Pachelbel – Canon in D

Of course there are many, many amazing songs other than the examples given above. It’s just an idea to get you started with. Spend time experimenting and building your ideal playlist.

Humans have been known to be addicted to substances for thousands of years. Wine was used at least from the time of the early Persians from as early as 5000BC and medicinal use of marijuana has been dated to 6000BC in Neolithic Europe.

Although drugs, alcohol, exercise and gambling are still prevalent today, many other forms of addiction has emerged since the late 20th century related to the digital world, making up the 14 most common addictions plaguing society today.

1. Alcoholism
2. Caffeine Addiction
3. Self Harm
4. Exercise Bulimia
5. Overeating
6. Gambling Addiction
7. Internet Addiction Disorder
8. Nicotine Dependence
9. Bad Relationships
10. Pornography Addiction
11. Sex Addiction
12. Compulsive Shopping
13. Video Games Addiction
14. Workaholism

Alcoholism

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Did you know that Moldova, Czech Republic and Hungary are the number 1, 2 and 3 countries with the highest total per capita consumption of alcohol in the world? USA comes in at 57th in the list.

Drinking feels good. A few too many the night before leads to headache, nausea and the vow that you will never drink again. But then you do. You continue to drink more and more, eventually reaching a point where the body demands a certain amount of alcohol to stay satisfied. Like other drug addicts, alcoholics develop a need for it. In the advanced stages of alcoholism, it can be life threatening when the person stops drinking.

Brain chemicals, personality and heredity are 3 elements responsible for making alcohol addictive.

Brain chemicals

• Alcohol elevates levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that contributes to your sense of well being. Low serotonin levels make you feel depressed whereas high serotonin levels make you feel real good.
• Alcohol elevates levels of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that produces feelings of satisfaction. The more dopamine is produced, the more fulfilled you feel.
• Alcohol elevates levels of endorphins, our brain’s natural painkiller. High endorphin levels relieve feelings of pain, stress, frustration.
• Alcohol reduces levels of glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter highly involved in muscular function. Slurred speech and disorganization are two direct effects of suppressed glutamate.

Personality

• Peer pressure. Drinking because it’s cool and to fit in.
• Influenced by commercials, billboards and the streets.

Heredity

• A person with parents who have issues with alcohol is at a higher risk of developing alcohol addiction compared to a person with parents who do not.
• Increased availability around the house makes a person more inclined to pick up the habit.

These are the 15 serious health effects when you drink much more than you should.

Cut down to a manageable level or stop drinking altogether if you find it hard to control yourself, with these 16 methods.

Caffeine Addiction

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Did you know that 54% of Americans over 18 drink coffee daily? Another 30% of the population occasionally drink coffee, and among all coffee drinkers, the average java jolt is a little over three cups a day.

Caffeine is a substance found naturally in the leaves, seeds, fruits and nuts of more than sixty different plants including tea leaves, coffee beans, and is also found in many carbonated beverages such as colas. Synthetically produced caffeine is added to certain food products and to many over-the-counter medicines.

Realize that caffeine, just like alcohol, is a stimulant that messes up our nervous system. Often enough, caffeine is viewed as a harmless quick-fix when we are not getting enough sleep and not making the time in our busy lives to fulfill our emotional and physical needs. Some of us may also very well have bought into the notion that caffeine is needed to wake us up and keep us going, eventually becoming slaves to it.

Caffeine keeps us out of touch with our physical and emotional self when we are constantly stimulated and flying. In a way, we are silencing our body from speaking to us about the truth of our condition, pushing ourselves harder despite knowing that we are very well tired and need rest.

Know more about caffeine and its effects with these 28 cool facts.

If you have been drinking more caffeine than you should, reduce and eventually stop your habit with these 11 approaches.

Self Harm

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Self-harm by cutting is a way of expressing and dealing with deep pain and agony bottled up inside. Common sense says it’s stupid, but not for those addicted to it, as cutting brings great relief. At that point of time when a person starts cutting himself/herself for the first time, it may have been the only way known to them to cope with feelings like hopelessness, self-loathing, desolation, guilt and bitterness.

Sadly, it does actually make a person feel much better, when getting rid some of the anxiety and pressure brings relief. Imagine all the pressure and mental agony in the mind gone when the adrenaline rushes in from doing something so intensely physical. Suddenly the indescribable pain turns into something that you can deal with physically. It submits to you. Suddenly it makes you feel in control of your life.

Some people cut themselves to expresses emotional pain or feelings that they find hard to put into words as it puts a punctuation mark on what they feel inside. Some may feel like they have a black hole in the pit of their stomach and feeling pain is better than feeling nothing. Others feel less and less distressed as the emotional pain slowly slips away into physical pain.

You may think cutting and self harm helps but what it does is actually inflict these 7 negative mental and physical effects.

Getting out of the habit takes a lot of effort but with determination and these 11 useful tips, anyone can do it.

Exercise Bulimia

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Exercising is an activity that promotes a healthier you. Your body fights off diseases more efficiently, your weight sticks nearer to where it should be and your mood stays good.

However, there exists people who become addicted to physical activity and engage in extreme, compulsive, excessive exercise that are both psychologically and socially impairing.

Motivations that lead to exercise addiction include :

• An immense desire to achieve and maintain the ideal body weight and shape.
• Feeling miserable, horrible and depressed if exercise is not carried out.
• Attaining a sense of achievement, a kind of ‘winning’ feeling, just like crossing the finish line of a race.

There are several similarities between exercise addiction and drug addiction, including effects on mood, tolerance and withdrawal. Neurotransmitters and the brain’s reward system are implicated when exercising. For example, dopamine has been found to play an important role in overall reward systems, and regular, excessive exercise has been shown to influence parts of the brain involving dopamine.

These are the 7 negative health effects of exercise bulimia.

Put an end to it by being realistic with these 4 practical examples.

Overeating

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We are one of very few mammal species that do not have the gene to prevent us from overeating. Long, long ago, human evolution was influenced in a large way by famine. Throughout the years, we reprogrammed ourselves to recognize storing energy as fat to be positive, an act that is better than not eating for a long period when food runs out. Moreover, you won’t have to suffer through the problems of obesity that is plaguing society today because you would overeat only for a short while.

Compulsive overeating is primarily caused by 2 things. One, the love of food. This happens subconsciously throughout the years. In your family, you may have been encouraged to take seconds since you were small. Some cultures are surrounded by food. America is a good example. Just look at Nathan’s 4th of July hot dog chokedown that has become such a phenomenon that the entire event is broadcasted on ESPN!

Two, to escape a void and feel happiness fort term. Food is inside you, it’s a personal thing, it tastes good, it satisfies you, it never lets you down. You may get away with it when you are young, but as you get older, your metabolism slows down. The habit remains but your waist and hips do not.

When you eat more than you should, you are risking these 24 health effects.

So stop overeating. Make these 20 effective habits your lifestyle and stay healthy.

Gambling Addiction

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There are 2 causes of compulsive gambling. One, is the adrenaline rush. Some people crave competition badly. They enjoy the excitement and rush of having something at risk. Be it pride or their mortgage money, the risk/reward potential can give a high. To some, the money won is just a score card indicating how smart they are. A very good real life example would be Michael Jordan.

Two, is to maintain their big dream. We have all one time or another dreamt about the ‘BIG HIT’ where we won’t have to deal with ‘the mess’ anymore and live happily ever after. The difference between an average person and a compulsive gambler is the obsession in the fantasy. The don’t want it to end so they keep on gambling, unlike the first type of compulsive gambler who seeks to beat the game.

You’ll be affected by these 35 ramifications when you let gambling take over your life.

Put an end to it once and for all with these 15 effective ways.

Internet Addiction Disorder

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Internet addiction is real and all of us are at risk. Spending 8 hours online every day at work does not make you an addict. It is part of your job, just like how a dentist extract teeth all day, a car mechanic repairing cars all day or a plumber maintaining plumbing systems all day.

The moment you realize that you cannot say ‘NO’ to staying online, it becomes a problem. The lack of self control will eventually turn your life upside down, disrupting your ability to function normally or even lead to a tragic event. With millions of potentially addictive sites in the internet like pornography, online gambling and social networking, you may feel compelled to stay connected all the time.

Internet is a powerful tool. When used wrongly, it damages you. Read more about the 17 harmful effects way too much internet can do to you.

There are lots of ways to overcome internet addiction and here are 9 ways to get you started.

Nicotine Dependence

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A lot of people start smoking early in their lives, like in high school, and get addicted by the time they are adults. Did you know that nicotine is so addictive that it is easier to kick heroine addiction than cigarettes? This is why smoking is a habit that is very difficult to break. Only an average of 5.5% people are able to quit smoking on any given attempt without medicines or other help. There are 5 main causes that lead people to start smoking.

Look Mature

If there are older people around smoking, especially parents and relatives, teenagers tend to smoke so as to seem older and grown up.

Peer Pressure

Many teenagers pick up smoking to blend in as it is every human’s desire to feel accepted.

Satisfying Curiosity

It is always exciting to experiment with something forbidden. In many places, it is against the law for anyone under the age of 18 to smoke. Most parents are strictly against their children smoking. Therefore, smoking becomes intensely appealing. The act of obtaining cigarettes illegally and sneaking in puffs without being caught is very exciting.

Stress Relief

Adults on the other hand start smoking for emotional issues. The soothing effect of cigarettes is utilized to help them through a rough time. Personal issues like not making enough money, unemployed, homelessness, dealing with other addictions, relationship issues, etc. are some of the common contributors of stress that lead adults to smoke.

Weight Control

There are also adults who start smoking to control their weight as nicotine suppresses the nerve activity in areas of the brain that are associated with the sensation of taste. Lessened sense of taste and smell makes food less palatable.

Smoking is disastrous to your health and these are the 14 negative consequences that affects you.

If you have been contemplating quitting smoking, good. Make use of these 13 tips to help you get rid of your nicotine addiction.

Bad Relationships

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Being in love is an amazing feeling but not all relationships last long. Many relationships end faster than it started. This is because many people get into relationships for all the wrong reasons. Constantly looking to fall in love for all the wrong reasons can result in not only a broken heart but much pain and sorrow that it may even affect future relationships. Below are 6 reasons that tend to motivate people to get into bad relationships.

Pride

Some people are just narcissists and have this desire to impress others, motivating themselves to get involved in a relationship with someone who is very attractive and young. The term trophy girlfriend/boyfriend is used to indicate someone who just looks good in your arm, as a status symbol, whom you don’t really have much things in common or interest to talk with.

Money

Gold digger, the common term used, means being in the relationship for the sole purpose of financial status or gain.

Sex

Some people are in it just for the sex. Each time the person is out with his/her partner, he/she will always lead the meet towards sex. All he/she is interested to talk about is sex. It doesn’t matter to him/her if they have nothing in common.

Selflessness

A person may keep on going out with a blind date set up by someone close to them, like parents and close friends, just to make them happy. A lot of people get married in an arranged marriage without making sure to know the person beforehand.

Lonely

A lot of times, people get into a relationship to avoid feeling empty and alone. They use a relationship to fill that void even if they don’t want to be in it.

Rebound

A person who moves too quickly from a long term relationship breakup into another relationship is considered to be in a rebound relationship. The person uses his/her partner in the rebound relationship to get over the breakup.

A lot of us may actually be in a bad relationship without knowing it. The stress and lack of positivity surrounding it may bring about these 11 negative health effects.

Once you realize that the future offered by it is dark, start getting out of the relationship immediately.

Pornography Addiction

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Most heterosexual men like porn. Not all are addicted to it. Heavy porn use and compulsive masturbation is caused by :

Childhood Trauma

Often the insidious progression of addiction begins with a sexual trauma, such as exposure to pornography, at a very young age.

Psychological Disorders

A lot of addictions, porn included, stem from mental and emotional issues like anxiety, depression, avoidant personality disorder and social phobia.

Sexual Problems

It is also caused by people suffering from sexual dysfunctions using porn to escape the shame of sexual difficulties with a real life partner.

Sexual Boredom

Sexual over-familiarity, or the onset of a feeling of repetitiveness in sexual relations between a couple, is another cause of switching to porn for something new and exciting.

Inability To Find A Real Life Sexual Partner

Individuals struggling with pornography addiction often have difficulty developing and maintaining healthy, positive relationships. In some cases, there may be a fear or inability to bond and commit to a real-life relationship. Physical and emotional intimacy may feel very frightening to the pornography addict.

Self Medication

Orgasms produce not just a high but also a neurochemical recovery period as the brain returns to a stable equilibrium. The more powerful the blast of neurochemical excitement during orgasm, the lower the lows as the brain recovers.

Too much pornography is harmful.

Put a halt to it. Yes, you can. Stop watching pornography once and for all.

Sex Addiction

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Compulsive sex is a symptom and not a problem. The real issues are actually the underlying unaddressed feelings of loneliness, pain and need to be accepted. The discovery of sex have led it to become a substitute to those overlooked needs.

Lack of Parental Care

Inconsistent parental nurturing and love definitely can contribute to sexual addiction. It destroys a child’s natural desire for intimacy.

Sense of Parental Betrayal

A sense of parental betray when they need to feel emotional and spiritual love and support can make a person susceptible to turning to sex to find security.

Being Taught The Wrong Values

Insufficient parental teaching and modeling can leave a child without a solid foundation of love and respect. When they are taught that intimacy brings pain, children will soon learn that it is safer to withdraw emotionally from others.

Stress

As adults, sex addicts repeat old patterns of responding to stress that began as logical coping skills. What were once necessary skills of emotional survival become impulsive and destructive patterns of thinking and behaving.

Early Exposure To Sex

Many sex addicts report coming from families where one parent was hypersexual or where there were family secrets about extramarital affairs and early exposure to pornography. Any type of inappropriate exposure to sex or sexual material is usually symptomatic of family dysfunction.

Child Abuse

82% of sex addicts reported being sexually abused as children.

To Feel In Control

Sex makes addicts, who normally feel powerless around the opposite sex, experience superiority. Sexually objectifying the opposite sex is a result of not being able to relate emotionally. That is because a sexual object cannot hurt, reject, make demands nor have needs that cannot be filled. Sex makes them feel constantly safe, secure, in charge and needed.

These are the 11 terrible consequences of having too much sex.

Recovering from sex addiction takes time and effort and lots of resolve.

Compulsive Shopping

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Through constant exposure to advertising, we are encouraged that a product exists somewhere to cure all of our tangible and intangible ailments. It can be very easy to take shopping to an extreme and become addicted. A 2006 Stanford University study concluded that compulsive overspending or over-shopping is a legitimate disorder that affects approximately 6% of the US population.

Deprivation During Childhood

Parents may have given presents instead of time and attention, leading a child to grow up wanting to get more material possessions. Other people may have grown up with a lot of emotional or financial deprivation, and when they’re able to afford shopping for themselves, they overbuy as a way of not going back to the way things were.

Alleviating Depression

Some depressed women start by seeking out lifestyles and activities that alleviate the depressive tendency in hopes of creating an environment that is more active. Engaging in shopping activities usually leave them feeling much happier than before albeit temporarily.

Filling A Void

A shopping addict considers shopping as one way to fill the loneliness in life because somehow dressing up attractively helps them feel good about themselves and gets them the attention and validation from people around them.

Approval seeking

Shopping addicts usually run away from their conscious selves, hide behind a mountain of stuff and seek the approval of others through their purchases. Shopaholics also have a tendency to be easily influenced by others.

Perfectionism

Some shopping addicts place too much pressure on themselves to live up to their own unattainable standards of perfection. Overspending often becomes both a way of trying to live up to those standards and a way of relieving the feelings of disappointment when they do not live up to them.

Impulse Control Issue

Most people find it fairly easy to control their impulses, and learn to do so during childhood. Shopaholics, on the other hand, find impulses, particularly impulses that involve buying something, both overwhelming and irresistible.

Gaining Control

Buying something or bringing anything home is one of the few things that shopping addicts feel they have control over.

Escaping Problems

Another cause of shopping addiction is that it keeps a person so busy that they do not have time to face life’s problems like cleaning up a cluttered house, going to the doctor about a chronic medical condition or to deal with problems within the family.

Staying addicted to shopping will ruin all aspects of your life.

Learn how to manage your shopping addiction with these 17 tips.

Video Games Addiction

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In July 2006, the world’s first video game addiction clinic opened in Amsterdam. It was the first time video game addiction was acknowledged, and the subsequent coverage pointed to the increasing popularity of video games and the people who just couldn’t stop playing them.

Built In Reward Systems

The built-in reward system of games are made in such a way that it engages the player to continuously strive to always get better. For example: For the first time you get far in the stage and then you die or lose but something ticks in your head and you just have to beat it. You gradually become addicted to the game’s sense of achievement.

Primal Instincts

Addiction to video games is due to the primal instincts that are triggered by all the gore, blood, violence, and sex that modern-day video games instill in us. There is ample research showing elevated blood pressure and heart rate as well as depletion of oxygen occurs while playing video games. This would indicate that the human brain believes the body is in actual jeopardy and is responding accordingly. Hence, the elevated heart rate.

Escape Life’s Problems

Video games engage us, in much the same way as a novel or a movie. Sometimes, it isn’t the game that is addictive. It’s the escape.

Unsatisfied Psycholigical Needs

Many video games satisfy basic psychological needs, and players often continue to play because of rewards, freedom, and a connection to other players.

Nostalgia

A lot of people play older video games to create a sense of nostalgia, causing a good feeling from a better, simpler time.

Here are the complete 14 ways you affect your health when you play too much video games.

Recover from video game addiction with these 11 useful tips.

Workaholism

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In Japan, it’s called karoshi (death by overwork), estimated to cause 1,000 deaths per year, nearly 5% of the country’s stroke and heart attack deaths in employees under age 60. In Netherlands, 3% of the entire population suffer from a newly recognized condition known as leisure sickness where people report feeling ill during weekends and vacations than when working. Symptoms include headaches, migraines, fatigue, muscular aches and pains, and illnesses such as the cold and flu.

To Feel Accepted

The feeling within us is that we have to achieve a certain standard, or amount of work before we can become accepted as a person. The belief is that we are of little worth as we are, on our own.

Low Self Esteem

A typical workaholic may have feelings of low self esteem and feelings of inadequacy, the result being that the person keeps striving to do more and better.

Avoiding Personal Problems

Work may also provide temporary relief from the pain of a broken relationship, or from boredom or guilt or many other negative feelings we may want to avoid.

Achieving Self Imposed Success

It is also common that a work addict is driven to perform even harder and accomplish even more due to the inability to relax and appreciate the value of today’s success. In many cases, a workaholic’s behavior is self imposed and not based on an accurate perception of oneself.

If you are one who work much longer than you intended, more often than not, you are risking your health.

Be smart and introduce some structure in your life so that you don’t overwork yourself.

Plan Your Days

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Develop a weekly routine. Schedule non-work activities around work. Try not to underestimate the time required to complete your work related tasks so that you can commit to your schedule. Continuously create plans, that involve other people, for every weekend. This will give you something interesting to look forward to.

Work Smart, Not Hard

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Assess each and every aspect of your task. List down the things that need to be done. Delegate well. Being highly productive in a shorter time allows you to achieve more out of life.

Disconnect

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Do absolutely nothing work related once you have finished for the week. Disengaging also mean turning off your Blackberry. Initially it may seem difficult, but as time goes by, you will learn that disconnecting enables you to be more productive and fulfilled.

Take Frequent Breaks

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The point is to take your mind off things for a while. Right after you’re done taking a pee, drink another glass of water. Set yourself up for the next break, naturally. Stretch yourself. Say hi and make small talk with people that you pass by while you’re at it.

Talk Less About Work

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Yes, they may want you to share with them about your day. However, stay aware. Don’t get carried away. Don’t drag the conversation longer than it is supposed to. Be ready to move on with another topic of conversation before you start talking.

Know Your Health

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When was the last time you had your blood tested or a full body check up? Examine your vitals, such as heart rate, blood pressure, waist to hip ratio and blood sugar, at least once a year. Pinpoint areas of improvement and set goals for yourself. Make sure that your body is consistently in the pink of health. In return, it will serve you well into your golden years.

Plan Your Meals

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Gradually make small changes as you go. Introduce more whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables into your diet. You can eat more of these with less guilt and most are always welcome as part of a balanced diet. Eat more of these and stay fuller longer. Try not to overeat.

Sleep Regularly

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Sleep plays an important role in our health and well being. Stick to a regular sleep/wake schedule. Don’t ingest caffeine four to six hours before bed and slowly minimize it until you stop.

Make Time For Exercise

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Exercise improves your mood, stamina and sex life. Spend at least 1 hour a day doing high intensity exercises. Pick up a sport. If you live in mountainous areas, hike. Cycle to work if you can. Exercising daily strengthens your heart, allowing it to pump more efficiently with less strain.

Pamper Yourself

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Relaxation is vital for a healthy mind and is required to maintain motivation and interest in our lives, our careers and in ourselves. Consider taking away the stress of the week with a deep tissue massage. Detoxify and improve your blood circulation in the sauna. Immerse yourself in a bubble bath with some really nice scented body washes and scrubs. Have drinks and conversation with a good friend at your favourite hangout spot.

Being In Love

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Relationships help us cope with stress. Having someone to turn to for emotional support buffers the negative effects of stress. So stay in love. Help out the household chores. Surprise her with her favourite flowers once in a while. Surprise him with his favourite food. It’s the little things that count.

Keep Your Promises

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Make it a point to keep promises you make to yourself, your family or in your work life. If you have already made a promise to be at your child’s game this Saturday, be there. If you’ve promised to go with your partner to a nice dinner after work, do it. When you consistently keep your promises, you essentially align what you say you will do with what you truly do.

Renew Your Soul

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Charity is good for the soul. It fulfills the basic human need of wanting to leave this earth knowing that you’ve made a difference and contributed something meaningful and purposeful. Whichever charity you choose to get involved with, you will discover far more worse problems than yours, prompting you to gain a new perspective on your own difficulties and challenges.

Overworking is just 1 of 14 habits troubling today’s human population.

Unable To Keep To Work Time Frame

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Workaholics spend much more time working than initially intended.

Unable To Work With Others

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Less effective and uncooperative working as part of team. A workaholic will tend to find trouble delegating or entrusting his co-workers, leading to organizational chaos due to taking on too much work at once.

Deprioritized Hobbies

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A workaholic’s obsession with work is all-occupying, resulting in diminishing interest in leisure activities and exercise.

Ignored Relationships

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Children and spouses are often the ones to suffer as a result. The child’s psychological development may be affected and so will separation or divorce in the case of husband/wife.

Erratic Sleep Habits

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Workaholics face higher risks for impaired awakening, insufficient sleep, and workplace sleepiness.

Irregular Eating Patterns

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Missing meals, eating lots of fast food, eating too fast and too much caffeine intake will inevitably lead to stomach ulcers.

Deteriorating Health

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Poor health is common among workaholics. Because there’s less of a social stigma attached to workaholism than to other addictions, health symptoms can easily go undiagnosed or unrecognized. Japan’s Prime Minister, Keizo Obuchi, died from stroke as a result of working too much too long.

Denial

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Just like alcoholism, video games addiction, or gambling addiction, the work addict’s destructive behaviour will persist despite repeated feedback from loved ones.

Wean yourself off work when the time calls for it with these 13 habits.

Cold Turkey

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Be serious and go cold turkey. Hardest but fastest. Setting a time limit won’t help. Either throw your console out the window or sell it. Delete your online character. Uninstall everything. Realize that you are wasting your life and will ruin your health. Make up your mind and do something better. Become addicted to that and reap the benefits. The bottom line is that you are not going to get rid of your addiction until you stop enjoying it.

Plan Your Day

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Prepare a daily agenda for yourself and remain consistent following it. You may find it difficult to stick to schedules at first but they are a good way of adding structure to your day.

Physically Demanding Activities

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Combat sports, weight lifting, hiking, running, swimming, or biking for at least 1 hour daily will cause brain pleasure centers to be stimulated, replacing what you get from gaming, and lead to feelings of positive well being. Being committed to the activity of your choice will help you become more disciplined.

Pets

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Pets can help you heal emotionally, physically, and mentally. Cats and dogs are the most common household pets and they can help fight off diseases because of the biochemical impact on their owner’s body chemistry.

Volunteer

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Heal from the remorse of having wasted so much time playing games and introduce balance to your life by volunteering for a cause. Finding new interests through volunteering can be fun, relaxing and energizing. The energy and sense of fulfillment can carry over to work or school and sometimes helps to relieve tensions and foster new perspectives for old situations. Options that are always in need of volunteers include hospitals, orphanages, red cross, libraries, animal shelters, and wildlife rescue.

Work Part Time

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Gets you out of the house and keeps your mind occupied. Getting a part time job will also help develop your time management skill, something extremely useful during college and as an adult. Moreover, you will most likely be spending a lot of time with people your own age, broadening your social circle and skills at the same time.

Learn An Instrument

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What you should do to replace the video game is find a hobby that is not simple or easy, but challenging that requires your mind to focus. For example, learning to play the guitar or violin. Both are anything but simple and it occupies your mind. Practice your ‘happy birthday’ song to perfection in time for your mother’s birthday. The desire to impress can be a powerful motivator to help you master your musical instrument skills.

Birds Of A Feather Flock Together

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Start hanging out with people who have interests in the above mentioned tips. Hangout with your gym buddies, work colleagues, or even from the volunteering circle. They will help you stay active and away from your video games.

Fall In Love (For Singles)

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If you have been eying her for quite some time already, start making your move. Hang out more with her. Find out the things she likes. Her favorite color, song, movie, pastry, etc. Make her something special. Bake her a cupcake. Learn how to write poems. Ask her out on a date. Having feelings for someone and doing something about it brings out the best in you.

Intervene (For Concerned Parents)

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As a concerned parent, there are a few things that you can do. If it’s a computer game, move his computer to the living room. Start introducing limitations. Only allow your child game time after he has earned it. Short rewards for completing his day’s homework and chores. Long rewards for maintaining distinctions or academic improvement. Never reward the undeserving. If all that fails, then it’s time to take the computer/console away.

Make A Choice (For Disappointed Wives)

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If you both have already talked a lot about his video game addiction before and nothing changes, then it’s time for you to start taking things into your own hands. Pack a bag for you and your child/children and leave the house while he is away. Leave him a note saying how you feel about his responsibilities as a husband and/or father and that he has to make a choice. Family or games. At this moment, it takes a strong, loving woman to be his wife. After that, see if he turns into a better family man.

Video game addiction is 1 of 14 addictions troubling today’s community.

Sleep Deprivation

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As work and school take up a big chunk of a person’s time, gamers tend to sacrifice valuable sleep time to squeeze in a few extra hours for gaming. Continual disruption of normal sleeping patterns may lead to insomnia, upsetting a person’s general well being.

Inability To Stick To Schedule

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Unable to stop when the time comes, resulting in the video game addict playing much longer than originally intended.

Mentally Preoccupied With The Game

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Continuously thinking about previous activities or anticipating the next session, resulting in lack of motivation and attention towards school, work and social obligations.

Stress

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When gamers gets stuck at a point where they are not advancing in the game, they naturally become extremely frustrated and angry. Going through these emotions throughout the day can be harmful to the body, mind and soul.

Poor Personal Hygiene

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When gamers are engaged in playing games the whole day, it’s easy to overlook personal hygiene. Being mostly at home makes them less compelled to take care of personal grooming. This may result in the development of acne and tooth decay.

Bad Eating Habits

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Fast food is the meal of choice. Energy drinks are also well known among gamers to keep up with the hours of late night gaming and staying awake during work or school. This can lead to serious health effects like obesity and diabetes.

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

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Excessive gaming may cause joint and muscle problems, resulting in carpal tunnel syndrome. Prolonged continuous motion of the wrist and thumb may cause repetitive stress injury (RSI) later on in life.

Migraine

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The concentration and prolonged exposure to hours upon hours staring at a backlit screen may bring on painful migraines.

Backache

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The cord to the controller is usually limited in length, prompting you to sit on the floor in front of the tv. This is actually a poor posture and if sustained for long periods, it will cause tightness of the muscle and joints of the shoulders, back, knees, and hips.

Neglect Physical Exercise

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Being addicted to playing games can take away the time a person spend outdoors. Only after clear indications of a poor well being, like getting real sick, will the addicted start to be aware of their poor health condition.

Isolating Oneself From Friends

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Those suffering from video game addiction spend more time in solitary seclusion, spend less time with real people in their lives, and are often viewed as socially awkward.

Lying To Conceal The Extent Of Involvement

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Having to lie about how much you enjoy a hobby is an indication that something is wrong. Most of the time, video game addicts lie to avoid conflict and to also preserve the continuity of the addictive habit.

Poor Study Habits

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Most youth addicted to video games often neglect their studies and fail to finish their homework, leading to a decrease in grades, negatively impacting their academic career. This vicious cycle will only result in the video game addict falling further and further behind in school.

Playing At Work

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Fully grown, hard-working adults also get addicted. Some will go as far as playing games during work hours using company computers and equipment. Even when everything around is falling to pieces, the addicted will still put playing games above everything else.

With the help of these 11 techniques, stop video game addiction once and for all.