Smoking effects on the body

Smoking in considered the largest preventable cause of death worldwide. Every day we are attacked with the side effects of smoking, but it does not seem to convince smokers that smoking truly is the worst thing for their health. To round up, regular smoking cuts half an hour of your life with every two cigarettes. On average smokers die 10 years earlier than non-smokers.
Here is a list of the effects of smoking:

• CANCER

Lung cancer develops in 95% of patients with a positive history of smoking. Smoking is also associated with other cancers such as bladder cancer, kidney cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer, esophagus cancer, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, cervical cancer, bowel cancer, ovarian cancer, cancer of the nose and sinuses and some forms of leukemia.
There are over 4,000 compounds in a cigarette smoke. A large number of them are toxic and harm our cells; some of them are carcinogenic meaning that they cause cancer.
Cigarette smoke primarily consists of:
Nicotine: this is not the carcinogenic compound, but it is responsible for the addictiveness of smoking. Nicotine acts very fast, it reaches the neurons in 15 seconds after being inhaled. If there were no nicotine in cigarettes the number of smokers wouldn’t be this concerning and the tobacco industry would surely fail.
Nicotine exposure leads to depression of the nervous system, growth retardation and in pregnancy to improper fetal development.
Carbon Monoxide: it is a tasteless and poisonous gas. It is highly soluble in blood and interacts easily with hemoglobin. If there is enough carbon monoxide in the air inhaling it will cause fatigue, weakness, dizziness, decreased muscle and heart function and gradually coma and death.
Tar from the inhaled cigarette smoke 70% of the tar remains in the lugs. It is a harmful chemical residue that coats everything with a brownish-yellow film. The tar in cigarette smoke harms the cilia predisposing to many diseases such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis and lung cancer.
Nitrosamines: NNN, NAT and NNK are the three compounds unique to tobacco that are known carcinogens.
Other compounds found in cigarette smoking include: cyanide, benzene, formaldehyde, methanol, acetylene, ammonia, cresol, lead and many more.
NERVOUS SYSTEM
The stimulant effect of nicotine only lasts very short, after this effect it leaves you tired and craving for more. Smoking also leads to poor eye sight because it causes macular degeneration and cataracts.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
Smoking damages the cilia function, predisposing to infections. It is also related with emphysema, the destruction of air sacs, chronic bronchitis, where the lining of the bronchi get inflamed and the condition called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
Smoking is one of the leading causes of atherosclerosis, the accumulation of fatty substances in the lumen of arteries. This condition leads to coronary heart disease predisposing to heart attack.
Smoking also increases blood sugar, causes vasoconstriction, hypertension, raises the risk of forming blood clots and aortic aneurism.
INTEGUMENTARY SYSTEM
Skin involvement by smoking presents with discoloration, wrinkles, and premature aging. The presence of tar manifests as a brownish-yellow stain on the nails, fingers and teeth. The bad smell of the cigarette smoke also clings to the hair and skin.
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
Oral problems are very common in smokers, presenting with gingivitis and periodontists. These conditions lead to tooth decay, tooth loss and of course to bad breath. Smoking can also decrease your appetite predisposing you to malnutrition.
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM
Smoking has harmful effects on insulin function thus increasing the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Cortisol lowers the effects of nicotine. In high stress situation, when your body produces lots of cortisol you’ll need more nicotine to achieve its desired effects.
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM
Smokers have difficulty achieving orgasm, and the vasoconstriction caused by smoking effects the man’s ability to get an erection. Smoking also increases the risk of infertility and causes menopause earlier than expected.
Pregnant women experience more complications such as premature delivery, miscarriage and placental problems.

  http://wespeakscience.com/smoking-effects-on-the-body/

ALCOHOL and the BRAIN

Most of us have witnessed the outward signs of heavy drinking: the stumbling walk, slurred words and memory lapses. People who have been drinking have trouble with their balance, judgment and coordination. They react slowly to stimuli, which is why drinking before driving is so dangerous. All of these physical signs occur because of the way alcohol affects the brain and central nervous system.
Alcohol affects brain chemistry by altering levels of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit the signals throughout the body that control thought processes, behavior and emotion. Neurotransmitters are either excitatory, meaning that they stimulate brain electrical activity, or inhibitory, meaning that they decrease brain electrical activity. Alcohol increases the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the brain. GABA causes the sluggish movements and slurred speech that often occur in alcoholics. At the same time, alcohol inhibits the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. Suppressing this stimulant results in a similar type of physiological slowdown. In addition to increasing the GABA and decreasing the glutamate in the brain, alcohol increases the amount of the chemical dopamine in the brain's reward center, which creates the feeling of pleasure that occurs when someone takes a drink.

Alcohol affects the different regions of the brain in different ways:

• Cerebral cortex: In this region, where thought processing and consciousness are centered, alcohol depresses the behavioral inhibitory centers, making the person less inhibited; it slows down the processing of information from the eyes, ears, mouth and other senses; and it inhibits the thought processes, making it difficult to think clearly.
• Cerebellum: Alcohol affects this center of movement and balance, resulting in the staggering, off-balance swagger we associate with the so-called "falling-down drunk."
• Hypothalamus and pituitary: The hypothalamus and pituitary coordinate automatic brain functions and hormone release. Alcohol depresses nerve centers in the hypothalamus that control sexual arousal and performance. Although sexual urge may increase, sexual performance decreases.
• Medulla: This area of the brain handles such automatic functions as breathing, consciousness and body temperature. By acting on the medulla, alcohol induces sleepiness. It can also slow breathing and lower body temperature, which can be life threatening.

In the short term, alcohol can cause blackouts -- short-term memory lapses in which people forget what occurred over entire stretches of time. The long-term effects on the brain can be even more damaging.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/human-brain/alcoholism4.htm

Experts think your crappy genes can be rewired with diet and exercise

The nature vs. nurture debate just got hotter with Deepak Chopra and Rudolph E. Tanzi’s “Super Genes” (out Tuesday from Harmony Books), which looks like it’ll do just as well as their best-selling 2012 tome, “Super Brain.”
The general idea is simple: Genes aren’t as immutable as you may think.

“Gene activity responds to your lifestyle — your thoughts, your feelings, your actions, your stress levels, your diet,” Tanzi, a neuroscientist at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital, tells The Post.

Nope, you can’t modify the DNA sequence that’s passed on from your family. But Tanzi notes that “most of what you inherit is written in clay rather than in stone. That means you have a chance to be the sculptor.”

Pushing the reasoning further, the book suggests those changes might be passed on: “Human beings could be the first creatures in the history of life on Earth to self-direct where their evolution is going.”

Their theory is not without its detractors in the scientific community.
“There’s not a shred of evidence that humans can change their genes in a permanent way via changes in our lifestyle,” writes Jerry Coyne, from the University of Chicago’s Department of Ecology & Evolution, in response to Chopra and Tanzi’s big idea.

Still, whether or not you buy the science, “Super Genes” offers common-sense advice for a healthier life.
Chopra and Tanzi single out six areas that can potentially change your well-being for the better, with easy, hard and experimental options.

Diet

“There is clearly a gut-brain axis,” says Tanzi, who’s been a vegetarian since college. “It brings a whole new meaning to the term ‘gut feeling.’  ” But since science has yet to formulate the perfect array of intestinal bacteria for overall health, the authors claim that following an anti-inflammatory diet is the next best thing, helping to combat an array of health issues, from chronic disease to obesity.
To fight inflammation, Chopra and Tanzi recommend eating more fiber and probiotics, and cutting down on processed foods. If you’re going to eat beef, grass-fed is better than grain-fed — the authors allow that, unfortunately, eating better also costs more.

Meditation

“Super Genes” acknowledges that the practice is “a major lifestyle change,” but well worth the effort. While meditation is often seen as a spiritual matter, the book argues it can have a physical impact by helping you battle stress, and even suggests the practice can help turn down stress-response genes. It can also prep you better for success by improving focus, the ability to make sound decisions and so on — a line of argument that should be familiar to regular Chopra readers.

Sleep
We all know a good night’s rest is essential, but the authors argue that sleep could affect what they call the “clock genes.” To activate them, which will impact appetite, mood and energy levels, they recommend you “avoid reading or watching TV [a half-hour] before you go to sleep.”
Stress
It’s “the first area where the mind-body connection could be proved” and guess what? It’s bad for you! Stress hormones can lead to a cascade of physical reactions, which, if experienced chronically, can “damage tissues and organs throughout the body,” according to the book.
Since the authors equate modern life with stress, they argue that it’s easier to “stop being the cause of stress for others.” How? For one, stop complaining and criticizing, start listening and address issues before they snowball into major problems.

Emotions

While it’s “highly unlikely” there’s anything like a “happiness gene,” the book suggests you can still do much to improve your emotions — which in turn impact your physical being. To reduce fear and anxiety, seek “emotional intelligence and happiness” by controlling your impulses, empathizing with others and making sure your needs are met by developing “the courage to find the right people” — even if that means risking rejection.

Exercise

Despite his busy schedule, Tanzi does yoga every morning and plays six hours of basketball a week. If your schedule’s too packed, the book recommends yoga, “the single activity that does the most for body and mind together.”

 http://nypost.com/2015/11/10/can-some-yoga-fix-your-familys-crappy-genes/