Day One-Hundred Sixteen: The Behaviors That Take Years Off Our Lives

I find addiction to be both fascinating and depressing. I've known many people who have suffered from addictions during their life, several of them very close to me. I think that at times, I myself have been addicted to junk food. What is it about our brain that likes something that we do so much that it tells us to keep on doing it, even though we know it's really bad for us?

There are some addictions that take our life.

Life insurance companies know this. They refer to it as "insurability". When one goes to purchase an individual life insurance policy, they are asked a series of invasive questions about smoking, drinking, and engaging in risk-taking behaviors. They run a blood sample, a mouth swab, and often will run a driving record & credit report. They calculate your BMI based on your height/weight ratio and find out what medications you take. They do this to gauge how many years one probably has left of their life. For them, it's a business, and it's important that they get their numbers right.

I write this as I'm still processing the events of the last three weeks. I found it timely that MSN was running a story today on four unhealthy behaviors linked to premature death. The jist: Smoking, Lack of Exercise, Unhealthy Diet, and Excessive Alcohol Consumption can singularly influence the number of years one has left of their life. However, if one engages in all four of these behaviors, the numbers increase exponentially. During the 20-year study, they estimated that one who engages in all four of these behaviors is estimated at being 12 years older than their actual age. The leading causes of death amongst the subjects participating in the study were cardiac disease and cancer.

Duh...any dummy would know that. Smoking exposes one to carcinogens regularly that can activate free radicals already stored in the body. Drinking dehydrates the system, and water is a catalyst for proper cellular functioning. Exercise increases circulation, endorphins, and oxygen to the system helping to influence mood, expel waste, and repair tissue. Eating healthy foods gives the body the nutrients it needs to fight off disease and keep the body from storing fatty acids in the arteries. Hello...

Yet, we see it so much. How many people do you know that engage in all four of these behaviors simultaneously? I know many, and as much as it depresses me to think of the risks associated with these 4 behaviors, in the end, they are individual choices that one chooses to engage in. Usually, somewhere deep down, way below the addiction, is pain. It is the fear of dealing with the pain that often keeps an addict in the addictive cycle. In the end, we can only control our own behavior, and try to influence and educate our children before they get influenced or educated by someone else. No one, no one, no one....except the addict can make the addiction stop. Trying to get an addict to change will often only change you.

If you're addicted to these things, and want to get help, there's lots of help available. If you're smoking, you can stop...and not allow it to influence your children to become smokers. If you lack exercise, you can begin with a walk. Make it a family affair. If you eat unhealthy foods, you can get in one piece of raw fruit or vegetable daily until you can work your way up. And if you drink, you can learn to drink modestly or not at all if modesty is impossible. Choosing to get help can keep years from being taken away from your life.

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100257528&GT1=31036