and is one of the causes of Alzheimer's. I am frankly baffled by recent attempts in some of the Right media such as Gab to rehabilitate smoking, of all things. The (retarded) logic goes something like this. Government is against smoking. Government bad. Hence, smoking is good.
The link between smoking and lung cancer has been known since at least 1920s, and, of course, now we know that it causes a plethora of other health problems, including cognitive ones:
Smoking cigarettes shrinks the size of the brain, and stopping doesn’t reverse the damage, a new study shows. The findings help explain why smokers have a higher risk of developing age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease...
The research team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that total brain volume, including gray and white matter, decreased when a person smoked daily. Gray brain matter decreased more than white brain matter did, according to the analysis. Gray matter houses neural cell bodies, axon terminals, and dendrites; much of it is found in the cerebellum, cerebrum, and brain stem. It is responsible for the central nervous system, which enables a person to control movement, memory, and emotions. White matter is filled with bundles of axons coated with myelin. Its job is to send signals up and down the spinal cord when the brain receives a stimulus.
The analysis of the UK Biobank data showed that the more a person smoked, the more brain mass they lost. The realization that smoking affects the brain isn’t entirely new information, the research team admitted. “The adverse effect of smoking extends into the brain, and this is shown by the association between smoking and dementia,” they wrote.
Drinking isn't too good for you, either. In fact, imo, just quitting these 2 habits (or at least, reducing drinking alcohol to a bare minimum) could resolve countless health problems people have nowadays:
In addition to smoking, the team found that drinking alcohol also has adverse effects on the brain. Like smoking, heavy alcohol use can reduce brain size, specifically subcortical brain volume. The subcortex is involved in overseeing emotions, memory, and hormone production. Subcortical structures also help people maintain their posture, gait, and other movements.
The risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia occurs even after someone stops smoking or drinking alcohol, researchers noted, because the brain damage is permanent.
I have witnessed first-hand someone with an alcohol habit trying to quit and believe me, it was nasty. After this I just quit drinking altogether, with some exceptions like communion wine or an occasional (half) glass of beer and I have no regrets.
I understand your point. I never cared for smoking cigarettes or marijuana since the smell is awful. My grandfather smoked a pipe for a number of years.
ReplyDeleteI think excessive drinking is the issue. It's amazing how much alcohol Colonial America consumed, so maybe they detoxed with all that hard labor and walking everywhere. :)
Smoking will ruin your teeth and gums, too, and as a man, will cause erectile dysfunction.
ReplyDeleteAs for drinking in the past...ever wondered why even in the 1960s and 70s people, especially men, used on average only live till like 70? Drinking causes kidney failure and colon cancer, among other things. Though if you only drink occasionally, it's fine, I guess. The problem is, too many people start drinking occasionally, then socially and then they can't quit.
We have so many choices of things to drink nowadays, thousands of varieties of juices, teas, sparkling teas and sparkling juices, coffees galore, flavored waters... I won't say pop because that's not healthy...we certainly can find something else to drink.
ReplyDeleteI really do think it comes to what you drink. Never heard of "French paradox"? They consume lots of saturated fat, and yet have perfect heart health And it is believed they get to thank red wine for that. And, of course, they were never fat until resently.
ReplyDeleteNow of course we all know by now that saturated fat is not the villain, but sugar is. And french also consume that rather little. But that french paradox term was invented by cardiologists when "animal fat bad" -paradigm was alive.
I personally think that as long as drink (wine or real cider or beer) is part of a meal, it is fine. Moderate amounts, that is. But when people drink all sorts of weird sugary stuff just to get drunk, that makes no sense.
When it comes to smoking, in my country only white trash smokes nowadays.
French paradox has been largely debunked, i.e, it was due to Med diet, which is still considered the healthiest diet there is:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/the-french-paradox-turned-out-to-be-an-illusion-but-it-led-to-some-interesting-research-a7839086.html
It restricts both sat fat and sugar, btw. It's true that alcohol has some cardio protective qualities in small amounts, but it raises the risk of several cancers, including breast cancer:
https://www.thelancet.com/article/S1470-2045(21)00279-5/fulltext
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/27/the-french-must-drink-less-wine-say-health-officials
I think by far the biggest problem with alcohol is that it is so addictive. In the end it's up to everyone to decided whether to drink or not, of course.