The human body is an incredibly complex mechanism, the work of which largely depends on the quality and properties of the "fuel" with which we supply it, that is, the products we eat. Even the most seemingly harmless vegetables and fruits can provoke serious disturbances in the functioning of internal organs if eaten without any measure, and such a vital food element as water can easily become a deadly poison.
To avoid this, it is necessary to study the useful and harmful properties of foods and try to diversify the diet, without dwelling, for example, on salads with carrots or exotic cuisine like sushi and sashimi. Here several food items, which in large quantities can cause the development of certain diseases and even cause death.
1. Carrots
Of course, everyone knows that carrots are one of the healthiest root vegetables, they contain many vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to health, but this does not mean that you can safely absorb them in huge quantities. The beta-carotene in carrots is good for your immune system, but it can also cause discoloration and yellowing of the skin.
The fact is that beta-carotene molecules easily dissolve in fat and accumulate in the upper layers of the skin, which gives it a yellowish tint, as a rule, this is most noticeable on the palms, soles of the feet, knees and the skin of the nose.
This phenomenon, known as carotenemia, is harmless to health and disappears after a while when foods high in carotene are eliminated from the diet. Carotenemia is most commonly seen in children, but it can also occur in adults if you regularly consume more than the recommended five milligrams of carotene per day.
By the way, a large amount of carotene in the diet can not only endow a person with a "carrot" skin color, but also increase the risk of developing cancer in smokers and people working with harmful and toxic substances, while the rest of the rest does not have such an effect of increased consumption of carotene, and the reasons for this phenomenon are still unknown.
2. Fish
An unpleasant fact for lovers of sushi with tuna - this fish (like any other) can accumulate a huge amount of methylmercury, which in some cases leads to severe poisoning and damage to the nervous system.
Tuna is at the top of one of the food chains, it eats small fish that feed on algae, which absorb methylmercury and heavy metals, which are present in small quantities in seawater. Methylmercury accumulates in the muscle tissues and internal organs of the fish and is very slowly excreted from the fish's body.
According to research published in a 2010 issue of Biology Letters, fish used in sushi restaurants and sushi bars tend to have higher levels of methylmercury than supermarkets. These establishments often buy the largest tuna, which have time to accumulate more harmful substances in the body than small young individuals.
Recently, American experts conducted a large-scale study of fish from the 291st reservoirs of the country for the content of mercury, and it turned out that about 25% of fish have a mercury content in body tissues above a safe level, so scientists do not advise eating too much sushi and other seafood dishes , first of all, this applies to pregnant women and children. A safe intake of fish for an adult is considered to be about 200 grams per week.
3. Infusion of kombucha
Kombucha-based drink, known in the US as kombucha, is believed to have medicinal properties and boost immunity. Kombucha is a product of symbiosis of yeast-like fungi and some bacteria, depending on the specific conditions in which the mushroom grows, its composition may be different.
The mushroom is obtained from a nutrient solution (most often it is sweet tea): if you pour tea into a container and then leave it for several days, a layered mucous film forms on its surface, which gradually becomes thicker. Kombucha is fully formed in 5–6 weeks, and it is necessary to rinse it and change the nutrient solution every few days.
Many people attribute the infusion of kombucha to have downright miraculous properties, but in some cases it may contain mold or a disease-causing fungus. Several cases of poisoning with infusion of kombucha have been recorded, in addition, the acetic acid present in the infusion can provoke metabolic acidosis (displacement of the acid-base balance of the body), destruction of red blood cells, and sometimes even damage to the liver and kidneys.
Scientists say that a healthy adult can drink about 100 ml of the drink a day without the risk of side effects, more can be harmful to health.
4. Coffee
Many people cannot completely wake up without a cup of strong coffee, while others drink large quantities of it with every meal. Doctors do not recommend drinking more than two or three cups of this wonderful drink a day, which corresponds to 500-600 mg of caffeine. If your caffeine intake range is 600 to 900 mg, be prepared for side effects such as insomnia, anxiety, tachycardia, muscle cramps, nausea, and headache.
There is a known case when caffeine even became the cause of death: a 21-year-old Swede drank an incredible amount of coffee, with which about 10,000 mg of caffeine got into her body, which provoked cardiac arrest. The doctors managed to bring her back to life by defibrillation, but as it turned out, not for long - three days later, the woman died.
5. Water
Water, of course, is necessary for a person to live, but you should not think that you can drink it as much as you like without harm to health - there is such a phenomenon as water intoxication (water poisoning) or hyperhydria.
Water poisoning occurs when there is an imbalance in the body's electrolytes caused by a decrease in sodium concentration in the blood, and athletes who drink a lot of fluids during exercise are most at risk.
To reduce the risk of water intoxication, experts recommend weighing yourself before and after playing sports, so that it is easier to control the amount of fluid you drink and excreted along with sweat.
Sometimes hyperhydria even becomes the cause of death - as in 2007 in California, when a woman drank a lot to win a competition organized by one of the radio stations.
6. Nutmeg
Nutmeg is a common ingredient in confectionery, food and drink, but in some countries it is used as an inexpensive hallucinogenic drug.
Eating large amounts of nutmeg after a few hours can cause anxiety, unaccountable feelings of fear and doom, and sometimes - visual hallucinations, psychosis and other distortions of perception of reality.
As a rule, nutmeg poisoning is not fatal, but there are still several precedents. For example, in 1908, after 14 grams of nutmeg entered the body, an 8-year-old child died, and in 2001, a 55-year-old woman died, who, as doctors later said, died due to a combination of the actions of two substances: myristicin from nutmeg essential oil and the sedative flunitrazepam.
It used to be considered one of the classic childhood illnesses. But it became much less common after the invention of the vaccine. Basically, this disease is easy to treat, but with the diagnosis of chickenpox, complications can still be.
Myocarditis. This is an inflammatory process in the heart muscle. It can be caused by a variety of infections and viruses, as well as immune diseases. In this case, it affects the heart muscle and causes local inflammation;
Cosmetic defects. Despite the fact that chickenpox does not leave behind scars, they can still form if the patient scratches the bubbles. In this case, the upper layer of the skin is disturbed and small scars remain during healing. They may pass in a few months, but they may remain.
If a mature person falls ill with chickenpox, then it is much more difficult for him to carry the infection than for a baby. Therefore, there are more complications in adults.
The most serious consequence of the disease is the addition of a bacterial-type infection, such as encephalitis. This can even be fatal. To prevent this from happening, you should not comb the bubbles in order to prevent infection.
Even an adult may have vision impairment or complete loss of it. Rheumatism is also one of the complications of chickenpox.
In women who contract chickenpox during pregnancy, the fetus may also be infected. With a maternal diagnosis of chickenpox, complications in babies born may not appear immediately, but after a while. Therefore, it should always be vaccinated, because the vaccine usually completely prevents the disease or makes the course of the disease very mild and calm. Complications of chickenpox are common but can be avoided with proper treatment.
At the congress of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, which took place on December 23, 2017, the communists decided to nominate the non-partisan Pavel Grudinin for the presidency of the Russian Federation in the framework of the upcoming elections.
The program presented by the candidate was named "Pavel Grudinin's 20 Steps" and has already been announced at the press conferences held in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In accordance with its content, the businessman proposes to nationalize strategically important and backbone industries, electric power, railways, communication systems, leading banks.
Grudinin is convinced that it is necessary to refuse to participate in the World Trade Organization (WTO), as this allegedly brings the country great losses.
Among other promises, the candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation focuses on the social component: lowering prices for medicines and tariffs for all types of transportation, abolishing fees for overhaul, adjusting utility tariffs with family incomes, reducing mortgages, setting the minimum wage at 25-30 thousand rubles.
Meanwhile, a political scientist, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State Pedagogical University, candidate of historical sciences Vladimir Shapovalov explained to a Newinform correspondent that Grudinin's program is just an attempt to attract the attention of voters.
“In this case, the strategy chosen by the candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is obvious. This is the expansion of the electoral base at the expense of a number of radical populist slogans that he has adopted. It is obvious that these slogans, which are now being heard in the program, are difficult to achieve, ”he stressed.
The expert believes that the seemingly tempting proposals of the Grudinin program, in reality, are not realizable:
“First of all, we are talking, of course, about those economic and social indicators that are now indicated in the program. None of the sane citizens of Russia, I think, will be against raising the standard of living and the quality of life. I think that there is not a single candidate and generally a normal politician who would advocate lowering social norms. It is another matter that it is obvious that citizens and voters should understand that their achievement is extremely difficult and can lead to rather serious negative consequences, as well as other points of the radical program of Pavel Grudinin. Therefore, in this case we are talking about a fairly simple attempt to win the sympathies of voters by drawing beautiful pictures that are not realizable in practice. "
He argues that these proposals directly indicate that the candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation does not measure his program with modern realities within the country.
“This indicates a fairly high degree of detachment from reality and the desire for this kind of irresponsible statements, which, in fact, can give rise to hope in some electorate. We must understand that we need to proceed from real goals. Voters should think carefully before succumbing to such tricks, which indicate an attempt to find easy answers to difficult questions, ”Shapovalov said.
At the same time, a number of experts note the similarity of the "20 steps of Pavel Grudinin" with the "25 points" drawn up by the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) of Germany under the leadership of Adolf Hitler.
Shapovalov, in turn, calls the candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation an inexperienced politician who understands only economic activity:
"... Having a fairly significant experience of entrepreneurial and business activities, Pavel Grudinin as a public politician is significantly less experienced, and this leads to such moments, including the formation of a program, which, obviously, was avoided by a more experienced politician of leftist convictions."
The expert suggests that such proposals will only play a negative role for Grudinin, who associates himself with the left, communist idea, since it is obvious that they may not like the traditional communist electorate.
Scientists have proven that regular sleep deprivation can lead to serious illness and shorten life expectancy. How do you know if you are lacking sleep?
"Soft watch" by Salvador DaliMatthew Walker is a sleep scientist. More specifically, he is the director of the Center for the Science of Human Sleep at the University of California, Berkeley. It is a research institute whose goal - perhaps unattainable - is to understand everything about the effect of sleep on us, from birth to death. As the lines between work and leisure become increasingly blurred, it is rare that people are not worried about their sleep. But most of us do not know half of it. Walker is convinced that we are in the midst of a "catastrophic epidemic of insufficient sleep," the consequences of which are far more serious than any of us can imagine. In his opinion, the situation could change if the government intervenes.
Walker has spent the past four and a half years writing Why We Sleep, which looks at the aftermath of this epidemic. The author believes that if people are aware of the powerful links between lack of sleep and diseases such as cancer, obesity, Alzheimer's and poor mental health, they will try to get the recommended eight hours a night. Walker wants large institutions and legislators to embrace his ideas as well. “No aspect of our biology has been left out of sleep disturbance,” he says. - And yet no one does anything about it. Everything has to change: in the workplace and in communities, in homes and families. Lack of sleep is costing the UK economy more than £ 30bn a year in lost revenue, or 2% of GDP. The NHS budget could have doubled if they had only instituted policies that prescribe or encourage sleep. "
Why, in fact, do we sleep so little? What has happened in the past 75 years? In 1942, less than 8% spent only six hours or fewer sleeping hours, and in 2017, almost one in two people. The reasons seem obvious. “The first is electrification,” Walker says. - Light greatly impairs our sleep. Second, there is the problem of work: not only blurred lines between start and end times, but also longer commuting times. No one wants to sacrifice time with their family or for entertainment, and instead, people stop sleeping. Anxiety also plays a role. We are a lonely, more depressed society. Alcohol and caffeine are readily available. These are all enemies of sleep. "
Walker also believes that in the developed world, sleep is associated with weakness, even shame. “We have put the stigma of laziness on sleep. We want to seem busy, and one way to express this is by proclaiming how little we sleep. This is something to be proud of. When I give lectures, people wait until there is no one around, and then they quietly say to me, "I seem to be one of those people who need eight or nine hours of sleep." They are embarrassed to talk about it publicly. They would rather wait 45 minutes for confession. They are convinced that they are not normal, but why? We scourge people for sleeping only the necessary amount. We consider them lazy. After all, no one will say about a sleeping baby: "What a lazy child!" We know that the child needs to sleep. But this understanding quickly fades [as we grow up]. Humans are the only species that deliberately deprives itself of sleep for no apparent reason. " In case you're wondering, the number of people who can survive on only five or fewer hours of sleep without disruption, expressed as a percentage of the population and rounded to the nearest whole number, is zero.
The world of sleep science is still relatively small. But it is growing exponentially, thanks to both demand (the manifold and growing pressures caused by the epidemic) and new technologies (such as electrical and magnetic brain stimulators) that are giving researchers what Walker calls "VIP access" to the sleeping brain. Walker has been in the field for over 20 years.
He studied to be a doctor in Nottingham, but soon realized that this job was not for him, and switched to neurology. After graduation, Walker began work in the field of neurophysiology with the support of the Council for Medical Research.
“I studied the brain models of people with various forms of dementia, but I couldn't find any difference between them,” he recalls now. One night, he read a scientific article that changed everything. It described that some types of dementia affect parts of the brain that are associated with controlled sleep, while other types leave these sleep centers unaffected.
“I realized my mistake. I measured the brain activity of my patients while they were awake, and I had to do it when they were sleeping, ”says Walker.
Sleep seemed to be a new way of early diagnosis of different subtypes of dementia.
After completing his doctorate, Walker moved to the United States and is now a professor in the Department of Neuroscience and Psychology at the University of California.
Walker himself certainly sleeps 8 hours every night, while he strongly advises to go to bed and wake up at the same time.
“I take my dream very seriously because I have seen the evidence. Knowing that even after one night of 4-5 hours of sleep, your natural killer cells - those that attack the cancer cells that appear in your body every day - are shrinking by 70%, or that bowel, prostate, and other cancers are associated with sleep deprivation. breast, or that the World Health Organization has classified any form of night work as a possible carcinogen, how can you do otherwise? "
Will the book Why We Sleep? the impact that the author expects? I'm not sure: the scientific approach, I must say, requires some concentration.
However, the evidence Walker provides is enough to send someone to bed early. It's not a matter of choice. Without sleep, you will have little energy and illness. With sleep - vitality and health. More than 20 large-scale epidemiological studies show the same clear connection: the shorter the sleep, the shorter the life. Just one example: Adults age 45 and older who sleep less than six hours a night are 200% more likely to have a heart attack or stroke during their lifetime, compared to those who sleep seven or eight hours a night (partly the reason is due to blood pressure: even one night of inadequate sleep will shorten a person's heart rate and significantly increase blood pressure).
Lack of sleep also appears to have an impact on blood sugar levels. In experiments, the cells of sleep-deprived people become less sensitive to insulin and therefore induce a pre-diabetic state of hyperglycemia. Taking short naps makes a person prone to weight gain by lowering levels of leptin, a hormone that signals satiety, and increasing levels of ghrelin, a hormone that signals hunger. “I'm not going to say that the obesity crisis is caused by an epidemic of insufficient sleep,” says Walker. - This is not true. However, processed food and a sedentary lifestyle do not fully explain this increase. Something is missing. It is now clear that sleep is the third ingredient. " Fatigue, of course, also affects motivation.
Sleep has a strong effect on the immune system, so when we have the flu, our first impulse is to go to sleep: our body tries to get a good night's sleep. Cut back on even one night of sleep and your resilience will drop dramatically. If you are tired, you will catch a cold faster. Vacationers also respond better to the flu vaccine. As Walker said, more serious research shows that naps can affect our cancer-fighting cells. Several epidemiological studies suggest that night work and disruption of daily sleep and rhythm increases the risk of developing cancers, including breast, prostate, endometrial and colon cancers.
Not getting enough sleep throughout life in adults significantly increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The reasons for this are difficult to summarize, but it essentially has to do with amyloid deposits (toxin protein) that build up in the brains of those suffering from this disease, killing the surrounding cells. During deep sleep, such deposits in the brain are effectively cleared. Without adequate sleep, these plaques build up, especially in areas of the brain responsible for deep sleep, attacking and destroying them. The loss of deep sleep caused by these attacks reduces the ability to clear the brain of amyloids. Vicious circle: more amyloid, less deep sleep; less deep sleep, more amyloid, and so on. In his book, Walker notes that Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, who were known for their ability to sleep little, faced the condition. This also disproves the myth that older people need less sleep.
Sleep helps create new memories and restores our ability to learn. In addition, sleep affects mental health. When your mom told you that the morning is wiser than the evening, she was right. Walker's book has a long section on dreams (which Walker says, contrary to Freud, cannot be analyzed). He describes in detail the various types of connections between dreaming and creativity. He also suggests that dreaming is a soothing balm. We sleep both to remember and to forget. Deep sleep - part of sleep when dreams begin - is a therapeutic state during which we get rid of the emotional charge of the experience, which will help us to endure it more easily. Sleep, or lack of sleep, also affects our mood. Walker's brain scans showed a 60% increase in amygdala reactivity - a key site for anger and rage - in those who were sleep deprived. In children, insomnia is associated with aggression and bullying; in adolescents - with suicidal thoughts. Insufficient sleep is also associated with relapses of addictive disorders. The prevailing view in psychiatry is that mental disorders cause sleep disturbances. But Walker believes it's essentially a two-way street. Regular sleep can improve the health of, for example, patients with bipolar disorder.
What is deep sleep in essence? Our sleep is divided into 90-minute cycles, and only at the end of each of them we fall into deep sleep. Each cycle includes two types of sleep. First there is a non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep phase, followed by rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
“During NREM sleep, your brain goes into this incredible synchronized chanting pattern,” Walker says. - There is a wonderful unity on the surface of the brain, like a deep slow mantra. Researchers once mistakenly thought the condition was like a coma. But nothing could be further from the truth. Basically, memory processing continues. To generate these brain waves, hundreds of thousands of cells sing together, then shut up, and so on in a circle. Meanwhile, your body is plunged into this wonderful state of low energy, the best blood pressure medicine you could hope for. On the other hand, REM sleep is sometimes referred to as REM sleep because the brain patterns are identical to waking moments. This is an incredibly active state of the brain. Your heart and nervous system are experiencing bursts of activity: we're still not entirely sure why. "
Does a 90-minute cycle mean that so-called micro-sleep is useless? “It can get rid of basic sleepiness,” says Walker. “But it takes 90 minutes to experience deep sleep, and one cycle is not enough to get all the work done. It takes four or five cycles to get all the benefits. " Could there be too much sleep? It is unclear. “There is no good evidence at the moment. But I think 14 hours is too much. Too much water and too much food can kill you, and I think it's the same with sleep. "
How can you tell if you're not getting enough sleep? Walker believes in trusting your instincts. Those who continue to sleep if their alarm is off are simply not getting enough sleep. The same can be said for those who need caffeine in the afternoon to stay awake.
So what can a person do? First, you should avoid "night vigils" - both at the table and on the dance floor. After 19 hours of being awake, you are cognitively weakened like a drunk. Second, you need to start thinking of sleep as a kind of work, like going to the gym. “People use alarm clocks to wake up,” Walker says. "So why don't we use an alarm to warn us that we have half an hour left before the cycle starts?" We need to start thinking of midnight in its original meaning - as the middle of the night. Schools should consider starting classes later: this correlates with improved IQ.
Companies should consider rewards for sleep. Productivity will increase, while motivation, creativity, and even honesty will improve. Sleep hours can be measured with tracking devices, and some forward-thinking companies in the US already give employees a day off if they get enough sleep. Sleeping pills, by the way, should be avoided. Among other things, it can have a detrimental effect on memory.
Those focused on so-called "pure" sleep insist on driving cell phones and computers out of the bedroom - and rightly so, given the effect of LED emitting devices on melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone. However, Walker believes that technology will ultimately become the saviors of sleep, as "we will know everything about our bodies with high precision."
“We will begin to develop methods that can enhance the various components of human sleep. Sleep will be seen as a preventative medicine, ”says Walker.
Walker would also like to know more about dreams. “Dreams are the second state of human consciousness, and so far we have only superficial knowledge in this area. But I would also like to know when the dream appeared. I like to develop a funny theory which is that the dream may not have evolved. Perhaps it was the thing from which wakefulness arose, "Walker said.
Sleep in numbers
- Two-thirds of adults in developed countries do not get the eight hours of sleep recommended by the World Health Organization.
- It is estimated that an adult who sleeps only 6.75 hours a day will be able to live without medical intervention for just over 60 years.
- A 2013 study reported that men who slept too little had 29% lower sperm counts than those who regularly sleep well and soundly.
- If you are driving after having slept less than five hours the day before, the risk of an accident increases 4.3 times. And if you slept only four hours - then 11.5 times.
- A hot bath helps you fall asleep, not because you are warming up, but because your dilated blood vessels are emitting internal heat and your core body temperature is dropping. To fall asleep immediately, the temperature must drop by about 1 degree.
- The time required for physical exhaustion in athletes who slept less than eight, and especially less than six hours, drops by 10-30%.
- There are over 100 diagnosed sleep disorders, of which insomnia is the most common.
- Larks that prefer to wake up at dawn or so make up about 40% of the population. Owls that prefer to stay up late and wake up late make up about 30%. The remaining 30% are somewhere in between.
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