Have you been permeating your body with harmful substances for years? Our recovery program will estimate the damage and leave you clean.
TOBACCO
The damage:
Short term. Capting a puny pair of tobaccos at a party won’t hurt you as much as a decade spent vacuuming a whole pack per day, but it’s not good either way, either. ” Smoking has a cumulative effect, and not in the short term, but an acute consumption represents an extra risk of heart disease,” says Amanda Sanford of Action on Smoking and Health in England. When you smoke your heart works harder and raises the beats per minute by 30% for the next 10 minutes. “Even smoking a day for a couple of weeks is capable of severely constricting the coronary arteries because the heart is putting more effort into pumping deoxygenated blood throughout the body,” says Sanford.
Long term. The average habit (about 14 cigarettes a day) gives you a 50% chance of dying prematurely, whether it’s from heart disease, any number of terrible cancers, a stroke. Oh, and you’re also 20 times more likely to get angina, 16 to become blind, and twice as powerless … The list goes on.
The recuperation:
Short term. If you are an occasional smoker, you are in the perfect position to quit through your will; Although if you live with a smoker, you will still be 25% more likely to have cancer in one of the lungs or heart disease. The statistics are motivating: after 20 minutes without a cigarette, your blood pressure and pulse return to normal. Within a couple of days, the levels of nicotine and carbon monoxide in the blood will drop 50%. And if this were not enough, the lungs will begin to clean the mucosa noticeably.
Long term. If your habits transcend the festive friendly thefts, it will be difficult – 70% of deserters experience anxiety, increased appetite, and other side effects – but it is imminently possible to quit. Your doctor can help you by prescribing a medicine called Zyban, in case your diagnosis is severe. During the first three months of withdrawal, your circulation will improve, and after nine or 10 months, your lungs will be 10% more efficient. At the end of the first year, the risk of having a heart attack will be half that of a smoker. A decade later, the risk of lung cancer will be 50% lower, compared to the risk of a smoker. In addition, you will be somewhat closer to wealth: after 10 years without smoking a pack a day, you will have saved a lot of money.
ECSTASY
The damage:
Short term. Can’t remember if you took the second pill at the party two weeks ago? Don’t keep asking yourself: Research at Aston University in Birmingham shows that 19% of people who have ingested between one and 10 ecstasy pills in their lives have memory problems, and other studies suggest 23% are more likely to have difficulty remembering things. As if this were not enough to get depressed, experiments with rats showed a 50% reduction in serotonin production during the two weeks after three high doses. Serotonin “slump” can make you feel depressed. You don’t just have to worry about mescaline. Some pills have been found to contain strychnine (poison for rats), which causes bleeding in the inside of the liver.
Long term If you’ve lived the past 10 years as a human traffic extra, chances are you’ve done yourself some irreversible damage. A study showed that 73% of heavy ecstasy users (over 100 pills) have developed memory problems. The brain autopsy of a regular user showed that his serotonin levels were lower by a margin of between 50 and 80% (this chemical compound controls mood, pain perception, sleep, and appetite and emotions), in comparison regarding a sober person. “You can’t make up for loss of brain function from serotonin,” believes Professor Bill Wilson of Duke University Medical Center in the United States. “It is gone and it is forever.” And things can get worse. “
The recuperation
Short term. We recommend eating nuts and bananas, which contain 5-HTP, a chemical that helps in the production of serotonin. Drinking plenty of water the next day will help flush toxins from your liver.
Long term Ecstasy is not distinguished by being physically addictive, but it is likely to be neurotoxic, as it kills bits of your brain forever; so put the pill habit on the bugs-you-won’t-make-again tray, along with the yellow bracelet and neon tubes. And it recharges your serotonin levels: “use a food supplement that contains the amino acid tryptophan, which is a precursor to this substance,” recommends Gavin Woodhall, a pharmacology instructor at Aston University in England. Cheese is an excellent source.
ALCOHOL
The damage
Short term. You can have more than just a headache and hazy memories to fight the next morning. Libar exposes you in a spectacular way to any accident: one in three accident emergency patients arrives directly from the canteen, and 25% of pedestrians who die in accidents are in flip flops. Then you run the risk of waking up to something unpleasant, and we don’t mean your colleague Lupita, who works in accounting. In 1998, a survey found that one in seven people were less reluctant to have unprotected sex after a night of heavy drinking. Even if you are successful in avoiding these dangers, a single session can cause serious harm: studies with rodents at the University of Chicago showed that excessive consumption of two days can cause brain damage. Of course, this is the worst thing you can do to your liver. “The liver breaks down alcohol into acetaldehyde, which in large quantities will surely damage the organ cells,” explains Dr. Sandra Cabot, author of The Liver Cleansing Diet . “An excess of acetaldehyde also attacks the energy production center of every cell in the body. So it stands to reason that you feel very tired.”
Long term. One or two drinks a day is good for your health, but don’t be mistaken: a higher amount can really hurt you. Drink more than five measures of alcohol a day on a regular basis, and you’ll be 69% more likely to have a heart attack, and you’re twice as likely to have high blood pressure. Five a day for 10 years puts you at a chronic risk for heart disease and cirrhosis. A stubborn habit can turn drunk sagging into permanent impotence.
The recuperation
Short Term To get a hangover, stay hydrated and be patient. Each unit of alcohol takes one hour to remove, so the ravages of a half-liter night will take 24 hours to disappear. Stick to the maximum weekly recommendation of 21 units. Get plenty of vitamin K to help your liver recover from a binge, from green, leafy vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, and spinach.
Long term “It is possible to accelerate the detoxification of the liver by means of a multi-action tonic,” says Dr. Cabot. “You could also repair the damage with a juice made from purple cabbage, carrots, orange, and beets. Dilute it with 50% water.” Folic acid and B vitamins will normalize glutathione, which is essential for the regeneration of your liver.
If you are turning to alcohol to feel better, you are probably masking other problems. Fight them with the help of organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous. If you feel that you are drinking too much, we suggest keeping a consumption diary. He arrives at the bars an hour later than you usually do, leaves at least a couple of alcohol-free days a week, and sets a personal limit per day. Remember that those who abstain are more men: after three months sober, 50% of the amount of semen returns to normal.
CANNABIS
The damage
Short term. A sneaky joint at the office party won’t do much harm to your body (although it may hurt your career), but one daily for a couple of weeks is enough to do physical harm: “drug yourself in small amounts for two Steady weeks would be enough to cause a memory disability, which we could pass up, “says Woodhall. “You would have to really crack it to get into psychosis, but it seems that cannabis is very effective at transforming vulnerable subjects into schizophrenia statistics.” And you would have some issues to worry about; As with alcohol and other drugs, you are more likely to find yourself in times of judgment when under influence.
Long-term The British Lung Foundation in England believes that smoking three or four churros without a filter is as carcinogenic as 20 tobacco cigarettes. And a study published in the British Medical Journal suggested that smoking 50 or more cigarettes (not in one sitting, of course) makes you 6.7 times more susceptible to psychotic-type disorders.
The recuperation
Short Term Leave Maria healthy and you will be unharmed, although it will take a month for your body to get rid of any trace of THC (the active ingredient in this drug) in the blood, urine and hair. Your body stores THC in fat cells, so don’t even try to get rid of it with water.
Long term If you have been finishing grass plantings since you were in kindergarten, the first step is obviously to quit. Any physical dependence you may feel will be due to nicotine (see Tobacco, on the previous page). Get rid of all the paraphernalia too – so get out the bongos, pipes, ashtrays and the Bob Marley poster. To counteract heart damage, increase your intake of fruits and vegetables: In 2001, a study by the Harvard School of Public Health showed that an extra serving a day reduces the risk of heart disease by 4%. And for your mind, “to reverse the damage, try taking supplements with fish oil,” Woodhall recommends. Your body should be THC-free after a month, and you also have a 100% chance of no longer finding grace or pleasure in any faded movie,
COCAINE
The damage
Short term. Rats given cocaine inhale too much and drop dead. If you went too far in the last season of celebrations, it is likely that the same thing happened to you and you have great social damage to repair. Physically it is even less glamorous: inhaling illegal substances makes you susceptible to nosebleeds, a considerable decrease in olfactory sensitivity, and a chronically elusive nose. In the first hour after a line, you are 24 times more likely to have a heart attack, according to the Boston Institute for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. Research from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland suggests that cocaine also attacks the PSD-95 protein, which is essential for long-term memory and learning processes. “
Long term Regular consumption is extremely dangerous and can cause mini-strokes. “Cocaine produces irregular blood flow,” says Dr. Martyn Jones of King`s College in England. “Some areas stop receiving enough blood supply, and this leads to an ischemic condition [when cells don’t have enough energy to function]. This causes cells to release excess neurotransmitters, so that neighboring neurons become overexcited and they die, this is the same thing that happens during a stroke. ” Neurologist Peter Harvey recently stumbled upon patients with 10-year habits of weekly inhalations, who have holes in the brain. And it can break your heart. Professor John Henry of the Imperial College in London He discovered that the heart of a thirtysomething user who uses cocaine daily may be in the same condition as that of a 60-year-old man. Also, it’s your nose!
The recuperation
Short term. There are not too many options to remove the damage, apart from absolute sobriety. And even after a day, it is quite difficult. According to Dr. Antonello Bonci of the University of California, one line can cause anxiety attacks for up to 10 days. Your best bet? Simply get away from temptation.
Long term. Do you frequently dip into white powder? That is very bad news. “Any neuronal death is absolutely irreversible,” says Dr. Jones. Quitting is still the only option, but serious willpower is required, in addition to clinical advice from specialists, along with 30 minutes of daily exercise, which will help your damaged vital organs: animal studies have shown that exercise stimulates neuronal growth.