7 commonalities between junk food and drugs

There are some glaring similarities between illegal drug use, and food addiction. Certain food are actually designed to make you crave them again and again. As a society, we have no qualms condemning drugs as dangerous and reckless. Shouldn’t we start adopting a mindset that condemns dangerous foods that contain addictive and damaging properties?

Here are seven similarities between drug addiction and food addiction that must be recognized.

 

  1. Wanting more and more

One thing that’s evident about junk food and sugar is that the more you eat, the more you seem to want to eat. You can do an experiment at home and eat food that contains high sugar. Even if you don’t crave more right away, chances are your body will crave more later on. After a while you will feel sluggish—and maybe even a little guilty—resulting in the desire to eat more sugar.

The sugar in food increases serotonin in the brain (a hormone that makes us feel happiness and comfort). This same hormone is aggressively stimulated by hard drugs. The problem with over stimulation of serotonin is that at some point, your brain hits a low because of depletion. The only way to get that ‘high’ back is by eating more of the same foods that caused the stimulation in the first place.

 

  1. A lack of satiation

There are two different types of enjoyment when eating.

  • The on is the satisfaction of hunger. Your body gets hungry for certain nutrients that it needs, and you satisfy the hunger with nutritious food. This in turn helps you to enjoy your food and feel good about eating.
  • The other is eating because of the way the food makes you feel. It tastes good, and therefore makes you think you are satisfying your hunger.

The problem with the second type of enjoyment is that it can easily override the natural feeling of hunger. Basically, you are feeding yourself with food that is satisfying a craving, but not the actual hunger. This results in a nutrition deficiency and if unchecked, full blown food addiction.

Drugs work in very much the same way as the second form of eating. Your brain tells you that it needs the chemical, but in actual fact your body is being damaged by it. When you crave sugar or junk food, your body doesn’t need it at all. The chemical is fooling your brain into thinking you do.

 

  1. Damage to the body

That brings us to the third similarity. The very food that is triggering your brain’s serotonin is actually causing very real damage to your body. Like drugs, if you continue to eat unhealthy food, you will incrementally damage your health and cause irreversible side effects.

In addition to the dangerous chemicals entering your body, you are also depriving your body of the nutrition it does need. This of course causes further damage.

 

  1. Conditioning of the brain

If a habit is formed where eating in a certain way becomes the norm, then breaking out of that habit is extremely difficult. Because of the chemicals involved, the brain will continue to signal for more of the substance.

Now to be fair, for some, breaking off a food addiction is relatively easier than breaking off a drug addiction; but the science remains the same. There has to be a cold turkey effect—a breaking off of the substance in order to replenish balance.

 

  1. Replacing the ambitions

A scary part about food addiction is that is can consume you as much as any other substance abuse problem. In a sense, the food addict lives for his or her next ‘fix’. The only thing some people look forward to is their next meal or snack.

This can lead to a serious lack of drive and ambition. Instead of working on their careers or achieving their goals, they develop an obsession with eating. This of course is not due to the eating itself; it stems from the chemical reaction certain foods have on the brain.

 

  1. Secrets and lack of self confidence

There is a strong emotional attachment to junk food binging as well as drug use. Many people who struggle with their weight are ashamed to eat in public. Why? Because actively partaking in the action that is causing the problem creates a sense of guilt.

Drug use is also done in secret. The association we have with a drug user is someone who locks themselves in a dark room and partakes of their guilty pleasure. Food binging is no different.

 

  1. The need for rehabilitation

There is a series of symptoms that officially determine whether or not a person is addicted or not. These symptoms are not physical, but behavioural. They include:

  • Wanting to quit but not being able to
  • Not quitting despite negative physical symptoms
  • An addictive mindset that uses the substance as an escape

As many therapists will tell you, the best way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a new one. When it comes to food addiction, good habits like exercise, healthy eating, self confidence, etc. can become strong motivators in curbing destructive behaviour.

 

These similarities are actually quite frightening. It shows that we have come to a point where we must unapologetically view sugar as a drug. If you have recognized these symptoms in yourself or anyone you know, it may be time to confront binge eating for what it really is: An addiction.

16 ways to enhance performance in preschool children through gross motor skills

Gross motor skill development is creating exercises for children that help develop activity areas in the brain. The skills your child will learn include balance, hand-eye coordination, rhythm, reflexes and basic exercise.

It’s a lot of fun, so be sure to take part in these activities with your child. Chances are; if they see you doing it, they will better understand how to do it themselves. Therefore, make sure you demonstrate these actions before asking your child to perform them.

 

  1. Throwing a ball through an open door or goal post

Let your child stand sideways and toss a ball towards a target or goal post. This is surprisingly challenging for younger children so be patient as they figure it out. Once they succeed, move them slightly back and enhance the challenge.

Throwing small ball

  1. Bounce a ball off a wall and through a goal post

Teach your child a basic understanding of angles by doing the same exercise as above but by bouncing the ball off a wall first. The ball should bounce off a nearby wall and into the goal post. Reposition your child once they have successfully made the target and let them try again from a different angle.

BalloffWall

  1. Soccer ball challenge

Rhythm and balance play a huge part in gross motor skills development. A great exercise is to have one foot on the ball and the other flat on the ground. Alternate between the two and then speed up the alternation. This is done best with some music playing so that your child can perform the exercise to a beat in a song.

Soccerball Challenge

  1. Tennis racket challenge

Grab a tennis ball and a racket and get your child to walk while balancing the ball on the racket without touching it. After a while, tell them to only use one hand to hold the racket. As they get better at this, extend the walking distance.

TennisRacket

  1. Basic body balance

Standing on one foot at a time teaches your child balance. Alternate between both feet and be sure that equal time is spent both ways. Make it interesting by adding something to pick up with his or her mouth—like a packet or a basket with a large handle. You can also get your child to hop on the leg he or she is standing on.

BalanceOneLeg

  1. Hula hoop stepping

Place about seven hula hoops side by side flat on the ground. Demonstrate the exercise to your child by stepping three times in each hoop and then skipping to the next. Count, “One-two-three” as you do this. Now watch as your child does the same and correct them if they step less or more than three steps within each hoop.

 

  1. Bounce and catch

Throwing a ball up and catching it is a great exercise. But if your child needs a challenge, let them bounce it and catch it as it comes up. This teaches them both hand-eye coordination and reflex training.

Bounce&Catch

  1. Stair hopping

If your child has loads of energy, this one will tire them out. Get your child to hop up a flight of stairs with both feet at the same time. Make sure to supervise your child to make sure they don’t get hurt. Do it with them for a great workout!

Broad Jumps

  1. Catch the handkerchief

Find a light handkerchief or scarf and hold it fairly high above your child’s head. As you drop it, let them grapple to catch it. Once they get the hang of it, let them throw it up themselves, twist completely around, and catch it as they stop.

 

  1. Sevens

A great game for five-six year olds is Sevens. This game seems simple at first, but it takes a lot of concentration to get it right. Perform any task with a tennis ball such as bouncing it against the wall and catching it or simply throwing it in the air. Whatever you do, your child must do the same seven times in a row without deviation. If they get it right, they pose the next challenge—and so the game continues. (Best played in groups of four or five kids.)

ThrowLookCatch

  1. Throw – Look – Catch

This is a hard one, but it’s worth teaching your child hand-eye coordination. Get them to throw a medium or small sized ball up into the air, then to look ahead of them, and then to look up again to catch it. After a while, your child should be able to throw the ball up without looking, and then catch it while looking straight ahead.

 

  1. Fun with Frisbees

Frisbees are great for gross motor skill enhancement. Place a goal post or target somewhere on your lawn and get your child to throw the Frisbee to the target. If they hit the target, move them further back to enhance the challenge.

 

  1. Kicking angles

Place a soccer ball on the ground and place a goal post either straight ahead, left of, or right of your child. Show them that if they kick the ball in the centre, the ball will travel straight. If they kick the left side of the ball, it will travel right; and if they kick the right, it will travel left. Alter the goal post to make them figure out how to kick the ball to make their target.

Kickingangles

  1. Rhythm exercises

You can use your initiative with this one. Create clapping and stomping sounds in a circle with your child and his or her friends. Be sure to create a systematic beat, like “clap clap (pause) stomp stomp clap clap clap”. Remembering the beat is great for developing their musical abilities.

Rhythm

  1. Catch the balloon

An activity that stimulates the reflexes of your child is ‘catch the balloon’. Begin by holding two large balloons in your hands. Stand opposite your child and tell them to catch one of the balloons before it drops to the ground. Release one of them and watch your five year old grapple for the balloon before it touches the floor. If they start getting the knack for it, let some air out of the balloon to heighten the challenge.

 

  1. Thrust a ball up with feet and legs

This is one of the hardest exercises, so leave it for after your child has developed the other skills. Demonstrate this activity by grabbing hold of a soccer ball between your ankles and throwing it up—then catching it with your hands. This exercise will leave you both out of breath, so leave it for a Friday afternoon.

 

Remember…

When doing these exercises, encouragement is of utmost importance. If your child struggles with any of the challenges, let them see it as a game and not as a task. Each activity must be fun and engaging. Failure to perform well in any of these ten activities simply means that some more time should be spent on them. Enjoy!

My three internet heroes – by Copley Sutton

Yes, you can make a living doing what you love. If you think it’s a pipe-dream, you’re clearly not paying attention. There are people all around us who have taken their passion and turned it into a thriving income. The following list contains three of my favourite internet personalities. Not because they’re rich, but because they followed their passion and dared to live the dream!

 

EvanTubeHD

Evan is a little boy who loves toys. He started out by making videos about some of the toys his parents bought for him. These videos resembled a detailed toy review. It gave other kids—and their parents—an idea of whether or not the toy was worth buying.

This little hobby soon turned into a very popular YouTube channel. Evan’s cute personality and honest opinion has made him one of the most popular personalities on the internet. Kids listen to what he says and respect his opinion when it comes to their toy purchasing trends.

To date, little Evan has over 2.8 million YouTube subscribers and a bunch of advertising deals with toy companies. He’s on his way to becoming a very wealthy young man and hasn’t even reached his teens yet. Go Evan!

 

Strength Camp

If you’ve never seen a video by Elliott Hulse, WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN? This dude does not beat around the bush when it comes to strength training advice. Elliott has a great approach to speaking to his audience. His ‘No BS’ approach has won the respect of over 1.5 million YouTube subscribers!

People are listening to Elliott with very open minds. His advice has since stretched beyond strength training and covered other topics such as male confidence, nutrition, and mental stability.

By defeating his own demons and helping others do the same, I have mad respect for this guy. Hey Elliott… here’s to you, man!

 

James Altucher

If you think your life’s been rough, I’d like to introduce you to James Altucher. He’s my own personal writing mentor and internet hero. Overcoming all odds, James has gone from being broke multiple times to becoming one of the most influential writers in the world.

He is famous for his motivational writing tips which he gives out for free to those who are willing to listen. But people gain MEGA inspiration from his 10-ideas-a-day philosophy which has changed thousands of lives across the world. He recommends writing 10 ideas down in a note book every single day. It sounds crazy, but those who have tried it—including myself—have had major breakthroughs in their lives and careers.

“The way to have good ideas is to get close to killing yourself. It’s like weightlifting. When you lift slightly more than you can handle, you get stronger. In life, when the gun is to your head, you either figure it out, or you die. When you cut yourself open, you bleed ideas. If you’re broke and close to death, you have to start coming up with ideas.”

James is an internet sensation! You can follow his blog on Quora, or watch some of his motivational speeches on YouTube.

 

These three individuals prove that following your passion pays off. This is my shout out to them. Thanks for the inspiration, guys!