The 7 Deadly Sins of Health

Gluttony, avarice, anger, vanity, lust, laziness and jealousy are considered the seven deadly sins. Probably each of us observes one or another of these qualities in himself from time to time. However, one should be careful that the negative qualities do not gain the upper hand: Because especially in terms of health, the seven deadly sins can have negative effects on our physical well-being.

1. gluttony (intemperance).

Eating too much is bad for us. This is because if you feed your body more calories than it needs, it deposits the excess in the form of fat – preferably on your stomach and hips. An average adult male has an energy requirement of around 2,700 kilocalories per day, which he must consume in food, and a woman around 2,000 kilocalories. However, these figures vary with body size, age and the heaviness of the work performed each day. Too much of a good thing is bad at some point – this is especially true for the consumption of alcohol. Excessive alcohol consumption puts a strain on the liver, where the alcohol is broken down. The enzymes responsible for the breakdown are overloaded by large amounts of alcohol and can no longer perform the processing. The consequence of this is that a so-called fatty liver develops. If alcohol consumption is not curbed now, cirrhosis of the liver can develop in the long term: liver cells are destroyed, causing the liver to shrink and cease to function permanently. Once this stage is reached, there is no chance of recovery.

2. stinginess

However, not only intemperance, but also the other extreme can be detrimental to health: Stinginess. A balanced and regular diet keeps us healthy. Those who eat too little (malnutrition) or the wrong foods (malnutrition) risk malnutrition. Malnutrition deprives the body of important vitamins and minerals – resulting in deficiency symptoms such as listlessness and concentration problems. Organic damage, for example to the eyes, and chronic diseases, such as osteoporosis, can also be the result of an unbalanced diet. Malnourished people are actually rarely found in our Western civilization – people with eating disorders are an exception. Common eating disorders are anorexia and bulimia (binge eating disorder). Mostly young women are affected, who are dissatisfied with their bodies and forbid themselves to eat regularly. The obsession with slimness is reinforced by the ideal of beauty propagated in the media. Psychosocial factors also often underlie an eating disorder.

3. anger

When we are angry, our blood literally rushes to our head; our face turns red, our breathing quickens, and our veins stand out. Sometimes the accelerated heartbeat doesn’t calm down until minutes later after an angry outburst. This is due to the release of the hormone adrenaline, which is released in large quantities during stress. It originally prepared us for fight and flight situations, which nowadays can be transferred to stressful situations in everyday life. A permanently elevated adrenaline level leads to cardiovascular problems. Initially, usually unnoticed, elevated blood pressure sets in. The high blood pressure stresses the vessel walls, causing small cracks to form. These cracks are ideal places for clots to form, thromboses. It becomes extremely dangerous when the clots break loose and travel through the bloodstream to the heart or brain – a heart attack or stroke is imminent. Other consequences of chronic high blood pressure include kidney damage and heart failure.

4. vanity

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? “, so already the vain queen asked herself in the famous fairy tale “Snow White”. Beauty is enormously important to many people. Some even care so much that they are willing to have their natural appearance surgically altered. In Germany, cosmetic surgery such as wrinkle smoothing, breast surgery and nose correction are among the most common procedures. The sometimes serious complications are often disregarded. Swelling, bruising and numbness are still among the more harmless side effects. Deaths from pulmonary embolism, heart failure or bleeding to death are far more serious. When implants are inserted, it is often not taken into account that they will have to be replaced after 15 years at the latest – further interventions are therefore inevitable. While breast surgery is the trend among younger women, many older women opt for wrinkle lifting with Botox.The nerve toxin botulinum paralyzes the small facial muscles, causing the skin to tighten for a short time. If botulinum toxin enters the central bloodstream, it can paralyze the respiratory muscles, causing respiratory arrest.

5. voluptuousness

The need for closeness and tenderness is innate in all of us. A fulfilling sex life makes people happy and for many couples is an important prerequisite for a good relationship. At the same time, it is important to think about contraception to protect yourself, but also your partner. Especially people with frequently changing sexual partners run a high risk of infection through unprotected sexual intercourse. Worldwide, 34 million people are infected with HIV, and 1.8 million die each year as a result of AIDS. Infection with hepatitis viruses can be just as serious. Hepatitis viruses B and C are sexually transmitted and, without therapy, can lead to cirrhosis of the liver and hepatocellular carcinoma.

6. laziness

“Sweet is doing nothing,” goes an old Italian proverb. In fact, for many people, there is nothing sweeter than putting your feet up and being lazy on the weekend after work is done. But in the long run, our joints resent this laziness. In the long term, lack of exercise leads to back pain, knee problems and tension. If the musculoskeletal system is not mobilized, joint wear and tear (arthrosis) occurs: the body is not given any incentive to nourish the cartilage that coats the joints. If this protective coating is missing, bone wear occurs in the long term. Muscles that are not stressed also regress and shorten. This not only leads to a loss of condition, but also to malpositions, which in turn put strain on the joints. The only way to break this cycle is to leave the sofa at home and get active in sports.

7. jealousy

A healthy jealousy is good for most relationships, but for some people love can also become a torture: If a partner develops a pathological jealousy, frequent quarrels are inevitable. Not infrequently, there is then no other way out than to end the relationship. In pathological jealousy, the original joy of the relationship is displaced by a constantly growing fear of losing the partner. The cause of jealousy is usually a too low self-esteem. This can lead not only to jealousy, but also to envy. But while a jealous person is afraid of a loss, the envious person wants to possess something that belongs to someone else. Those who suffer from pathological jealousy and thus fear of loss, as well as low self-esteem, should think about undergoing behavioral therapy. This is because psychological problems also put a strain on our physical health.