Situationoverload
Theseworldrecord-breakingeatersreallyputthe“glut”in “gluttony”.Smoking
Anti-inflammatories
n Think you’re safe
because you only
smoke a few a day?
Or socially? Nope –
there’s no safe level.
According to studies
across the world,
even smoking 1-4
a day triples your
risk of lung cancer
- plus there are
at least 13 other
cancers linked to
smoking. Studies
also show that social
smoking is as bad
for your heart as
smoking daily. The
damage occurs
in very fine blood
vessels that are
vital to the heart.
Another myth is
that getting your
smoke on at shisha
bars and hookah
lounges is “safe”,
but Professor David
Currow of the
Cancer Institute
NSW has said that
one hour smoking
with a shisha is
equivalent to 50
or 100 cigarettes.
Verdict: don’t
smoke. Not one a day,
not just Saturday
night, never. Bonus:
if you quit before 35,
your life expectancy
will be much the
same as someone
who’s never smoked.nIbuprofen(eg,
Nurofen)and
diclofenac(eg,
Voltaren)area
classofmedicines
calledNSAIDs
(non-steroidalanti-
inflammatory
drugs).Thegolden
ruleis tousethe
lowestdosethat
improvesyour
symptomsandonly
usethemfora few
daysata time.The
limitexistsbecause
prolongeduse
candamageyour
stomachlining.
NSAIDscan
slightlystrangle
bloodflowtothe
kidneys,which
makesit harder
forthekidneys
tofiltertheblood.
Theeffectofthis
wasexaggerated
inwidespread
reportsona study
ofultra-runners
takingNSAIDs
duringa race,since
kidneystendto
becomestarvedof
bloodandoxygen
anywaywhen
runningforhours
withouta break.
However,atbest,
takinganNSAID
beforeexercise
willincrease
inflammationand
havenoeffecton
yourrecovery.At
worst,it putsyour
gutandkidneysat
risk.Also,ripping
intoit aftertraining
won’treduce
DOMS,according
tothemajorityof
studies– general
lightexercisethat
increasesblood
flowwouldwork
muchbetter.Best
tosavethepills
forminorinjuries.nJustbecause
somethingis
unhealthyinlarge
amounts,doesn’t
meanthatwemust
completelyabstain.
Lightormoderate
drinkingis widely
considered“cardio-
protective”– it
reducesrisks
forheartdisease
(diabetes,too).
Theflipsideis
thatalmostany
levelofalcohol
intakeis associated
withincreased
cancerrisk.
In2018,The
Lancetpublished
thelargestever
mergingofdata
ondrinking.It
foundthat,overall,
harmsthatraised
risksof 23 different
alcohol-related
healthproblems
increasedwithAlcohol
Burgers
Wantfrieswiththat?
Joey“Jaws”Chestnut
scarfed 103 hamburgers
in eightminutesatthe
2007 KrystalSquareOff
WorldHamburgerEating
Championshipin theUS.Kale
In whatis probablythe
mostwholesomeworld
recordever,Nigerian
GideonOjigobbled
25.5455gbowlsof
kalesaladin eight
minutesin July2016.Oysters
In June2012,US
competitiveeaterSonya
“BlackWidow”Thomas
slurped 564 oysters
in eightminutes.No
manwassafefordays
afterwards...Chilli
CarmenConcotti
downed2.438gallons
ofchilliin sixminutes
in February2018.And
presumablyspent
therestoftheyear
onthetoilet.Bacon
Greaseis theword:
Matt“Megatoad”
Stoniedevoured 182
slicesofbaconin five
minutesin February
2015.Evenwe’dshirk
atthisone.Maybe...Alcoholinterfereswith
healthybloodglucoselevels
andthemetabolismoffat.Onestandrad
drinkis 10 grams
ofalcohol– acan
orstubbieusually
equalsaround1.4
standarddrinks.10g
each additional
drink per day.
Overall harms
were lowest at
zero – but the
additional risks
associated with
a couple of drinks
made negligible
difference- bugger-all.
The bad news is
that alcohol can
jack up your sugar
intake – spirits are
often low in sugar,
but soft-drink
mixers are full of it,
and a schooner of
cider can contain
around 20g of
sugar. Alcohol
in your system
also interferes
with healthy
blood glucose
levels and the
metabolism of fat.
So while there’s
no such thing
as “drinking
for health”, two
standard drinks
a day minimises
your alcohol-
related health risk
(one for women –
men have higher
levels of alcohol
dehydrogenase,
so they metabolise
alcohol more
efficiently). n66 MEN’S FITNESS OCTOBER 2019