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kayjones481950

Bad things are not always bad for you?

kayjones
16 years ago

I read and hear that some people have lived with unhealthy habits for years, and even decades, seemingly with no sign of harmful effects to them. Every day of their lives, they do things like drink more than normal amounts of unhealthy beverages, eat fast food and smoke tobacco. My Husband died last April, of pancreatic cancer. The doctors said one of the causes of pancreatic cancer is drinking too much alcohol and smoking - he did both. This was his second bout with cancer. He had esophageal and stomach cancer in 1999, but survived that one.

His 85-yr. old dad is battling cancer for the 3rd time - throat cancer from smoking the first time and two bouts with prostrate cancer. His 75-yr. old uncle is battling leukemia now. Was my husband's cancer genetic, meaning he would have gotten it whether he drank and smoked or not?

Do you think some people are just immune to the ill effects or is it all media hype? Immunity - is it by genetics or luck?

Personally, I think it's a little of both- immunity (genetics) and BS (media hype). The media hype comes into the equation with the shifting tides of correctness.

As an example, coffee is bad for you, coffee is good for you; eggs are bad, eggs are good; drink tons of water, don't - it can cause over-hydration and death; and on and on....

We get so many conflicting stories, it's hard to keep up with what really IS bad, what's only bad in large quantities, and what's hype and marketing.

Genetics plays a huge role too... Example: My Mother was a chain-smoker for 40 years, never drank a drop of alcohol in her life, and died, at age 56, of a brain aneurysm.

Another example: my Dad was an alcoholic, used chewing tobacco every day, never smoked a cigarette in his life, and died of Alzheimer's at age 78.

All my sisters and brothers do (or have) smoked, but none of us ever drank. All of us, but a couple of sisters, have quit smoking. My two oldest brothers died of heart disease related to obesity.

It appears to be a balance of moderation, genetics, and picking out the marketing trash from valid science, and in my opinion... a dose of luck.

What do YOU think?

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