Eating too much has some uncomfortable side effects. I'm sure you are acquainted with them -- too-tight pants, that uncomfortably full feeling, the possibility of embarrassing gas ...

But eating binges aren't actually dangerous, are they? According to the New York Times, they could be -- they could be deadly, even. According to Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, "Overeating will make your body work harder. The extra digestive workload demanded by a food binge requires the heart to pump more blood to the stomach and intestines. Heavy consumption of fatty foods can also lead to changes that cause blood to clot more easily."

Yeesh, that sounds pretty serious. This Christmas, eat until you're full and stop there. Nobody wants to witness a Christmas-day fatality.