That's Fit

I'm sure we will here more about Al Gore's son and his alleged prescription drug charges come next week. Before we get to that, we have to ask ourselves: are prescription drugs being abused more than street drugs these days?

Drug abuse experts are stating that prescription drugs may indeed take over street drugs in popularity soon. Oddly, this comes as no surprise: prescription narcotics and other drugs seem to be at the center of drug arrests from what is reported in the media, and I hear about street drugs (heroine, cocaine and meth) less and less. Sure, that's an objective statement, but it's true.

Are prescription drugs safer than street drugs? That probably varies by use and dose, but that is an ill-conceived perception by young people if that is what is thought. According to experts, prescription drug abuse is particularly common among upper middle class students.

According to Dr. Sam Sugar addiction can be defined as "repetitive behavior beyond your control that leads to adverse consequences." That's especially interesting because according to a recently published report, compulsive eating and drug addiction are similiar in terms of brain activity. So, it's possible to be addicted to food?

Yeah, that seems to be the case. Did you know it takes more time to detoxify somebody from coffee than it does heroin? And unfortunately for food addicts, they face so many social eating situations it's very difficult to notice it as an addiction, and then having temptation and advertisements everywhere makes it obviously very difficult to control. And to top it all off, our society has made it almost the norm to overeat and have unhealthy food relationships. Makes you wonder.

And I just can't resist: Dr. Sugar? That's too funny.

Soda has a pretty bad reputation. It's been blamed for the obesity epidemic, not to mention a number of health problems. So do your ever wonder what happens to your body when your drink a can of coke? Weight-loss motivator Julia Havey has the answer. Did you know, for instance, that a can of coke has about 10 tablespoons of sugar? Can you imagine eating 10 spoonfuls of sugar in one sitting? yech! The sugar in coke, when it can't be used by your body, is converted in to fat, and the caffeine that gives you that rush also depletes your body of important nutrients like calcium. Also, coke increases your dopamine production, just like another controversial substance: heroine. You'll experience a major sugar rush, followed by a major crash about an hour later. Yikes.

If you're a soda drinker, this might make you consider quitting. If I drank soda, it would sure give me something to think about!