What's worse, eating bad or doing drugs?

[V1P3R]

I've been thinking about this because I don't think I eat too well but what is worse...

Someone that has a bad eating habits and could develop problems like diabetes or someone that does drugs like smoking or drinking. For details sake... lets say the person that does drugs eats decently.

Thanks

 

[skip0110]

Drugs are worse no questions asked.

 

[Evolution.]

Think of it like this:

Eating unhealthily will make you gain weight and, yes, give you some heart troubles and such, but isn't really a guaranteed method to kill you. Most drugs and alcohol, when abused, aren't a matter of if, but when. Smoking a normal cigarette creates tar build up in your lungs, which will decrease your lifespan significantly. Drinking too much can obviously cause liver failure and kidney problems, along with the fact that driving under the influence will kill you alot quicker than that Twinkie will.

 

[skip0110]

MachỎne: While I agree drugs are worse, I don't think your line of reasoning holds up against psychedelics like LSD or DMT. No one dies from physical damage from those drugs. In fact, I don't think those dugs have directly killed anyone, ever, from direct physical effects (short term or long term).

 

[Omnis]

This is a tough one. Drugs are addictive, but good food is to die for.

 

[V1P3R]

I know it's not too common for someone to literally live off of Micky D's but I'm thinking of stuff like Supersize me for food and for drugs I don't mean extreme cases or extreme types of drugs.

Anyway, I guess the reason I ask is because I feel like I'm having a carbohydrates overload, it's mostly what I've been eating and I constantly have a "cereal" taste/smell all the time. I'm not really getting fatter but I feel like there is problems arising from it in other ways.

That or maybe I just need to get my head checked.

 

[Casio]

I'd think it would probably be healthier to say, smoke a joint twice a day then have a Big Mac twice a day?

 

[3-Wheel Drive]

MachỎne: While I agree drugs are worse, I don't think your line of reasoning holds up against psychedelics like LSD or DMT. No one dies from physical damage from those drugs. In fact, I don't think those dugs have directly killed anyone, ever, from direct physical effects (short term or long term).

Yeah, LSD is almost impossible to OD on. It takes over 10,000 ug to risk death. The average hit is about almost never above 100 ug. So it could be done, but it exceedingly difficult (and expensive).

 

[Blake]

If you eat bad you can still exercise which can negate some bad effects, but if you do drugs there’s not much you can do to stop it causing you damage.

 

[GT40 MKII]

on this whole deal, I just have one thing i want to get off my chest to GTP. before my dad died i was on a medicene called Adderal for my ADHD and i got addicted to it... i was doing things i normally wouldnt do but at the time i felt good so it didnt matter, i didnt care. i would be watching stand up comedy and wouldnt laugh or nothing at it and after it had all happened i woas put on another form of the same crap but a longer release version of it and i wound up in the hospital over it but it was also due to a serious battle with depression cause i overdosed on it. i had a supporting family to help me get through it an kick the habit of what i was doing. Now ilook back on it and cold chills run up and down my spine and ithink to myself i'm a moron for what i did. so yes Blake is definitely right. you can fix the effects of eating habits but drugs do more damage

i hope no one looks at me differently now that i spilled that dark little secret of my life. if i am banned for this post, I probably deserved it.

 

[lmracer]

i agree with casio. in my personal case, THC gives me energy to exercise and be active. i may eat a bit of junk food, but i retain a athletic healthy build. a poor diet with minimal exercise will result in the obvious. low energy, poor cholestoral, and weight gain in some cases. hardcore drugs? im not so sure about. its more the lifestyle than the substance. you can abuse both food and drugs.

 

[3-Wheel Drive]

its more the lifestyle than the substance. you can abuse both food and drugs.

Exactly. Everything, including drugs (soft drugs, anyway) can be done in moderation. Doing lots of drugs can kill you. But so can eating vast amounts of junk food. But the occasional joint, just like the occasional bag of chips, will most likely do no harm.

Oh, and did you know THC has no known lethal threshold?

 

[Touring Mars]

It's an interesting point, one which I have some experience of. When it comes to 'hard drugs', I agree with what has already been said by Skip0110 and Blake for example. However, it's the much more widespread use of softer drugs (esp. alcohol) where the issue becomes a bigger one. I reckon that the abuse of alcohol (or any other drug) has as one of it's social consequences, a strong tendency to result in poor eating habits. It is a well documented fact that this is the case.... irregular eating habits, poorer quality food (take-aways, or no food at all), lack of motivation (and even cash) to properly stock your fridge etc., all add up to a break-down in the habit of eating properly. Since alcohol is by far the most widely abused 'drug', it is a good example to illustrate the point that the two things - drug abuse and diet - are not two separate entities which can be off-set against one another or even considered as stand-alone issues.

One thing I think is that the development of decent eating habits and drug abuse are mutually opposed, since one requires discipline and the other is the polar opposite... For that reason, I think the 'drug user who eats decently' scenario can be considered largely irrelevant, since I would go as far to say that a drug user who eats decently is probably not yet a problem user or an addict. Of course, some individuals can and do abuse certain drugs (alcohol being the only 'drug' that applies to the people I know in this category) and still eat pretty well, but they are definitely in the minority. The majority of people I know who drink heavily do not have decent diets at all.

As for the issue of whether eating badly is worse than drugs (if it were possible to separate the two issues, which I don't believe it is, but anyway), I'd say that drugs were worse full stop, since even eating badly is better than not eating at all, and (like has been said already) you can always do something to counteract the negative effects of a poor diet (take supplements, do exercise, change your diet etc.) whereas drugs typically have a tendency to do much more serious and sometimes irrepairable damage to your body and/or mind. Drugs such as LSD (even in low doses) and marijuana (in higher doses) can have a devastating effect on the mind, whether or not either drug can actually physically kill you. In the case of LSD, which is particularly psychologically risky, one single dose can be enough to ruin your life forever (I'm unfortunate enough to have second-hand experience of this)...

i hope no one looks at me differently now that i spilled that dark little secret of my life. if i am banned for this post, I probably deserved it.

To my knowledge, there is absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever with discussing these issues in an open and adult manner, so there is no way you'd be banned for a post like yours!! I think it is great that a forum such as this gives people like ourselves a chance to 'get things off your chest', even stuff you might not feel comfortable talking to people about face-to-face. It would be a sad day indeed if this was not the case.

 

[Duke]

Yeah, LSD is almost impossible to OD on. It takes over 10,000 ug to risk death. The average hit is about almost never above 100 ug. So it could be done, but it exceedingly difficult (and expensive).

We should note here that this is physical death caused purely by the LSD overdose. The LSD overdose required to permanently, or at least seriously, damage your mental capacity is far lower. I know a guy who spent a week heavily tripping, then spent two years in rehab and therapy getting over it.

 

[Touring Mars]

We should note here that this is physical death caused purely by the LSD overdose. The LSD overdose required to permanently, or at least seriously, damage your mental capacity is far lower. I know a guy who spent a week heavily tripping, then spent two years in rehab and therapy getting over it.

There is also the small fact that tripping on LSD, however non-lethal in and of itself, vastly increases your chances of having an accident or doing something else you normally wouldn't do which could prove fatal (although LSD is by no means alone in that regard, alcohol being a very good example too..) Of course, it is rare that people have such a bad reaction to certain drugs, but anyone who has ever driven a car on drugs, esp. LSD, has diced with death. Aside from my friend who became schizophrenic after his third LSD trip, I also knew a guy at Uni who broke both legs, shattered his pelvis and received spinal injuries after jumping from a fourth floor window, after he had set fire to his flat accidentally whilst under the influence of drugs - needless to say, it also ruined his academic career, providing a rather unfortunate ironic double (if not triple) meaning to the phrase 'dropping out'...

 

[GT40 MKII]

thanks, i wasnt sure if i offended anybody or not.

 

[Max Powers]

on this whole deal, I just have one thing i want to get off my chest to GTP. before my dad died i was on a medicene called Adderal for my ADHD and i got addicted to it... i was doing things i normally wouldnt do but at the time i felt good so it didnt matter, i didnt care. i would be watching stand up comedy and wouldnt laugh or nothing at it and after it had all happened i woas put on another form of the same crap but a longer release version of it and i wound up in the hospital over it but it was also due to a serious battle with depression cause i overdosed on it. i had a supporting family to help me get through it an kick the habit of what i was doing. Now ilook back on it and cold chills run up and down my spine and ithink to myself i'm a moron for what i did. so yes Blake is definitely right. you can fix the effects of eating habits but drugs do more damage

i hope no one looks at me differently now that i spilled that dark little secret of my life. if i am banned for this post, I probably deserved it.

Really, adderal? I guess it has a potential for abuse, but I can't imagine that awful stuff making you feel good. I have ADD, but after trying almost every ADD drug there is unsuccessfully (adderal, ritalin, concerta) I realized that I could get more accomplished by just keeping myself organized and on task than I ever could by doping myself up with stimulants. I guess I just can't understand how someone could get hooked on those pills because of how miserable they made me feel when taking them in the correct, reccomended way. They destroyed my appetite, made me constantly jittery, and I could never fall alseep at night. I have a pretty addictive personality, and have been known to abuse drugs, but I cringe at the thought of using those ADD drugs habitually, they just make me miserable.

TM has a good point about how a drug habit can often lead to somebody neglecting their other needs, but I think it's on a case by case basis. Obviously somebody who is heavily addicted to substances like heroin or cocaine is going to neglect most of their other needs, as the only need they really care about is getting their next fix. But it is also true that people who abuse softer drugs habitually (weed, alcohol) will sometimes neglect their other needs as well. Marijuana can also lead to bad eating habits when people gorge on food after getting stoned, and I have definitely seen friends who have put on weight due to heavy pot smoking.

I think, in general, a serious drug habit is worse than bad eating habits, but there are obviously extreme cases of both which will change this. Somebody who is anorexic or bulimic is probably damaging themselves more than somebody who abuses 'soft' drugs' but for the most part, drugs are worse.

 

[GT40 MKII]

Really, adderal? I guess it has a potential for abuse, but I can't imagine that awful stuff making you feel good. I have ADD, but after trying almost every ADD drug there is unsuccessfully (adderal, ritalin, concerta) I realized that I could get more accomplished by just keeping myself organized and on task than I ever could by doping myself up with stimulants. I guess I just can't understand how someone could get hooked on those pills because of how miserable they made me feel when taking them in the correct, reccomended way. They destroyed my appetite, made me constantly jittery, and I could never fall alseep at night. I have a pretty addictive personality, and have been known to abuse drugs, but I cringe at the thought of using those ADD drugs habitually, they just make me miserable.

TM has a good point about how a drug habit can often lead to somebody neglecting their other needs, but I think it's on a case by case basis. Obviously somebody who is heavily addicted to substances like heroin or cocaine is going to neglect most of their other needs, as the only need they really care about is getting their next fix. But it is also true that people who abuse softer drugs habitually (weed, alcohol) will sometimes neglect their other needs as well. Marijuana can also lead to bad eating habits when people gorge on food after getting stoned, and I have definitely seen friends who have put on weight due to heavy pot smoking.

I think, in general, a serious drug habit is worse than bad eating habits, but there are obviously extreme cases of both which will change this. Somebody who is anorexic or bulimic is probably damaging themselves more than somebody who abuses 'soft' drugs' but for the most part, drugs are worse.

yes, i figured i would get that off my chest to help others.

 

[Car-less]

I think, in general, a serious drug habit is worse than bad eating habits, but there are obviously extreme cases of both which will change this. Somebody who is anorexic or bulimic is probably damaging themselves more than somebody who abuses 'soft' drugs' but for the most part, drugs are worse.

I'd say its all a matter of extremes. Somebody that lived off nothing but fried bacon and eggs for years would be in a seriously bad state of health, whereas a couple of pints a week shouldn't do you any harm.

That said, my eating habits have been poor for the past decade. Usually I have one square meal a day, and a half dozen or so snacks. Crisps, biscuits, chocolate etc. are consumed most days, as is a two litre bottle of pepsi. I am hardly the picture of health, but nor am I overweight. In comparason my younger brother who moved away just a couple of years ago began drinking and smoking pot. In just two or three years his level of fitness has dropped from that of a 2nd Dan Taikwondo instructor (which he was before he moved away), down to about the same as mine. The people he now mixes with are in a worse state of health, and all they are abusing is alcohol, tobacco and pot.

What I am getting at is that anything is OK on occasion, but even moderate drug abuse can be far worse than poor eating habits.