Most people like to indulge in a candy bar now and then, but doing so regularly has negative effects on your health. Candy is high in sugar and many types also contain unhealthy amounts of fat and calories. Sweets often contain no nutrients, making them empty calories that contribute to health problems. That being said – who doesn’t enjoy a handful of candy every so often! Below are some facts and ideas on exactly how candy and sugar can affect your health, and what changes need to be made in your life to combat candy and sugar!

Weight Gain

The ingredients used to make candy are full of calories. Sugar, chocolate, caramel, nuts and nougat are several examples of ingredients used to make candy that are high in calories and, in some cases, fat. Eating too many calories every day results in weight gain if you cannot burn them off. To keep weight under control and still enjoy candy, choose “fun-size” versions and stick to one piece. It’s helpful to purchase candy boxes that have a ton of the fun-size bars in the box, and then keeping that box in a place in the house you don’t often open up. That way, when you are really craving a treat, you can just grab one out of the box!

Reduces Nutrient Intake

If you are filling up on candy, you leave little room for nutrient-dense foods that support your health. Candy contains no vitamins and very small, if any, amounts of minerals, which means you are satisfying hunger but doing nothing to meet your daily nutrient intake requirements. Furthermore, high sugar intake actually robs you of much needed nutrients, such as calcium, because your body must use them to digest sugar. This contributes to the development of nutrient deficiencies, including iron, vitamins A and C, and calcium, which results in a variety of health problems, including anemia and a lowered immunity.

Increases the Risk of Disease

High-fat, high-calorie and high-sugar diets are responsible for a whole host of health conditions. Large amounts of sugar contributes to insulin resistance, which can cause diabetes. My roommate was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Why there is not a definite connect to be made, we think that since he had so many sweets in high school and college led to his insulin becoming resistant and now his life is changed forever. In college, he often had whole candy boxes stacked up in his room, and would eat handfuls of candy as his dinner!

So try and reduce candy intake as much as you can, and it will lead to living a healthier lifestyle in general.

As science moves forward and humanity finds ways to expand civilization and its grasp on the Earth, I often get to wondering what the future holds. You know, questions like “When will we right the problem that is global warming?” and “When will we colonize Mars?” cross my mind quite often.

When these things happen, when we finally move forward and everyone sees what the real problems of our species are (i.e., not petty things like social media likes and selfish politicians making laws for mere states), I think things will advance quite rapidly. The problem currently is that everyone is split. Everyone sees the world differently. Some only envision money. Others only see God. And even still others just care about their simple little life in their simple little town. Only a chunk of humanity realizes the problems that lie ahead of us with our planet and what’s next with another planet. Only that chunk cares about those things at the moment and refuses to look at the here and now as the be all, end all. That chunk sees generations ahead of now and realizes there will be no future if we don’t start righting the ship here and now.

So, when we all collectively agree on the problems that lie before us, that’s when I think science will rocket forward like no other age in human history. That’s when the amount of funding for science will blow all other ages out of the water and we will advance more quickly than we know what to do with all the new findings.

This is the time I’m talking about. This is what I look forward to. Even basic materials like cardboard boxes, the current king of shipping materials, may be outdone by cheaper, stronger, lighter weight materials. As funny as that sounds, I often do think about things as simple as the shipping materials we use. For a long while, cardboard boxes have dominated the market. But I know there are lighter and stronger materials out there. It’s all a matter of time before we find a way to mass produce those materials for cheap. When that time comes, you’ll know that everything has been revolutionized.

What’s funny is that those materials, though, won’t come without a focus on space. When we pool our efforts, minds, and resources towards space, magical things happen. The internet becomes a thing. Worldwide shipping becomes a thing. New materials spring up and we start realizing how great they are in comparison to the materials we used to use. Space exploration uses the most cutting edge technologies and materials, and that’s how we improve our current materials and ways of thinking: by focusing on space.

I’m the sort of person who doesn’t buy into the most recent fad diets out there that you’ll see plastered across news headlines at the checkout line in groceries. In fact, I’ve done a bit of digging to really uncover which diets “work” and which ones don’t, and more often than not it’s all up to the individual’s body, their total caloric intake, and generally what sort of exercise they do. A keto diet isn’t going to help you lose weight just because you follow it to a T based on someone else’s diet plan. Paleo diets aren’t going to get you anywhere if you load up on meat and only meat just because it’s part of the diet. That’s just not how it all works.

I think the only “tried and true” diet out there that is genuinely (and scientifically) beneficial to you and your body is something close to a vegetarian diet. While full on veganism can have its troubles (such as getting enough protein without the aid of dairy products or meat), vegetarianism meets a nice balance of both without needing to eat meat. I’d even venture to say that pescetarianism (vegetarianism plus eating fish) is even healthier simply because of the healthy amounts of proteins and fatty acids found in all sorts of fish.

No matter the case, though, I’ve recently resigned myself to cut out red meats, white meats, and processed foods. My fiancee and I love to cook original dishes, cultural dishes, and everything therein. I think we’ve just been missing a bit of direction with our diet, meaning we’re often found snacking on chips late at night, munching on candy boxes during a Netflix film, or slogging over a hunk of steak when we simply don’t need that much food.

I’ve been a huge fan of Japanese culture for a long part of my life, and I think there’s a reason most Japanese people stay small, fit, and healthy (which all contributes to their longer average lifespan compared to Americans). And I think that’s their dependence on fish, fresh vegetables, and smaller portions. What else could you really need in an island culture such as theirs?

Really, there’s nothing more that humans really need. It’s just that we’ve had such insane amounts of technological leaps and bounds over the past half century that food has become so entirely specialized and processed to save money. In reality, though, all you need to do is go back to our roots, make your own meals with fresh ingredients, and profit. Your body will thank you. Your mind will thank you. And your future self will thank you when you’re much healthier than you could have been had you kept your chips and candy boxes around.

Being a fanatic of something, in particular, can be an exciting hobby to partake in and keep up on. Especially if you’ve got friends or family members who are also interested in that very hobby that you love. The more you get to share your experiences regarding that hobby, the more ingrained you become in it.

While that’s a good thing, it’s also a bad factor in maintaining that hobby if you don’t have anyone to share your experiences with. Because then, you may lose motivation, you may lose all interest, or you just may wish you had a friend to participate with you.

Oftentimes our hobbies are extremely niche interests that no one else actually does want to join you in, and that alone can turn you off to continuing the hobby. Other times, though, it’s something fairly mainstream, so finding others who are also interested isn’t hard in the slightest.

For me, I’m into a wide range of things. But one that has held my interest for pretty much all my life is video games. And I do my favorite games a disservice by just referring to all of them collectively as “video games” as if they are all similar. News flash: they’re not similar in the slightest.

First off, there are many different genres of video games. And beyond that, there are games on different consoles and some on mobile. The few games that pique my interest span different consoles and a wide variety of genres, meaning I’m into some niche games and some others that are pretty popular.

With a hobby like this, though, a lot of games come and go. And that’s why I keep my older cartridges stored in cardboard boxes. There’s no better way to remind yourself of the games you used to play other than holding onto them in case you want to play them in the future. Though I know I never will, it’s something about the nostalgia that keeps me cramming more into those old cardboard boxes instead of getting rid of them or selling what I do have for a little extra cash. I’m sure a lot of you can commiserate with me when I say it’s not easy getting rid of things you used to love.

No matter what your hobby is, don’t give up on it even if others aren’t around to enjoy it with you. You should stick to what you love and try to find online communities at the very least. Apps like Reddit help with those problems, because there will always be someone out there who is just as much a fanatic of your hobby as you.

Sometimes, you have a lot more free time than what you’re accustomed to. And sometimes, that free time falls on a nice day with beautiful weather. Yet, here you are, unsure of how to spend your time or what to do.

Boredom and uncertainty can strike at any given time, and it’s always no fun when it happens on days with nice weather and at times that you actually have the time to go out and do something. When you don’t have stuff planned for your weekend, it can be especially tough to come up with something right on the spot.

If you’re looking for ways to spend a nice day on the weekend but can’t really think up too many ideas for you and your family or friends, look no further.

Park picnic.

If anything, this is one of those things that you have to do with your significant other and/or kids at some point in your life. Why else would you think this is always defined as an American pastime, something that you often see in movies and other media?

All it takes is a quick trip to the grocery for some sandwiches and chips (or healthier alternatives to sides such as celery and peanut butter). From there, it’s a matter of going to the park nearest you, having a blanket handy, and setting up for an hour or so. Bugs and the heat may get to you after awhile if it’s a particularly muggy day, but at the very least you’ll be spending time with your family in a way that’s far more intimate than anything else you probably do on a weekly basis.

Catch a matinee.

First, matinees are cheaper than evening shows. And the other thing to consider is that movies are often enjoyed more when seen in a spur of the moment fashion. Think about it. The more you hype up a film and then go to see it, the more there’s a chance of disappointment. But if you go to a film with zero expectations, you have a higher chance of exceeding anything else simply because you had no lofty expectations in mind.

The best advice I can give you for this is to bring along a few candy boxes for you and the kids simply to save money once you’re in the theater. Just sneak them in your purse or a satchel and you’ll be good. You can grab multiple candy boxes at the grocery for half the price of a single box within the theater.