ZAR - Everyday actions and decisions

I found this so interesting. In the Body and Soul section of the Sunday Telegraph (Aus) a couple of weeks ago, explaining what happens to your body when you do certain things. I love this kind of article because usually I'm doing all the right things for my body and I can give myself a pat on the back!!

Laughing - produces feel-good chemicals which provides pleasure. Smile if you don't feel like laughing. Your brain will mirror-image your emotions by copying your facial expressions.
Drinking a soft drink - this can contain high levels of caffeine and sugar which will make you feel great in the short term. Quite quickly though, you will feel thirsty again as your kidneys have to work hard to process the caffeine. You will be depleted of vitamin B6 which among other things, balance hormones. You will also become addicted to the caffeine and sugar.
Eating chocolate - because chocolate is basically fat and carbs which give and instant energy boost but must be burnt off if they are not going to be turned into body fat immediately. On the upside, nutritionists recommend a small amount of chocolate is good for you because of the cocoa. This contains antioxidants which will attach themselves to free radicals which are enemies for our bodies (they attack healthy cells and increase the risk of diseases). On a basic level, cocoa encourages the brain to release serotonin which makes us feel happy and less stressed straight away.
Running - is the best workout you can do in terms of burning your stores of carbs. Your body also produces an excess of lactic acid which can end up in your muscles which could lead to soreness post-run, so make sure you warm down.
Drinking a glass of wine - apart from relaxing you the sugar will make you feel alert. However, as we all know, once the alcohol passes through your stomach and small intestine, it gets into the bloodstream and from there, the brain. This then makes us all a bit silly!!
Eating fruit - the natural sugars are used for energy, and the vitamins and minerals are used for bodily processes. The skin is passed through the intestine unchanged, keeping your bowel regular. The high fibre and lower KJ content of fruit makes it filling, so your stomach tells your brain that it doesn't need anything further.
Smoking - Apart from the joy to a smoker of the drag of a cigarette, it is of course doing unimaginable damage to your body. The carbon monoxide robs the muscles, brain and blood of oxygen meaning your heart has to work harder. The tar coats the lungs which causes lung and throat cancer. Amazingly, smoking does not relieve stress. The relaxed feeling that smokers experience when they smoke is actually a return to the normal state that non-smokers experience all the time!!
Crying - I don't cry alot but when I do, I feel so much better and I'm sure you'll all agree. Once you've finished crying, your heart rate and breathing return to normal which is what leaves us feeling so great. The deep breathing reduces stress levels.
Kissing - increases levels of oxytocin which help people bond and lowered levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Sharing germs also boosts the immune system (I wouldn't advise sharing too many though - yuck!)