What Happens to Your Body When

What Really Happens to Your Body When explains the head-to-toe effects of common behaviors, actions and habits in health and wellness. Discover how your brain, heart, muscles, gut and more respond when you do squats every day, stop drinking alcohol or don’t get enough sleep.

By Jessica Migala
Expert Reviewed
an illustration of a person's hands holding a bottle of stool softener and a pill, with a toilet in the background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Take a Stool Softener
Health
By Wendy Wisner
Expert Reviewed
a mixed media illustration of a person breastfeeding a baby
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Breastfeed
Health
By Kathleen Ferraro
Expert Reviewed
a mixed media image of a person's hand moving the weights on a scale down, to represent losing weight too quickly
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Lose Weight Too Quickly
Weight Management
By Tiffany Ayuda
hand gesturing no to fast food burgers, fries and soda
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Stop Eating Fast Food
Nutrition
By Lacey Muinos
Expert Reviewed
mixed media image of person drinking water with a container of creatine on the side
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Don't Drink Enough Water With Creatine
Nutrition
By Jaime Osnato
Expert Reviewed
mixed media image of a hand holding a cup of coffee surrounded by 3 more cups of coffee on a gray background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Drink Coffee Every Day
Nutrition
By Jaime Osnato
mixed media image of a hand holding a chocolate bar
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Eat Chocolate Every Day
Nutrition
By Anthea Levi
Expert Reviewed
mixed media image of a hand stirring a white mug of bulletproof coffee with a small spoon next to a jar of mct oil on a green and beige background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Drink Bulletproof Coffee
Nutrition
By Amy Schlinger and Tiffany Ayuda and Katie McKinney, CPT
Expert Reviewed
Rear view of person running on a treadmill on a blue background to demonstrate what happens to your body when you do a fasted workout.
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Do a Fasted Workout
Fitness
By Anthea Levi
mixed media image of hands holding a can of diet soda
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Drink Diet Soda Every Day
Nutrition
By Sarah Pflugradt
mixed media image of a salad and dumbbells
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Exercise and Eat Healthy
Nutrition
By Molly Triffin
Expert Reviewed
close-up of person walking on a calendar background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Walk Every Day
Fitness
By Sarah Pflugradt
custom illustration showing a hand pouring a smoothie from a blender into a cup.
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Drink a Smoothie Every Day
Nutrition
By Marygrace Taylor
Expert Reviewed
mixed media image of a person's legs as they're sitting on the toilet, against an orange and teal background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You’re Constipated
Health
By Lacey Muinos
Expert Reviewed
custom image of two hands, one pouring a bottle of zinc pills into the other over a green background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Take Zinc?
Nutrition
By Tiffany Curtis
Expert Reviewed
mixed media collage of hand holding pack of birth control pills on peach background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Stop Taking Birth Control Pills
Health
By Kelsey Kloss
mixed media graphic showing two arms clinking orange juice glasses
What Happens to Your Body When You Drink Fruit Juice Every Day
Nutrition
By Anthea Levi
Custom mixed media image showing hand saying no to a cup of caffeinated coffee
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Quit Caffeine
Nutrition
By Anthea Levi
Expert Reviewed
Custom graphic showing woman taking fish oil pill
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Take Fish Oil
Nutrition
By Holly Klamer MS RD
mixed media image showing hand on straw in can of soda
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Drink Soda Every Day
Nutrition
By Tiffany Ayuda
custom mixed media image showing thumbs down to fiber-rich salad
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Don’t Get Enough Fiber
Nutrition
By Anthea Levi
hand pouring content in pink sugar packet into coffee
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Eat Artificial Sweeteners
Nutrition
By Anthea Levi
mixed graphic showing woman eating spicy pepper with flames
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Eat Spicy Food
Nutrition
By Rozalynn S. Frazier, CPT
Expert Reviewed
woman landing a box jump on a navy blue and coral background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Do a HIIT Workout Every Day
Fitness
By Kate Bratskeir
mixed media graphic showing hand spooning yogurt next to probiotic pills on green background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Start Taking Probiotics
Nutrition
By Sarah Pflugradt
custom graphic showing hand with spoon putting collagen powder into mason jar
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Take Collagen
Nutrition
By Sarah Pflugradt
image of hand holding beer bottle on a gray background with moon and stars illustration
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Drink Beer Every Night
Nutrition
By Sara Coughlin
Expert Reviewed
woman foam rolling it band on blue background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Foam Roll Every Day
Fitness
By Madeleine H. Burry
Expert Reviewed
mixed media image of molding of teeth grinding on a green background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Grind Your Teeth
Health
By Amy Marturana Winderl
Expert Reviewed
mixed media image of woman in leggings and sports bra doing a side lunge on teal background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Do a Body-Weight Workout Every Day
Fitness
By Bojana Galic
Expert Reviewed
mixed media graphic of woman tired from exercising too much with kettlebell, dumbbell and jump rope on blue background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Work Out Too Much
Fitness
By Hallie Levine
Expert Reviewed
mixed media graphic showing hands using laptop in bed all day
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Work All Day From Your Bed or Couch
Health
By Bojana Galic
Expert Reviewed
hand holding melatonin supplement over bottle on purple background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Take Melatonin
Health
By Marygrace Taylor
Expert Reviewed
mixed media graphic of hand poking through window blinds to demonstrate staying inside
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Stop Going Outside
Health
By Bojana Galic
mixed media graphic showing woman looking into a compact mirror and applying mascara on a blue background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Exercise With Makeup On
Fitness
By Alison Kotch
Expert Reviewed
close up of hand holding glass bottles of green and orange juice for a juice cleanse on a dark green background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Do a Juice Cleanse
Health
By Lindsay Tigar
Expert Reviewed
mixed media graphic of scale showing high-fat high-protein foods for keto diet balancing high-carb foods on gray background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Bounce In and Out of Ketosis
Weight Management
By Tiffany Ayuda
Expert Reviewed
black and white photo of woman grabbing barbell with weight plates on blue background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Lift Weights Every Day
Fitness
By Sarah Pflugradt
mixed media graphic showing hand pouring whiskey on gray background with moon and stars illustration
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Drink Hard Liquor Every Night
Nutrition
By Sarah Pflugradt
mixed media graphic showing hand reaching for a strawberry and carrot
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Don’t Get Enough Fruits and Vegetables
Nutrition
By Amanda Capritto
Expert Reviewed
mixed media image of a person wearing black capri leggings and a tank top doing a lunge on a blue and gray background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Do Lunges Every Day
Fitness
By Kate Bratskeir
Expert Reviewed
mixed media image showing hand saying 'no' to green bottle of artificial tears
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Hold Back Tears
Health
By Rozalynn S. Frazier, CPT
Expert Reviewed
gray and white image of woman's lower body mid-run on gray and light blue background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Run Every Day
Fitness
By Rozalynn S. Frazier, CPT
Expert Reviewed
conceptual illustration of person holding a plank on purple yoga mat
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Plank Every Day
Fitness
By Sarah Pflugradt
Expert Reviewed
mixed media graphic showing hand holding cupcake on orange background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Eat Processed Foods
Nutrition
By Rozalynn S. Frazier, CPT
Expert Reviewed
photo of woman doing squat exercise on blue background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Squat Every Day
Fitness
By Emma Steven
Expert Reviewed
A black and white hand reaching for a water bottle, representing the effects of dehydration
What Really Happens to Your Body When You're Dehydrated
Health
By Bojana Galic
Expert Reviewed
mixed media graphic of person doing push-up
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Do Push-Ups Every Day
Fitness
By Philip Ghezelbash
Expert Reviewed
mixed media image showing wrist with fitness tracker showing 5K or 3.1 miles completed
What Does Running a 5K Every Day Do To Your Body? What About 5 Miles a Day?
Fitness
By Sarah Pflugradt
mixed media graphic showing hand holding vitamin D bottle with sun on purple background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Don't Get Enough Vitamin D
Nutrition
By Sarah Pflugradt
Mixed media graphic of wine poured into glass
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Drink a Glass of Wine Every Night
Nutrition
By Amanda MacMillan
Expert Reviewed
Illustration of stress, including a hand squeezing a stress ball on a green and yellow background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You're Stressed
Health
By Hallie Levine
mixed media graphic of anatomy doll sitting in rolling desk chair looking at phone, concept of poor posture
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Have Poor Posture
Health
By Tamekia Reece
Expert Reviewed
An empty bed on a dark blue background, with illustrations that represent not getting enough sleep
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Don't Get Enough Sleep
Health
By Philip Ghezelbash
Expert Reviewed
Hand refusing a dumbbell; person who doesn't exercise concept
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Don't Exercise
Fitness
By Molly Triffin
Expert Reviewed
Illustration concept of a person's hand saying no to sugary foods like chocolate, candy and cupcakes
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Stop Eating Sugar
Weight Management
By Jaime Osnato
Expert Reviewed
hand holding white mug of coffee with illustrations of caffeine from coffee, tea, energy drinks and other sources
How Caffeine Affects Your Body, From Your Brain to Your Bladder
Nutrition
By Ashley Macha
Fact Checked
person with prosthetic leg grabbing red kettlebell with illustrations of effects of starting to exercise
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Start Exercising
Health
By Anthea Levi
Mixed media graphic showing hand rejecting meat products
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Stop Eating Meat
Nutrition
By Christine Yu
Blue and yellow illustration of the effects of added sugar on the body with hand holding cupcake
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Eat Refined Sugar
Nutrition
By Jody Braverman
Expert Reviewed
A person's feet on a bathroom scale, with illustrations of what happens when you lose 10 pounds
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Lose 10 Pounds
Weight Management
By Sarah Pflugradt, RDN
Hand rejecting martini with olives mixed media image
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Stop Drinking Alcohol
Nutrition
By Sarah Pflugradt
mixed media graphic showing hand pouring can of soda into trash can
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Give Up Soda
Weight Management
By Sarah Watts
Expert Reviewed
mixed media graphic showing yo-yo diet concept with pizza, salmon, avocado and cupcake on a yellow background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Yo-Yo Diet
Weight Management
By Kay Peck
mixed media graphic of hand saying no to stack of bagels on yellow background
What Really Happens to Your Body When You Drastically Cut Carbs
Nutrition

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