Smoking is well known for its negative effects on the human body. We cannot really say with certainty if there is any part of human body that isn’t affected by it. The worst thing is that the habit isn’t so easy to break and smokers struggle to get rid of it. That’s mainly because of how nicotine reacts with the brain chemicals making it depended on nicotine.
The list of drawbacks of smoking is quite long and although we know about most of them, we still don’t see any significant positive change in smoker’s habit. Not only smoking causes damage to the body physically, it also effects psychologically. Lung Cancer, the risk of heart diseases, bad smell, mouth cancer etc. are all scientifically proven drawbacks of smoking.
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It’s best to quit smoking at the first place using whatever method suits you whether it’s cold turkey, using patches or slowly killing the habit. Your effort will be worth it and you’ll start feeling fresh, smell-free and can really begin to feel the real taste of food.
On average nicotine last around 6-8 hours in your blood stream after you smoke a cigarette. Urine is the primary source of eliminating most of it from the body. It takes from 48-72 hours for the stored nicotine to get metabolized and leave the human body. Cotinine, a by-product of nicotine still remains present in the human body for 20-30 days!
They best thing that a smoker can do to himself is to sit back, rethink about the habit, compare all pros and cons (of course you won’t find any pros) and decide once and for all that they are going to get rid of this nasty habit.
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There are some natural foods that can help speeding up the process of flushing out the nicotine out of the body and save you from its negative effects thus helping in the process to quit. As a general rule, Vitamin C is the best source of getting nicotine out of your body. What it does speed up the metabolism and help create WBC (White Blood Cells). Many fruits and vegetables are a good source of Vitamin C. What’s more interesting is that after consuming Vitamin rich diet, smoking tastes less appealing and it becomes even easier to quit.
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We know for certain all life exists because of water, but it can also help in fighting to get nicotine out of the body. There are two main reasons why water is effective as follows:
a. It rehydrates the body after nicotine is done with dehydrating it (8-12 cups recommended daily)
b. As most of the nicotine is flushed out through urine, drinking a lot of water can further speed up the process. Water also helps flushing out toxins through the skin in the form of sweat.
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Smoker knows they don’t really feel like smoking after eating an orange as cigarettes taste terrible after eating them. Oranges contain a large amount of vitamin c and boost body’s metabolism. They also help in coping with stress related to quitting.
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Kiwi is rich in Vitamin C, A and E and can help regain the nutrients lost because of smoking.
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Carrots contain Vitamin A, B, C and K that can help get rid of the nicotine present in the body. As nicotine also damages skin, carrots contain essential nutrients to help repair it.
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Broccoli is rich in Vitamin C and B5 and also speeds up the metabolism. But the best thing about Broccoli is that it contains substances that can protect smoker’s lungs from damages related to smoke toxins.
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Rich in folic acids and vitamins, Spinach also makes smoking taste really bad. Foods to avoid
You also have to be careful in avoiding/reducing consumption of some foods when trying to quit (or at least trying to flush out nicotine from your body). First of them is Meat as it make cigarettes taste better.
Spicy/sweet foods are also known to enhance cravings including Jalapeno, Mexican/Indian/Thai food, cakes, cookies, ice cream etc. Also, try avoiding food that you associate with smoking. For example, some smokers enjoy their cigarette the most after having a cup of tea. And they usually always smoke after drinking tea. It’s better to drink Green Tea instead to break the association formed over time. Associations are also often formed with specific places, people or time.
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Quitting smoking is not that hard as most people want us to believe. It just takes a strong decision to do so while knowing both the short and long term benefits. We have so many examples of successful quitters around us so we should learn a lesson from them and try to break our ugly habit too. This article is provided for general education only. Individuals should consult a qualified health care providerfor professional medical advice, diagnosis and treatment of a medical or health condition.
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