|
fitness
 Kicking the butt, naturally
Some common foods can help smokers in quitting the habit and in curbing the craving for smoking or tobacco
 No
one can make you smoke, or quit or decide whether you should quit. If
you are reading this article with interest it's possible that a
thought of 'wanting to quit ' has wormed into your mind and you want
to see whether it's possible to quit !
It is not that you
don't know about the harmful effects of tobacco but in order to
strengthen your resolve to quit it is important to review its harmful
effects once again.
Chewing strong mint-flavoured gum diverts the mind from smoking |
Tobacco affects the
heart, liver, lungs, increases the risk of clots in the blood
therefore is a major risk factor for heart attack and stroke. It
causes various cancers like cancer of the mouth, lungs, bladder,
oesophagus, pancreas, stomach cancer and so on. Smoking or use of
tobacco in other forms causes infertility in men and women both.
Smoking by women, particularly, pregnant women, can result in
low-birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. Tobacco affects
bones and can cause osteoporosis in those over 50 years of age. If you
begin to smoke at an early age and smoke cigarettes with high tar
content you stand at a higher risk of precipitating all the above
mentioned diseases. Smoking narrows the blood vessels and causes
vascular disease. The problems associated with tobacco consumption are
endless.
When you plan to quit
smokimg/tobacco, there are a number of withdrawal symptoms you may
experience such as irritability, hostility, depression, difficulty in
concentration, impatience, restlessness, increased appetite and
decreased heart rate.
Because nicotine is a
drug, you may need to go to your doctor to get help to quit smoking.
Doctors can prescribe nicotine patches and nicotine gums to stop the
cravings.
There are some home
remedies which can be used in tandem with other methods to help
overcome these cravings.
Smoking can cause various cancers like cancer of the mouth, lungs, bladder, oesophagus, pancreas, stomach cancer
etc. |
Clove or clove oil
Clove oil may help
reduce nicotine cravings when you are trying to quit smoking. Place a
drop of clove oil on back of your tongue which will make you lose your
desire to smoke immediately. This is one of the easiest ways to quit
smoking.
Water
Water helps to stop
the cravings of nicotine quickly. Smoking cessation programs typically
encourage drinking large amounts of water. It lessens the desire to
smoke and helps the body forget the euphoria it experienced with
nicotine. Drinking two-three glasses of water at the point of craving
will help reduce tobacco cravings.
Fruits and vegetables
Eating nutritious
food such as fruits seems to curb the craving for tobacco. It also
keeps your body healthy by making it alkaline. Smoking makes your mind
feel alert and people who give up smoking 'miss' this alert feeling.
Eating raw fruits and vegetables instead of heavy greasy meals gives
you the same feeling of alertness and as an added benefit you don't
gain weight (as most smokers quit do. It is advisable to take a fruit
during your snacking time as it is the most vulnerable time for
tobacco craving.
Having carrot or other vegetable sticks will occupy your hands and mouth to eat instead of smoking a cigarette |
Eat carrot sticks
These will provide
nutrition as well as keep you occupied, away from tobacco products.
Having carrot or other vegetable sticks will occupy your hands and
mouth to eat instead of smoking a cigarette. Keep this platter handy
whenever you have the cravings for tobacco.
Chewing gum
Chewing a strong
mint-flavoured gum diverts the mind from smoking. It also helps to
replace the oral fixation that occurs when a person smokes a
cigarette. It helps in reducing the urge of smoking. Lollipops are
another way for the person to hold something while eating hard candy,
simulating the act of holding the cigarette.
Drinking water lessens the desire to smoke |
Chew on saunf
Fennel seeds or saunf
can be a great substitute. Every time you get the desire to smoke, put
a tea spoon of fennel seeds in your mouth and chew these slowly. It
helps to control your desire to smoke - besides it is alkaline and
therefore corrects the acidic pH created in your body by tobacco.
You'll need willpower
to keep away from cigarettes or tobacco especially in the first few
weeks of quitting. Also remember that the benefits of quitting are
plenty which include a fresher and younger looking you (smoking
accelerates wrinkle formation) free from disease and ill health.
|
Additional
tips
Clove oil may help reduce nicotine cravings |
*
Exercise: Exercising on regular basis while quitting
helps subside the craving both during and after exercise.
Walking, jogging, heading to the gym or biking can also help
curb your cravings.
*
Reduce stress: Reduce the amount of stress you have in
your life. Stress can have you searching for your cigarettes as
a way to calm down. Work, family and relationship stress can
make your cravings for cigarettes even worse. Learn new
stress-reduction techniques like walking, meditation and
deep-breathing exercises so you're less likely to turn to
nicotine.
*
Ask for support: Ask your friends and family to act as a
support system for your efforts to quit. When you endure a
moment of weakness, have a few phone numbers programmed into
your phone that you can call for instant support. Ex-smokers can
be particularly helpful by offering tips.
* Keep
yourself busy: Some people may choose to wait out cravings. The
average nicotine craving lasts for five minutes. Hobbies that
keep one's hands busy such as gardening, putting together a
puzzle or even playing fetch with the family, dog may help.
Occupying the mind and body can stop someone from reaching for
the next cigarette. |
The writer is a
nutritionist. She treats obesity and related health disorders online .
She can be reached at ask@health-total.com / www.health-total.com
|
Health Capsules
An
orange (juice) a day can keep cancer away
 Scientists say
orange can prove crucial in the prevention of cancer. In an
article in Nutrition and Cancer: An International Journal,
a publication of Routledge, researchers reviewed available
evidence that links orange juice with cancer chemoprevention,
reports Science Daily. Despite its potential toxicity (if
taken in excess), orange juice has many potential positive
effects when it comes to cancer, particularly because it is high
in anti-oxidants. Previous studies indicate that orange juice
can reduce the risk of leukemia in children, as well as aid in
chemoprevention against mammary, hepatic, and colon cancers.
"Orange juice could contribute to chemoprevention at every
stage of cancer initiation and progression," the
researchers explained.
Fat
near heart can predict kidney patients' deaths
Fat deposits
around the heart — which can be spotted through simple CT
scans — can help predict the risk of death in patients with
chronic kidney disease. The study, published in the journal Nephrology
Dialysis Transplantation, was conducted by scientists from
Canada, Venezuela, Italy and the US. Paolo Raggi, a researcher
from the University of Alberta, Canada, said, "The greater
the amount of fat around the heart, the greater the mortality
rates were in patients." After examining CT scans of 109
American patients with chronic kidney disease from a randomised,
clinical trial, the researchers found that for every 10 cubic cm
increase in heart fat, the risk of death rose six per cent. The
findings also showed that high levels of calcium or plaque in
the arteries and high cholesterol levels were strong predictors
of large volumes of heart fat. Previous research showed a link
between this heart fat and plaque buildup in the heart arteries.
Red
grapes, blueberries boost immunity
Red grapes and
blueberries can enhance immunity. In an analysis of 446
compounds for their ability to boost the innate immune system,
researchers at Oregon State University discovered two compounds,
resveratrol in red grapes and pterostilbene in blueberries,
called stilbenoids, worked in synergy with vitamin D and had a
significant impact in raising the expression of the human
cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide, or CAMP gene, that is
involved in immune function. The findings, made in lab cell
cultures, do not prove that similar results may occur as a
result of dietary intake, the scientists said, but add more
interest to the potential of some foods to improve the immune
response. Resveratrol has been the subject of dozens of studies
for a range of possible benefits, from improving cardiovascular
health to fighting cancer and reducing inflammation.
Doctors
doing little to promote sunscreen use
Doctors rarely
talk to patients about using sunscreen, even when patients have
a history of skin cancer, according to surveys of US physicians
over two decades. Despite professional guidelines encouraging
doctors to educate their patients about sun protection, in more
than 18 billion patient visits from 1989 to 2010, sunscreen was
mentioned less than one perc ent of the time.
Social
networks leaving gaps in health information
A senior
research scientist has argued in his new book that using social
media and peer-to-peer networks to spread information about
health and science can reinforce disparities in learning and
awareness. The book, Social Networks and Popular
Understanding of Science and Health: Sharing Disparities,
illustrates how systematic reliance on social networks and
peer-to-peer networks to disseminate information could be a
recipe for inequity. Brian Southwell, Ph.D., book's author, said
that the book documents instances where efforts to disseminate
science and health information through social networking or
peer-to-peer networks fell short of desired outcomes. —
Agencies |
|
|
Fruit juices, smoothies new health risk
 London:
Researchers from the US have pointed out that fruit juices
and smoothies are now a new risk to our health because of
the amount of sugar the healthy drinks are believed to
contain. Barry Popkin and George Bray pointed the finger
at high fructose corn syrup in soft drinks in 2004,
causing a huge headache for the big manufacturers,
including Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
Popkin, a
distinguished professor at the department of nutrition at
the University of North Carolina, told the Guardian that
smoothies and fruit juice are the new danger.
He added that it's kind
of the next step in the evolution of the battle, and it's
a really big part of it because in every country they've
been replacing soft drinks with fruit juice and smoothies
as the new healthy beverage. Researchers from the UK, USA
and Singapore found that, in large-scale studies involving
nurses, people who ate whole fruit, especially
blueberries, grapes and apples, were less likely to get
type 2 diabetes, which is obesity-related, but those who
drank fruit juice were at increased risk. People who
swapped their fruit juice for whole fruits three times a
week cut their risk by 7 percent. The British Soft Drinks
Association says that consumption of soft drinks
containing added sugar has fallen by 9 percent over the
last 10 years, while the incidence of obesity has risen by
15 percent. The study is published in the journal Pediatric
Obesity. — ANI |
|
|
