Carrots can help you quit smoking
Nov 16, 2004
Although many people have stopped smoking owing to the harmful effects of tobacco, others have failed. A few resort to using brands with a lower tar content.
By Jjuuko Ndawula
Although many people have stopped smoking owing to the harmful effects of tobacco, others have failed. A few resort to using brands with a lower tar content.
The addiction to nicotine and the psychological attachment to cigarettes or a pipe, makes it difficult to stop this dreadful habit. Why not break this habit by using the CC formula, (courage and carrots).
Effects of smoking
- Shortening life
The death rate for smokers is twice as high as that of non-smokers.
- Lung cancer
Tobacco is estimated to account for 30 percent of all cancer risks. And the connection between smoking and lung disease is obvious. A lung cancer victim’s survival is not good. Even with surgical treatment, only about 10 percent of lung cases are alive after five years.
- Bone weakness
Smoking is linked to osteoporosis. Smokers have an earlier natural menopause than non-smokers. This speeds up bone loss dramatically.
- Hearing loss
Recent research is showing clearly that cigarette smoking can damage your hearing, possibly because it causes narrowing of arteries, which in turn reduces the supply of blood to the cochlea (the snail-shaped structure in the inner ear, which helps amplify sound).
- Heartburn
Nicotine can have a dramatic effect on sphincter pressure, causing it to drop and permitting the reflux of acid. So if you are a smoker and have heartburn, chances that you can get rid of your condition are minimal.
- Heart disease
Smoking is the worst thing you can do for your heart even for a passive smoker. It has greatly increased the number of deaths from heart disease.
- Ulcers
Smoking promotes ulcers of the duodenum (the section of the small intestines just below the stomach) and delays their healing. Smoking inhibits the release of bicarbonate, a natural antacid, from the pancreas to the duodenum. It may also cause the liquid part of a meal to move out of the stomach and into the duodenum before the solid parts of the same meal. This acidic liquid component, without the solid food to buffer it, is more likely to burn the duodenum and cause an ulcer.
Once someone quits smoking, their prospect of serious illness declines gradually, even for those, who have smoked more heavily.
How to quit
Cigarette smoking is such a strong habit that needs determination to break. The decision to quit should be reinforced by emphasising the greater advantages of quitting. Within the first two to four weeks after quitting you will notice that you think more clearly, cough less, sleep better and enjoy food.
The first thing to do is, choose a time and date (not too far in future), with minimum work and nervous tension. Once you have stopped, reinforce your determination. Keep busy, exercise, keep your hands and lips busy with fruits and vegetables. Let your friends know that you quit.
As time goes by, the craving for a smoke will threaten to overpower you. Perhaps some irritation will stir it up. Don’t panic. Nature has the remedy. Stretch out your arm and pick up a carrot. Chew it and smile. Within a few hours, all your distress will be gone. This orange root has large amounts of charm that is appropriate for those who wish to give up smoking. It accelerates the elimination of nicotine and its content of carotene reconstructs the mucosal membrane of the respiratory system that might have been damaged by smoking.
Carrots work better when eaten raw. You can eat it as it is, slice it or shred it and add it as an ingredient in salads. You can prepare carrot juice. It is better to take it immediately after preparing it. Carrots can also be boiled or mashed and eaten as a vegetable.
Carrots vs nicotine drug
One of the conventional methods of helping those who quit smoking, is to give them synthetic nicotine in form of chewing gum, nasal spray or skin patches. These relieve withdrawal symptoms that come after one quits smoking. However, they have many adverse effects like irritation, headache, dizziness, nausea, cold/flu, insomnia, indigestion.
Carrots on the other hand have no side effects and are an ideal medicine for any age group, stimulate growth, augment body defenses, prevent diarrhoea, enhance good vision, give lustre to skin and hair and contribute to formation of good teeth.
The writer is a medical doctor with a PhD in traditional medicine
Although many people have stopped smoking owing to the harmful effects of tobacco, others have failed. A few resort to using brands with a lower tar content.
The addiction to nicotine and the psychological attachment to cigarettes or a pipe, makes it difficult to stop this dreadful habit. Why not break this habit by using the CC formula, (courage and carrots).
Effects of smoking
- Shortening life
The death rate for smokers is twice as high as that of non-smokers.
- Lung cancer
Tobacco is estimated to account for 30 percent of all cancer risks. And the connection between smoking and lung disease is obvious. A lung cancer victim’s survival is not good. Even with surgical treatment, only about 10 percent of lung cases are alive after five years.
- Bone weakness
Smoking is linked to osteoporosis. Smokers have an earlier natural menopause than non-smokers. This speeds up bone loss dramatically.
- Hearing loss
Recent research is showing clearly that cigarette smoking can damage your hearing, possibly because it causes narrowing of arteries, which in turn reduces the supply of blood to the cochlea (the snail-shaped structure in the inner ear, which helps amplify sound).
- Heartburn
Nicotine can have a dramatic effect on sphincter pressure, causing it to drop and permitting the reflux of acid. So if you are a smoker and have heartburn, chances that you can get rid of your condition are minimal.
- Heart disease
Smoking is the worst thing you can do for your heart even for a passive smoker. It has greatly increased the number of deaths from heart disease.
- Ulcers
Smoking promotes ulcers of the duodenum (the section of the small intestines just below the stomach) and delays their healing. Smoking inhibits the release of bicarbonate, a natural antacid, from the pancreas to the duodenum. It may also cause the liquid part of a meal to move out of the stomach and into the duodenum before the solid parts of the same meal. This acidic liquid component, without the solid food to buffer it, is more likely to burn the duodenum and cause an ulcer.
Once someone quits smoking, their prospect of serious illness declines gradually, even for those, who have smoked more heavily.
How to quit
Cigarette smoking is such a strong habit that needs determination to break. The decision to quit should be reinforced by emphasising the greater advantages of quitting. Within the first two to four weeks after quitting you will notice that you think more clearly, cough less, sleep better and enjoy food.
The first thing to do is, choose a time and date (not too far in future), with minimum work and nervous tension. Once you have stopped, reinforce your determination. Keep busy, exercise, keep your hands and lips busy with fruits and vegetables. Let your friends know that you quit.
As time goes by, the craving for a smoke will threaten to overpower you. Perhaps some irritation will stir it up. Don’t panic. Nature has the remedy. Stretch out your arm and pick up a carrot. Chew it and smile. Within a few hours, all your distress will be gone. This orange root has large amounts of charm that is appropriate for those who wish to give up smoking. It accelerates the elimination of nicotine and its content of carotene reconstructs the mucosal membrane of the respiratory system that might have been damaged by smoking.
Carrots work better when eaten raw. You can eat it as it is, slice it or shred it and add it as an ingredient in salads. You can prepare carrot juice. It is better to take it immediately after preparing it. Carrots can also be boiled or mashed and eaten as a vegetable.
Carrots vs nicotine drug
One of the conventional methods of helping those who quit smoking, is to give them synthetic nicotine in form of chewing gum, nasal spray or skin patches. These relieve withdrawal symptoms that come after one quits smoking. However, they have many adverse effects like irritation, headache, dizziness, nausea, cold/flu, insomnia, indigestion.
Carrots on the other hand have no side effects and are an ideal medicine for any age group, stimulate growth, augment body defenses, prevent diarrhoea, enhance good vision, give lustre to skin and hair and contribute to formation of good teeth.
The writer is a medical doctor with a PhD in traditional medicine