STOP! smoking
Is well known that smoking affects the lungs and heart and puts people at greater risk for heart attacks and stroke, lung cancer (as well as throat, bladder, kidney, mouth, esophagus, colon and rectal cancers), and emphysema. Furthermore, smoking increases blood pressure and cholesterol, decreases sense of smell and taste, decreases fertility levels, and contributes to early menopause.
Benefits of Smoking Cessation:
There are immediate and long-term health benefits from smoking cessation.
Some beneficial health changes that take place are:
Within 20 minutes, your heart rate and blood pressure drop.
12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.
2-12 weeks, your circulation improves and your lung function increases.
1-9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease.
1 year, your risk of coronary heart disease is about half that of a smoker's.
5 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.
10 years, your risk of lung cancer falls to about half that of a smoker and your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decreases.
15 years, the risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker's.
HOW?
1st: You need to want to stop, desire to quit.
If you are motivated the rate of success will increase. So, find a motivation, it could be that you want to be a better role model for your kids, or because you always wanted to run a 5K and need to improve your lung function, or even financial, make numbers and see how much you would save a year if stop smoking (not only in buying cigarettes, but also in sick days and medication)
2nd: Set a time.
The next step is to decide on a quit date and to quit cold turkey. Studies show that those who quit smoking cold turkey have higher success than those who wean themselves off cigarettes slowly.
3rd: Support system.
The third step is to get support from family and friends and to avoid temptation by getting rid of cigarettes, ash trays, and lighters from the house, car and living environments.
Naturopathic doctors have natural smoking cessation protocols that can help support the body in the early stages of quitting. These protocols can help reduce withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, sleeplessness, difficulty concentrating, restlessness, and cravings for nicotine. Naturopathic doctors treat the whole person, rather than just symptoms, so each person will be given an individualized treatment plan. In general, however, naturopathic doctors will improve the diet, prescribe supplements and /or perform acupuncture treatments for each individual undergoing a smoking cessation protocol.
Dietary recommendations involve a whole foods diet (no packaged/preserved foods), avoidance of sugar (which triggers the addictive center of the brain), and eating every three hours. Eating regular small meals (grazing) is important to balance blood sugars and reduce cravings. Hydration (water intake) is also very important as it would help with the detox process of the toxins
Herbal remedies that support the body during smoking cessation and reduce symptoms of anxiety and nicotine cravings include: Avena Sativa (oat), Passiflora incarnata (Passionflower), Lobelia inflate (Indian tobacco), and Eleuthroccocus senticosus (Siberian Ginseng).
Regular weekly acupuncture treatments for the first few weeks and months of quitting smoking are extremely effective in reducing the withdrawal symptoms and the cravings for smoking. Acupuncture helps relax the body and balances the nervous system. Auricular acupuncture (ear acupuncture) has been studied extensively in the treatment of drug and smoking withdrawal and is shown to be quite effective. The NADA (National Acupuncture Detoxification Association) protocol, is auricular acupuncture used worldwide as treatment for addictions (cigarettes, food, drugs).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11676576
