Many people who are avid smokers choose some point to quit this unhealthy habit. They want to counteract the negative effects of smoking. A great choice! However, that is easier said than done.
Many people, therefore, need help to successfully quit smoking. You can think of medication against smoking, but also professional help. Do you want to discover what negative impact smoking has on a healthy body and especially what you can do to stop this bad habit? Then read on quickly.
What negative effects does smoking have on our bodies?
Initially, it can be established that smoking has a very negative impact on our health and the general condition of our bodies. This is the result of several factors. But what exactly are the negative effects of smoking on our bodies?Initially, smoking is known for causing a depletion of nutrients in our bodies. In practice, smoking cigarettes therefore significantly accelerates the production of free radicals in the body.
That is an important point to take into account because in practice these free radicals can cause considerable damage to our cells. Ultimately, this phenomenon can even lead to chronic conditions, such as cancer or other diseases. Incidentally, our body is also exposed to these free radicals without smoking. For people who smoke, the impact is just a lot bigger.
The situation is even worse in practice, as smokers not only have an increase in the number of free radicals; In addition, smoking leads to a reduced supply of vitamins. The combination of these factors can have a very negative impact on your health. This applies not only to the short term but also to the long term.
Free radicals are part of the negative effects of smoking
Free radicals are atoms or molecules that have an odd number of electrons. Molecules do not like to be in such a state.
They are therefore a lot happier when they have an equal number of electrons. The odd amount of electrons makes the molecules very unstable. They are therefore forced to travel through the body in search of an electron. Depending on where this electron is located, it is possible that significant damage to healthy tissue could be caused.
Do they interfere with collagen? Then that can lead to the now-infamous “smoker's wrinkles”. The moment they encounter blood vessels during their journey through the body, they can damage the blood vessels. These are pretty serious negative effects of smoking on your health!
As a result, the risk of a heart attack increases significantly. Will the source be the DNA that resides in the cells of our body? In that case, there may even be so-called “gene mutations”. An accumulation of gene mutations can eventually lead to the formation of cancer cells.
The development of oxidative stress due to smoking
In practice, smoking does not only increase the number of free radicals in our bodies. In addition, smoking reduces the number of antioxidants. These antioxidants are crucial for good health, as they fight against the damage done by free radicals on an ongoing basis.
The combination of these factors can lead to so-called oxidative stress. It is believed that this form of stress plays a very important role in the development of a whole range of disorders. It's not just about heart disease, it's also about cancer.
Negative effects of smoking such as vitamin deficiencies
A lot of smoking also causes vitamin depletion in the body. This affects the number of vitamins that we need in our body to function properly. That is why vitamin deficiencies can be classified as one of the negative effects of smoking.
For example, smoking lowers the vitamin C level in the body. This applies not only to vitamin C but also, for example, to the amount of vitamin E that our body needs. In addition, studies have shown that vitamin deficiency damage caused by smoking cannot be quickly remedied with supplements.
Researchers have not yet been able to demonstrate why such supplements have not been able to compensate for the damage. Further research is still being done on this today.
What about the required amount of vitamin E?
Vitamin E is known to be a fat-soluble vitamin that is stored in the liver. In addition, this vitamin is stored in the fat reserves in our body. This immediately makes it clear that you do not necessarily have to process vitamin E in your meals daily. After all, this vitamin is stored in your body.
That said, frequent intake is required to not compromise red blood cell production. The strength of our immune system is also largely dependent on the vitamin E stock in our body. In any case, an optimal immune system is required to be able to fight not only viruses but also bacteria.
Smoking can lead to vitamin E deficiency and bad skin. For example, it depletes the stocks in the body of smokers more quickly. It is important to get enough vitamin E through your diet if you smoke regularly. In this way, you prevent a deficiency of vitamin E.
Make quitting smoking easier for yourself
Smoking cessation medication helps to take the step to distance yourself from those pesky cigarettes you smoke every day. For many people, taking the step to quit smoking is anything but obvious.
Quitting smoking without a tool then seems to be very difficult, but luckily you can make it much easier on yourself. By maintaining a healthy lifestyle and by using smoking cessation medication, you will find that quitting smoking is easier over time. That way you will soon be able to say goodbye to the negative effects of smoking on your body.
Your body immediately starts to repair itself
Many people who have been inveterate smokers for many years often think that it no longer makes sense to stop at a later age, for example. Nothing is less true. In practice, it is never too late to quit smoking. In any case, you can reduce the negative effects of smoking by stopping this bad lifestyle.
As soon as you stop smoking, you will quickly notice that your body will immediately start the recovery phase. That said, (long-term) smoking does increase the risk of diseases, such as lung cancer and other forms of cancer, for the rest of your life.
Fortunately, the risk of, for example, heart disease as a result of smoking decreases rapidly. As indicated earlier, you do not have to fight the cigarette alone at all.
By using the right smoking cessation medication, you will always be able to determine in practice that distancing yourself from the cigarette becomes a lot easier.
