Read today’s News-Column: Smoking can deplete body of various helpful vitamins

Posted November 3rd, 2009 by Elaine Hastings, RD - Nutrition Expert and filed in health, In The News, nutrition, Wellness

The health risks associated with smoking are well researched and documented. In fact, studies have linked smoking with some of the most serious health issues such as cancer, emphysema and heart disease. However, what many people don’t realize is that smoking leads to nutritional deficiencies that may contribute to these and other illnesses.

Smokers should be aware of the impact that cigarette smoking has on their body’s ability to digest and use food, use nutrients and support the body’s immune system. Smoking prevents absorption of vitamins and minerals, interfering with the body’s ability to use vital nutrients properly.

In addition, smoking has a significant effect on vitamins. For example, smoking interferes with your body’s ability to use nutrients and depletes the body of vitamin C, an antioxidant that protects the body from disease. The more people smoke, the more vitamin C they lose from tissue and blood. The damage done by smoking may not be reversed by just increasing vitamin C intake through diet alone, so a supplement may be needed.

In addition, research shows that vitamin E is more rapidly depleted in tissue concentration in smokers than in non-smokers. As a result, tissue, including lung tissue, is more vulnerable to toxins. Vitamin E is also believed to inhibit fatty deposits on the inner walls of the arteries. Loss of those fatty deposits due to smoking can also cause hardening of the arteries and impaired blood flow from the heart. All of these factors contribute to an increased risk of disease.

While supplements or antioxidants may not protect the body against the damage caused by smoking, they can help increase the nutrients that the body needs. In addition, smokers should increase their intake of antioxidants by eating more fruits and vegetables. In fact, smokers need to eat more healthy foods than non-smokers just to get the same nutrients. To help the body properly use these nutrients, smokers can drink green tea, eat fruit and vegetables, and take vitamin C and E supplements.

Many smokers do not want to quit due to the risk of gaining weight. However, the risks of smoking greatly “outweigh” the risk of weight gain. While you may be tempted to diet while smoking or trying to quit, you should increase your intake of healthy, vitamin-fortified foods, drink plenty of water and increase your physical activity. When dietary changes combined with regular exercise become part of your daily routine, weight can be more effectively managed. However it’s recommended that you begin your dietary and nutritional changes before you actually quit smoking. That way, you will already be on your way to feeling healthy and have your diet plan integrated into your lifestyle before you quit.

For those who quit smoking, exercise and healthy eating may actually become more manageable. When you stop the smoking habit, you can usually breathe easier and move more quickly.

- Elaine Hastings is a registered dietitian and owner of Associates in Nutrition in Florida. Contact her at AssociatesinNutrition.com or Elaine@eatrightRD.com.

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