Nutrition & Smoking

With each puff, smokers inhale tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide and 200 known poisons into their lungs. Cigarette smokers often have deficiencies in vital minerals and vitamins, which makes them more susceptible to infections and disease. Smokers should consume a diet rich in minerals and antioxidants obtained from both food sources and supplements.

The Facts

The U.S. Government has approved 599 food additives, many of which are also used in the manufacture of cigarettes. Burning these chemicals changes their properties considerably, creating toxins known to cause cardiovascular disease, chronic emphysema or bronchitis and various cancers. In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 21 percent of the American population were classified as cigarette smokers.

Nutritional Needs Higher for Smokers

Smokers should focus on including foods high in calcium, folate, lycopene, vitamin E, zinc, selenium and omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids. Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables increases antioxidant intake, but a good quality multivitamin and mineral supplement may also be required.

Smoking and Vitamin C

One of the body's chief antioxidants, vitamin C, is drained from the body with each puff of a cigarette. A water-soluble vitamin not stored in the body, vitamin C must be ingested daily. The current recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin C for healthy Americans 15 and older was recently revised upwards from 60 mg daily; the RDA for male smokers is now 125 mg and for female smokers 110 mg. However, researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute recommend at least 400 mg per day of vitamin C for healthy adults and between 1,000 to 2,000 mg per day for heavy smokers.

Fish Oil and Vitamin C

Vitamin E supplements of 400 to 800 iu per day have been found to be beneficial to smokers as well. Fish oil contains a high content of fat-soluble antioxidants and omega-3s. Fish oil may help protect against lung problems in smokers. A study of over 8,000 men aged 45 to 60 found that smokers who consumed fish two times per week or more sustained less smoking-related lung damage than did those who consumed fish less often.

Other Recommended Antioxidants

There are quite a few other minerals and naturally occurring compounds proven to defend the body against cardiovascular and other smoking-related disease, according to Dr. Emmanuel C. Opara, a member of the Sara W. Stedman Center for Nutritional Studies at Duke University Medical Center. Highly recommended supplements include lipoic acid (100 mg/day), taurine (1.5 gm/per day), coenzyme Q-10 (90 mg/day or higher), selenium (200 mcg per day), garlic, ginkgo biloba and polyphenols, found in grape seed extracts and red wine.

Warning

A limit of 2 grams (2,000 milligrams) daily of vitamin C is recommended to prevent diarrhea or other gastrointestinal upset. Nutritional supplementation is helpful in reducing health risks to smokers but cannot guarantee immunity to cancers or other smoking-related diseases.

References

• International Foods Information Council
• Cigarette Ingredients
• The Dangers of Smoking Cigarettes for Smokers