CAN A DIET COMPENSATE FOR SMOKING?
No diet or eating-plan, no matter how nutritious, can neutralise the health damage caused by the 850+ chemicals in tobacco smoke – many of which are carcinogenic. On average, if you smoke 20 cigarettes a day, you double your risk of a heart-attack and are five times more likely to suffer a stroke than a non-smoker. At 40 cigarettes a day, you are five times more likely to suffer from sudden cardiac death. Smoking is also the leading cause of lung cancer. Thus before we even start to examine an appropriate type of diet for smokers, my overriding advice is: quit smoking today! (2) WHAT SHOULD I EAT IF I SMOKE? For anyone who smokes, daily diet nutrition is critical. The damage doneto the body’s cardiovascular and respiratory functions requires a constant need for extra nutrients. Even if you smoke 5 cigarettes a day, you have increased nutritional needs due to your increased risk of hypertension, atherosclerosis, emphysema and numerous cancers. As stated, a healthy diet will not prevent
