aarogya.com
  • Home
  • Complementary Medicine
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Naturopathy
    • Acupressure
    • Acupuncture
    • Aromatherapy
    • Batch Flower Remedies
    • Home Remedies
    • Massage
    • Yoga
    • Meditation
    • Reiki
    • Bodywork
    • Medical Palmistry
  • Conditions & Diseases
    • Acute Diarrheal Disease
    • Appendicitis
    • Blindness
    • Brucellosis
    • Chicken Pox
    • Conjunctivitis
    • Dysentery
    • Hookworm
    • Japanese Encephalitis
    • Lymphatic Filariasis
    • Plague
    • Rubella
    • Typhoid Fever
    • Yellow Fever
    • Allergy
    • Arthritis
    • Blood Pressure
    • Computer Health Hazards
    • Chikungunya Fever
    • Dengue
    • Guinea Worm
    • Influenza
    • Leprosy
    • Malaria
    • Poliomyelitis
    • Tetanus
    • Whooping Cough
    • Viral Hepatitis
    • Amebiasis
    • Asthma
    • Bronchitis
    • Diagnostic Tests
    • Cholera
    • Diphtheria
    • Hepatitis
    • Irritable Bowel Syndrome
    • Leptospirosis
    • Measles
    • Rabies
    • Tuberculosis
    • Yaws
  • Family Health
    • Children's Health
    • Diet & Nutrition
    • First Aid
    • Fitness
    • Humor & Trivia
    • Men's Health
    • Preventive Health
    • Senior's Health
    • Senior Citizen Corner
    • Teen’s Health
    • Vets and Pets
    • Women’s Health
  • Health Resources
    • Blood Donation
    • Career Opportunities
    • Daily Health Tips
    • Health Programs
    • Featured Hospitals
    • Medical Education
    • Health Professional's Negligence
    • Medical Tourism
    • Video Eye
    • Rural Health
    • Patients' Rights Forum
  • Insurance
    • Euthanasia
    • Health Insurance
    • Health Insurance Policies
    • Insurance Companies
    • Medical Ethics
    • Medical Jurisprudence
    • Research
    • Telemedicine
    • Compare Health Insurance
  • Sex & Sexuality
    • What is Sex & Sexuality?
    • FAQs
    • Marriage & Pregnancy
    • Sex Education
  • Support Groups
    • Addiction
    • Aids
    • Cancer
    • Epilepsy
    • Swine Flu
    • Blood Search
    • Vivah
    • Health Directory
    • Alzheimer's Disease
    • Medical Support Groups
    • Cardiology
    • Depression
    • Depression Screening Test
    • Diabetes
    • Disability
    • Kidney
    • Obesity
    • Pregnancy
    • Schizophrenia
    • Vitiligo
Aarogya.com
Marathi | Gujarati | Register | Login
  • Home
  • News and Updates
  • Year 2011
  • Smokin’ Food Substitutes

Smokin’ Food Substitutes

  • Print
Details
Hits: 5241
Times of India
29 September 2011

If you have given up smoking, weight gain is inevitable. Here are foods that will help you tackle withdrawal symptoms and extra kilos
Now that you have decided to finally quit smoking, it’s probably the biggest favour you’ve done your body. However, beware, the battle hasn’t ended there. One of the most common pitfalls of quitting the habit is immediate weight gain. So you might have to bear that in mind and work on a way to circumvent the problem before it gets out of control. The reason for this weight gain is largely because one’s appetite, dwarfed by nicotine until now, suddenly spikes and the urge to snack more, raises significantly. Smokers can finally taste and smell food better, something they couldn’t do earlier due to the aftertaste of tobacco. Incidentally, the food you consume to tackle the withdrawal also plays a crucial part in your recovery process.

Finger Food
Nutritionist Pooja Singhania says, “Smoking essentially is a habit related problem. When you quit, apart from the withdrawal, you also miss holding something constantly. So switch to healthy finger food such as apple slices, carrots, or celery to keep your fingers occupied and that will in turn help you overcome the habit.” A non-food related suggestion to ease out of this habit is to improvise holding a pencil or a pen in your hands while you drive or read to take your mind off it.

Time IT
More often than not, it’s not what you eat or not eat that helps but more about how and when you eat. “So when you have just given up smoking, space out your meals. Have four to six small meals rather than three big ones. This manages your blood sugar levels and keeps you full,” says Singhania. Do not to skip breakfast, as you may end up snacking the entire day.

Foods that help
Try to include some form of high fibre starchy carbohydrate food such as wholegrain cereals, wholemeal bread, brown rice, potatoes and lentils, in each meal. This aids weight loss and will make you feel less hungry. Make sure you are eating large portions of vegetables in your diet, as it will fill you up easily without providing too many calories. Have antioxidant rich food such as oranges, grapefruit, spinach and strawberries. Drinking 8-10 glasses of water is also essential since dehydration further worsens withdrawal symptoms.

Foods that don’t
Singhania says, “Heavy meals and spicy foods such as mustard, vinegar, pickles, pepper, can increase smoking urges as well as other withdrawal symptoms. The exact scientific reasons for this are not known. Alcohol seems to be associated with the poor ability to think and reason and therefore may result in failure to stick to the decision to quit smoking or cause a relapse. Inadequate, sleep induces more stress and can increase smoking craving.” Mentally try and control the things you used to do that were usually accompanied by a s m o k e . Find healthier substitutes for the same and keep reminding yourself of your resolve to not smoke. Positive affirmation also goes a long way in boosting your morale through this trying period. Likewise, stay away from caffeine, as it is a diuretic and may cause dehydration. Caffeine increases the intensity of some withdrawal symptoms such as nicotine cravings, anxiety, irritability, and difficulty sleeping. Hence, coffee should be avoided completely.

Exercising is a great way to relieve the stress of withdrawal as it helps release feel good hormones called endorphins which will further aid your resolve to curb your urge to smoke. It will also make sure your metabolism is high and you are physically fit.

Disclaimer: The news story on this page is the copyright of the cited publication. This has been reproduced here for visitors to review, comment on and discuss. This is in keeping with the principle of ‘Fair dealing’ or ‘Fair use’. Visitors may click on the publication name, in the news story, to visit the original article as it appears on the publication’s website.

0
Introducing Digital Practice for Doctors & Healthcare professionals
Swine Flu
National Award for Outstanding achievement by a Non-Professional - Tushar Sampat
Health Professional's Negligence
Health Professional's Negligence
Records of published articles in the newspapers helps common people about precautions to be taken while seeking the services from health professionals and also helps health professionals to rectify the negligence.
read more…
Specialties
Common Symptoms


Aarogya Network

aarogya.com aims to be India’s leading comprehensive health information portal. The site has sections, which cover almost all the medical specialties and give useful information on various diseases. To enhance its reach, the content is available in Indian languages too. We were the first health website to introduce online support groups. Addiction support and Epilepsy support are examples of some very active and vibrant communities.

» Click here to see all our support groups

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

 Get health related new information.

Pune Aarogya
Digital Media Dedicated to Healthcare of Punekars

Health Tools

  • Health Directory
  • Message Board
  • Health Calculators
  • Depression Screening Test

About Aarogya.com

aarogya.com aims to be India’s leading comprehensive health information portal. The site has sections, which cover almost all the medical specialties

Read more...

Suggestions

This is YOUR site, so if you have suggestions or feedback on how we can improve it for you, please let us know! We do our best to keep up!

Read more...

User Comments

“My name is Paulette Conners and I just had to send you an email thanking you since one of the pages on your site was very helpful!”

  • About Us
  • Company Profile
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Feedback
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap
  • Invite Your Friends

© 2017 www.aarogya.com. All Rights Reserved.