What You Should Eat and What to Avoid When Working to Quit Smoking

Smoking is detrimental to health. The addiction to smoking not only makes you prone to several health issues but also deteriorates your quality of life. So, the habit of smoking is a cause of concern globally for years. To make a greater number of people aware of the health hazards resulting due to smoking and encourage smokers to quit the harmful habit, No Smoking Day is observed every second Wednesday of every March. This year, No Smoking Day will be observed on 8^th March 2023, and the theme of this health awareness day this year is “Quit and Win”. It focuses on the significance of pledging to quit smoking, adopting the required steps to keep with your efforts to shun the harmful habit, and the benefits of quitting smoking and leading a smoking-addiction-free, healthier lifestyle. The theme of this year’s No Smoking Day focuses on the need to minimize the impact of tobacco-related ailments on people and healthcare systems worldwide and motivate a greater number of smokers to shun the habit of smoking. It emphasizes the rewards of giving up smoking, such as improved health and quality of life, increased energy, avoiding the waste of money, and a positive impact on psychological health and well-being. So, if you are looking to quit smoking or wish to encourage your near and dear ones to shun the harmful habit, certain dietary modifications can help you succeed. Adding certain foods to your diet and avoiding some foods can help support your efforts to quit smoking. Check out the list of foods to eat and foods to avoid when trying to quit smoking.

11 Best Foods to Eat When Trying to Quit Smoking

Including certain foods in your diet can support you in giving up the habit of smoking. Here’s a list of foods to eat when making efforts to quit smoking.

1. Milk and Yoghurt

Dairy products, such as milk and yoghurt, are types of foods that make cigarettes taste worse. So, eating yoghurt or milk can help you beat the craving for smoking and help you minimize your smoking habit.

2. Ginger and Garlic

Ginger is a medicinal herb that is known to warm our bodies. When you add ginger to your diet, it makes you sweat out toxins. Garlic is another herb that is effective in stabilizing your fluctuating blood pressure when you work to quit smoking. So, add garlic and ginger to your regular cooking preparations when trying to shun the habit of smoking.

3. Vegetables

Vegetables are not only nutritious foods but also effective in making cigarettes taste worse when trying to quit smoking. Eating more vegetables is quite beneficial for your health, as it supplies you with a healthy dose of nutrients. So, no matter how much vegetables you eat when trying to quit smoking, it is bound to improve your health. The intake of vegetables helps reduce the appeal of smoking.

4. Ginseng Tea

Drinking ginseng tea is another healthy option that can support your efforts to quit smoking. Ginseng is effective in minimizing the effects of nicotine which help reduce the appeal of smoking, thereby making it easier to get rid of the unhealthy habit of smoking.

5. Water or Fruit Juice

The intake of plain water or fruit juice is an effective distracting option that helps you avoid cravings when you try to quit smoking. So, when you are struggling to get rid of cigarettes, drink ample water or have fruit juices. Both these fluids are beneficial for your health.

6. Beans

Often, quitting smoking is associated with excess weight gain. So, when you are working on getting rid of your smoking habit, you need to watch your diet. Replace cigarettes with food helps keep both the hands and mouth occupied. To beat the weight gain effect of quitting smoking, add fibre to your diet by opting for beans. Beans are rich in fibre, which helps you maintain a healthy weight after you quit cigarettes. Also, you may add other high-fibre foods, such as oatmeal, artichokes, raspberries, and broccoli, to your diet.

7. Mints and Gums

Mints and gums are effective options to beat the craving for nicotine when trying to quit smoking. You can keep chewing mint or gums till your craving dissipates. Chewing mint helps keep your mouth busy when you experience the urge to smoke.

8. Cinnamon Sticks

Another healthy option that can help you quit smoking is deeply inhaling or sucking cinnamon sticks. When you take a cinnamon stick near your nose and breathe in the air deeply, it mimics the deep drag on a cigarette. Also, sucking on cinnamon sticks offers you a pleasant taste with zero-calorie intake; and this helps you chew on and have it in your hands that keeps your mouth and hands engaged when you are struggling to quit smoking. The jolt of flavour that cinnamon stick offers helps smokers avoid smoking. Moreover, the intake of cinnamon helps increase brain activity, cleanses your blood, reduces anxiety, and minimizes memory loss.

9. Frozen Grapes

You may crave sweets after you quit smoking. And, eating foods that you crave can prevent you from reaching out for a cigarette. However, excess sweets, such as cookies, desserts, and cream, are not good for health and can cause excess weight gain. So, instead of relishing sweets, try eating frozen grapes. The sweetness of frozen grapes helps curb sugar cravings. You stay full for longer after eating grapes which prevents you from overeating other foods. So, add frozen grapes to your diet when trying to get away from the habit of smoking.

10. Nuts

Nuts are crunchy, nutritious foods that help you to manage anxiety when trying to quit smoking. Nuts provide you with a healthy dose of fibre and vitamin E which is beneficial for your health and weight management when getting away with smoking.

11. Whole Grains

High in manganese, iron, selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, and B vitamins, whole grains are nutritious options to count on when trying to quit smoking. They are a rich source of dietary fibre that can help curb your hunger and cravings and help you feel full for longer. Having a diet high in whole grains helps you avoid hypoglycaemia and have stable levels of blood glucose. Also, vitamin E and B complex vitamins in whole grains help you fight fatigue and depression. Fibre helps you have smooth bowel movements. So, enrich your diet with oats, quinoa, barley, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, corn, whole wheat, brown rice, and millet.

4 Foods to Avoid When Trying to Quit Smoking

Here’s a quick rundown of foods to avoid when trying to quit smoking.

1. Meat

It is found that eating meat made smoking taste better among smokers. So, when you are making efforts to quit smoking, cut down on meat. Reducing your intake of meat or avoiding it in your diet can help you cut down on cigarettes.

2. Alcohol

Alcohol is found to make smoking taste better among smokers. Reducing your intake of alcohol or avoiding it altogether can help you avoid smoking. Try to abstain from drinking alcohol in your first smoke-free month. This can help you avoid a relapse of smoking largely.

3. Caffeine

Caffeine and cigarettes go hand-in-hand. Often, people find it difficult to give up the cigarettes that they have with coffee. Many people pair coffee and smoking. Caffeine also makes cigarettes taste better. Also, coffee may trigger a strong craving for smoking. So, when trying to quit smoking, try to avoid coffee, tea, and caffeine in your diet. Minimizing or avoiding caffeine can help you stay away from cigarettes.

4. Low-Calorie Foods

Having a low-calorie diet or foods when trying to quit smoking can backfire. It can make you reach out for more cigarettes. Consulting certified dieticians and nutritionists can help you have healthy eating plans, such as the Mediterranean diet, that can help you manage weight, nourish you with essential nutrients, help you keep your weight in check and have a slimmer waistline while you quit smoking.

Choose Homeopathy for Quitting the Addiction to Smoking:

Homeopathy helps minimize your nicotine cravings and enables you to get rid of  your addiction to smoking. Homeopathic medicine for smoking addiction improves your willpower to quit smoking, reinforce your mindset and help minimize your urge to smoke. They also help you deal with withdrawal symptoms. Homeopathy also helps fix the psychological and emotional triggers and acts on the deepest levels safely to help you kick the habit of smoking. Caladium, Tabacum, and Nux Vomica are some of the many homeopathic medicines that can help you get rid of smoking. It is highly recommended to consult certified homeopaths to receive the right homeopathic medicine that suits your needs the best and not to self-medicate. So, get in touch with certified homeopaths like homeopathic experts at Health Total to receive a gentle, safe, and natural treatment to quit smoking.

So, if you are trying to quit smoking and wish to spread the word to smokers worldwide to get away with this harmful habit this No Smoking Day, adopt these dietary practices and homeopathy and tell other smokers about them. Consulting certified dieticians, nutritionists, and homeopaths, such as health experts at Health Total, can help you receive a customized diet plan and homeopathic treatment that support you to curb your cravings for cigarettes, managing your weight, improving your health with all nutrients, and boosts your immunity naturally. So, be quick, get in touch with us at Health total, and embark on your journey to quit smoking this No Smoking Day with our personalized diet plan.

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