Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Vitamin C for Smokers




A daily supplement of vitamin C helps limit the oxidative stress inflicted by smoking. In the US one person in five is a smoker, in Europe it is one in three, while Lebanon figure is one in two. Due to the toxins contained in cigarettes, the oxidative stress (causes cancers but also premature skin aging and hair thinning) levels on smokers are significantly higher than in non-smokers.

In smokers, healthy antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, are quickly depleted. A study published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine (Vol. 40) reveals that taking 500mg of vitamin C twice per day helped maintain healthy levels of this vitamin and also helped protect the vitamin E that is usually destroyed in large quantities by the cigarettes toxins.

The lead research of the study, Richard Bruno noted that it took about two weeks of vitamin C supplementation to observe the benefits.

Another study published in the American Journal of Public Health (Vol. 79)* reveals that smokers eat generally less food rich in vitamins than the non-smokers. In other words, they have an already low amount of the needed vitamins to start with, and through smoking they burn it away. 

As long as you smoke you cannot afford not supplementing with vitamin C.  

In which foods do I find vitamin C?




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