How to Remove Nicotine From the Body

Author
by JERRY SHAW 

It can take nicotine 48 to 72 hours or more to leave the body after quitting smoking. That might not be fast enough for people who want to stay off cigarettes. The nicotine left in your bloodstream will be there to cause cravings till you feed your body with more nicotine. If you are still smoking, forget about trying to rid your body of nicotine. The more cigarettes you smoke, the more nicotine you take into the body. If you really want to get rid of nicotine, quit smoking first. Then go on to methods that will help free your body of nicotine and speed up the recovery process.

Step 1

Quit smoking cold turkey. Nicotine therapies may help you deal with the emotional side of giving up smoking. If you want nicotine out of your system now, slow or step-by-step methods will still have your body craving nicotine.

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Step 2

Drink lots of water, advises nicotinefree.org. It can help the body flush nicotine and other chemicals out of your system.

Step 3

Exercise to help speed up the body's metabolism rate, burning up the nicotine. Flush out the nicotine through your sweat. Heavy smokers might want to take it easy, depending on how out of shape they are. Take brisk walks if you haven't been active for a while.

Step 4

Take plenty of vitamin C and drink orange juice throughout the day. This also helps the metabolism rate, according to tipsonstoppingsmoking.net. Treat yourself to lots of strawberries, which are loaded with vitamin C.

Step 5

Do deep breathing exercises, especially if you get any urges to smoke. Sit quietly, close your mouth and inhale through the nose slowly, then slowly exhale. Feel your stomach as it rises and falls. Do this for a couple of minutes several times throughout the day.

Step 6

Avoid alcohol, sugar and coffee, which can trigger cravings for nicotine.

Step 7

Replace cigarettes with oral substitutes such as chewing gum, cinnamon sticks, hard candy or just a toothpick.

Step 8

Surround yourself with people who don't smoke, so you can continue using your no-nicotine efforts with success.

Tips

• When the nicotine is out of your system and you feel like a genuine ex-smoker, don't let your guard down. With the physical withdrawals behind you, beware of emotional sneak attacks that might make you want to grab for a cigarette during stressful situations.

For further information log on website :
http://www.livestrong.com/article/29032-remove-nicotine-body/

How Soon After You Quit Smoking Can You Start to Exercise?

Author
by KAY UZOMA 

Cigarette smoking is one of the most difficult habits to break due to the highly addictive nature of nicotine. Nicotine, carbon dioxide and other toxic chemicals in cigarette smoke take a toll on your health. They reduce lung and heart function, which undermines cardiovascular fitness and exercise endurance. Exercise can help to repair some of the damage caused by cigarette smoking -- and you don’t have to wait until you quit to get started.

Smoking Causes Shortness of Breath

When you smoke, you become breathless more quickly during physical activity. Cigarette smoking is one of the leading risk factors for cardiovascular problems. For instance, it elevates blood pressure and narrows blood vessels that transport oxygen. Smoking also destroys parts of the lung, including the alveoli, that help your body absorb oxygen and reduces oxygen capacity of your lungs. Over time, you’ll notice it’s difficult to walk just a few blocks or take a flight of stairs. These aren’t symptoms of aging; they’re the harmful side effects of smoking.

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Improve Your Health Through Exercise

You don’t have to wait until you’ve puffed that last cigarette to start exercising. In fact, you shouldn’t. Exercise might have a protective effect and reduce some of the damage caused by smoking. Also, exercise can be an invaluable part of your plan to quit smoking. It helps you to relax, which can curb cravings. It can also distract you from those cravings when they arise. However, if you do wait to quit, you’ll notice fast improvements in your fitness levels after just a few days of exercise.

Smoking Isn't Always the Cause of Breathlessness

If you quit smoking a while ago and are just starting an exercise program, you cannot blame breathlessness or lack of endurance during exercise on smoking solely. After just three to five days of quitting, blood cells regain their normal ability to transport oxygen to your heart and muscles. Those symptoms are most likely due to a lack of fitness in general.

Get Moving

Before you begin exercising, go for a physical exam. Once your doctor gives you the green light to start, do so slowly. Regular, moderate-intensity exercise should be your starting point, not occasional vigorous-intensity exercises. For instance, walk for 10 to 20 minutes three to four days a week. As your fitness improves, increase the duration and intensity of your exercise sessions on a weekly basis. With regular exercise, you’ll feel better and reduce your risk of a relapse.

For further information log on website :
http://www.livestrong.com/article/422476-how-soon-after-you-quit-smoking-can-you-start-to-exercise/

Ways to Fix Your Lungs After Smoking

Author
by KWABENA STEFAN 

Smoking damages the lungs by putting excess stress on your cilia, the fibers which clean out your lungs. The carcinogens in smoke can overwhelm your cilia, causing permanent lung damage. Smoking can cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder and emphysema among other diseases. Though some of the damage may be irreversible, you can help improve lung function after long-term smoking.

Step 1

Eat a handful of cranberries daily. According to a study by researchers at the University of Scranton, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry in 2008, cranberries are an excellent source of high quality antioxidants. Smoking leaves your lungs vulnerable to infection because of the added strain on the cilia to remove carcinogens. Antioxidants help to stave off infections.

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Step 2

Drink a mug of ginger tea daily. Smoking causes inflammation of the airways within the lungs. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, ginger is an effective anti-inflammatory spice that has been used by many health care professionals.

Step 3

Maintain a healthful diet full of vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables. Malnutrition inhibits the body's ability to clear up secondary infections. Smoking compromises your lungs' ability to clean themselves, leaving them open to infection. According to the USDA, you should eat a minimum of two to four servings of fruit and three to five servings of vegetables daily.

Step 4

Breathe fresh air as much as possible. Go outside to the park and take long, deep breaths.

Step 5

Stay away from lung irritants as much as possible. These irritants include cleaning chemicals, mold, ragweed, pollen, dirt and smoke.

For further information log on website ;
http://www.livestrong.com/article/211739-ways-to-fix-your-lungs-after-smoking/

How to Increase Lung Capacity After Smoking

Author
by JAN SHEEHAN 

Smoking can damage the lungs and affect lung capacity, making it difficult to breathe. The lungs contain tiny air sacs called alveoli where oxygen is transferred from inhaled air to the blood, according to the Cleveland Clinic. When these air sacs are damaged by smoking, the lungs and heart must work harder to take in oxygen, which can lead to shortness of breath, says Norman Edelman, M.D., chief medical officer for the American Lung Association. But there are ways to help heal your lungs and increase lung capacity after smoking.

Steps

Step 1

Do cardiovascular exercise. Run, speed walk, ride a bicycle or work out on fitness equipment, such as a stair climber or rowing machine, several times a week. "Aerobic exercise is the best thing you can do to heal the lungs after giving up smoking," Edelman says. Moving the large muscles of the body increases the demand for oxygen and expands the lungs ability to take in more air. This will help keep the respiratory system strong and may eventually increase lung capacity, according to Edelman.

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Step 2

Add swimming to your workout mix. Swimming uses more muscles and requires greater lung capacity than any other type of cardiovascular exercise, according to Alice Burron, an exercise physiologist in Cheyenne, Wyoming and spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise. "The lung capacity of swimmers in peak condition can be three times that of the average person," Burron notes. Try to swim laps at least once a week to give your lungs a good workout, Burron recommends.

Step 3

Eat apples. In a British study of 2,500 men published in the journal "Thorax," regular consumption of apples was associated with increased lung capacity. The men who ate five or more apples per week had the greatest lung capacity. Edelmen says that other studies suggest eating apples may reduce your risk of lung cancer and improve your resistance to respiratory infections.

Step 4

Try yoga. The focused breathing required to practice yoga may help increase lung capacity. Yoga exercises the diaphragm muscles that expand the lungs during breathing and allow more air to be inhaled into the lungs. "More air in the lungs may eventually stretch the lungs and increase lung capacity," Burron says. If yoga isn't your cup of tea, Burron adds that simply doing deep breathing exercises can also improve the health of your respiratory system and may increase lung capacity.

Step 5

Take up a musical wind instrument. Playing a wind or brass instrument is a good way to exercise the lungs, which may improve lung capacity, Edelman says. The best musical instruments for increasing lung capacity? Edelman recommends a clarinet, flute, oboe, tuba, trumpet or trombone. Singing may also be helpful.

Step 6

Be patient. Increasing lung capacity after smoking takes time. Edelman says that it won't happen overnight no matter what you do. According to the American Lung Association, it takes two weeks to three months for lung function to begin to improve after giving up smoking and up to nine months for shortness of breath to decrease. But regular exercise, a healthy diet and continued smoking cessation will help improve the health of your lungs and increase lung capacity over time.

Warnings

• Consult your doctor before starting a strenuous exercise program, especially if you've been a long-term smoker. Poor lung function due to smoking transfers more of the burden of exercise to the heart, according to the Cleveland Clinic. This could lead to heart failure.
• If you have hoarseness, frequent coughing or shortness of breath, it's important to see your doctor to be checked out for lung cancer and emphysema, Edelman warns. Delayed diagnosis of either disease can negatively affect the success of treatment.

Tips

• To keep your lungs healthy, stay away from smoke-filled environments. "Breathing secondhand smoke damages the air sacs in the lungs, increasing the risk of lung illnesses and diminished lung capacity, Edelman says.
• Exercise may help you resist the urge to start smoking again, in addition to helping to increase lung capacity. Some research suggests that regular aerobic exercise reduces nicotine cravings, Edelman says. Exercise will also help stave off weight gain after giving up smoking.

Things You'll Need

• Workout clothes
• Bathing suit
• Yoga mat
• Apples
• Gym membership (optional)
• Bicycle (optional)

For further information log on website :
http://www.livestrong.com/article/217724-how-to-increase-lung-capacity-after-smoking/