Enjoying the taste of life (after the taste of cigarettes)
by Sue Kira, Naturopath & Clinical Nutritionist
Client name and identifying information changed
Wayne was in a new relationship and his girlfriend said his smoking was a ‘deal breaker’ as she didn’t want to kiss an ashtray. He was quite nervous as he had tried to give up before and failed, but he knew he needed to do this for his health and his new love was the positive extra boost he needed to help his motivation.
I shared with Wayne everything I knew about the foods that would help and support him and foods that would make things worse.
I asked him to focus on foods rich in B3 and have salty snacks rather than sweet snacks, and to eat foods like bananas, sunflower seeds and avocado (good as a dip). These foods would help his body to release dopamine and serotonin to help calm his anxiety about giving up his ‘old friend’ (and are also rich in vitamin B3).
I recommended he remove things like processed foods, gluten and dairy from his diet to allow his body to detoxify, and I showed him that there were still heaps of yummy treats, that he could choose from that didn’t have nasty additives. The less chemicals he had in his body, the easier it would be for his body to clear the nicotine and the associated withdrawal side effects.
His new lady was very supportive and was fully made aware that he might be a bit cranky for a few days until he got over the worst of it. The extra B vitamins in some of the food choices made this easier; apparently his moods were not too bad. She made sure that they went to the beach and for bush walks and other places with fresh air, away from places where people smoked to make it easier for him.