1/10/2013

Health Benefits of Tea Drinking



Can drinking tea actually help you quit smoking? In this article I'm going to have a critical look at the assertion that drinking tea can help with quitting the deadly habit of smoking tobacco. I'm aware that tea, especially green tea, has been shown to contain anti-oxidants. Oxidants are chemicals formed in the body due to a variety of reasons. Smoking is one reason why these chemicals are created. These chemicals are important because they react with cellular components causing cell damage. In turn this results in genetic damage and genetic damage is a step towards cancer. The anti-oxidants in green tea have been scientifically shown to mop up oxidants. Therefore, green tea can possibly help combat the carcinogenic effects of tobacco smoke to some degree.



The Claims of Tea Drinking



Teas to help stop smoking? Are there any ingredients in tea that are of help in quitting smoking? There is no doubt that tea contains chemicals that can influence the body in a number of ways. However, is there any sound scientific evidence that supports the claim that tea drinking helps, in any way, to quit smoking? There are teas that can act as an expectorant; that is, they help to clear the chest of phlegm. Exponents advocate that drinking tea can relieve anxiety and reduce stress, detoxify the body, renew and improve lung function and suppress appetite. It is claimed that peppermint tea helps to alleviate withdrawal symptoms such as nausea and supposedly helps curb nicotine cravings. It is also claimed that drinking green tea can help to burn calories thus counteracting weight gain which is often a problem during the initial phase of the quit smoking process.



Teas to Help Stop Smoking- The reality



The scientific evidence for green tea having anti-oxidant properties is convincing. Therefore, green tea may actually help to reduce the risk of smoking related cancer. The worry of course is that the anti-oxidant properties of green tea may discourage smokers from quitting. The anti-cancer benefits are relative and don't equate to returning the smoker to the lung cancer risk of the non-smoker. Evidence in support of drinking tea to help reduce nicotine cravings is less conclusive. I suspect that many of the claims for tea drinking, as a quit smoking aid, are scientifically unsupported. As with many so called 'natural' products that are put forward to help stop smoking the benefits are perceived rather than real. They act as a psychological crutch. However, this psychological aspect of the quitting process should not be underestimated. If someone honestly thinks that it helps, then it probably does.



In the final analysis, I am of the opinion that the claim that drinking tea to help stop smoking is overstated. There is no doubt that green tea is a health tonic. However, as a quit smoking aid, apart from providing psychological support, there are no real benefits.



To learn proven and tested ways to quit smoking go to tipstohelpstopsmoking.com
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1/09/2013

Most smokers who stop smoking before reaching the age of maturity would live another 15 years compared to those who stay on the habit. These ex-smokers enjoy a life that is far from fatal diseases and generally live quality lives with their family. For so many years, studies have been done to prove the benefits of getting rid of smoking and what positive effects it can bring to an ex-smoker and the people around him.



Quitting smoking has both immediate and major health benefits for men and women, whatever age they may be. These benefits could be for those who have already contacted smoking-related illnesses and those who luckily haven't acquired any. A very important fact is that when you stop smoking, you dramatically cut down your risk of having lung cancer, heart attacks, stroke, and chronic lung diseases. Women who stop smoking before getting pregnant have been able to deliver much healthier babies compared to the lower birth-weight babies born by smoking mothers.



Aside from immediate positive effects of quitting smoking, there are still similar changes that happen over time. It is said that for just 12 hours after quitting, the level of carbon monoxide in the body goes back to normal. As we all know, carbon monoxide is a poisonous compound and cutting down its level in our bloodstream can be healthy for an individual. At two weeks to three months after a smoker quits, circulation is improved and the lungs function more efficiently. For up to nine months of ceasing to smoke, the shortness of breath experienced during the time of active smoking is decreased; the ability of the lungs to handle mucus is improved and the risk of infection is greatly reduced.



After a year of successfully avoiding the smoke, the excess risk of heart diseases is halved compared to that of a smoker's. Five years into the process, the possibility of having a stroke is also reduced until the succeeding years. For winning the battle against smoking for ten years, the lung cancer death rate is 50% lower that of a continuing smoker. Chances of having other cancers that can be caused by smoking like throat, mouth, and esophagus are also decreased. For a monumental 15 years of not smoking, the likelihood of having heart disease is now the same to that of a healthy, non-smoker individual!



If only a smoker would stop smoking and realize all these benefits that he could get, whatever discomforts that will be brought about by quitting won't be enough to discourage him from getting rid of this bad habit. As they say, if you have the strength and the will to stop, then it is an achievable goal.
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Quitting smoking benefits are endless. The  top 5 benefits in my opinion are included in this article. I do want to let you know that these benefits by themselves will not help you quit smoking, but hopefully they will provide you with the motivation that you need to butt out for good.



Benefit #1: 90% of lung cancer sufferers are smokers. Most smokers once they are diagnosed quit smoking immediately, which proves that quitting smoking is possible. Within 10 years of quitting  smoking, the risk of lung cancer is cut in half.



Benefit #2: The majority of smokers tend to have high blood pressure. When you stop smoking, your blood pressure will come down on its own.  Having high blood pressure makes your heart work harder and can result in heart disease.



Benefit #3: Smokers on average die approximately 10 years sooner than non-smokers. The sooner that you quit smoking, the sooner the risks associated with smoking begin to diminish.



Benefit #4: Smoking for years, as I'm sure you know, causes you to have an almost debilitating cough. 3 -12 months after you quit smoking that cough should be completely gone.



Benefit #5: The last of the top 5 benefits of quitting smoking is that not only can you smell things better, but you will also smell better yourself. This may seem to be a minor benefit, but how many times have you gone somewhere and been self conscious about the fact that you smell like a cigarette?



There are many many more benefits to be had by quitting smoking and these are just the top 5 in my opinion. Quitting smoking is difficult and it may take a few attempts to be successful, but the most important thing is to keep trying until you are successful. Don't get discouraged if you aren't successful the first or even the second time.
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The first 24 hours after you decide to quit smoking are the most difficult however provided you have planned for it you will have had in place all the support and actions that are required to help you to succeed.



This is the beginning of a new life where you will become healthier and be able to achieve more without the need for a crutch to get you through the day. It is a path to freedom and all the other benefits that come with quitting smoking including more disposable income.



You need to believe that you will quit because your belief will be the cornerstone of your success.



If you created some affirmations in your quit smoking planning then now is the time to make use of them and maintain a positive attitude.



You won't need to worry about picking up a cigarette because there shouldn't be any available for you. Hopefully there will not be anyone else in your household who is still smoking as that makes matters a little bit more difficult but even if that is the situation you can succeed because you will realize all the benefits that your actions will bring to you.



You will most likely get cravings for a smoke but you need to understand that cravings are always only a very short term feeling that will go away within minutes.



Don't be inclined to have a cigarette to get rid of the craving as simply waiting for a few minutes and focusing on something other than cigarettes will have the exact same effect - The cravings will go away.



Soon after you quit the cravings will be at their most frequent. As each day passes the cravings will become less frequent and they will also become less and less intense so once you get through the first day you can be happy in the knowledge that life will become easier.



In those first 24 hours it might seem like you are getting bombarded with cravings for a smoke - one after the other. The more activities you have arranged and the better you have managed your planning whereby there is less chance of any emotional stumbling blocks the easier you will find those first hours.



However the health benefits of quiting smoking are very exciting. In the first day the amount of oxygen in your blood radically goes up and your energy will too. The only problem tends to be the cravings that hang over you like a shadow on your day.



Get through this early part of the quitting smoking process and you will be in great shape to quit the tobacco for good
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1/08/2013

So you've decided to kick the habit? Excellent choice. Quitting is extremely difficult, but with a positive attitude you will be able to succeed. One thing to keep telling yourself is how much your health will improve after quitting, even in the first few hours. Here is a short list of some of the positive things that happen to your body within the first year of giving up cigarettes.



1. Twenty minutes after taking that last puff, your blood pressure and heart rate return to normal. The body temperature of your extremities also returns to normal.



2. After eight hours, the level of carbon monoxide in your system decreases to normal levels while oxygen increases back to normal.



3. After twenty-four hours, your chance of a sudden heart attack decreases.



4. After two days, nerve endings throughout the body begin to heal and regrow. Some amount of smell and taste begin to return.



5. Between two weeks and three months, your circulation will begin to improve and your lung function begins to get better as your lungs begin to heal the damage.



6. Between one and nine months, coughing and shortness of breath will decrease dramatically. You will find it is easier to breath because of less sinus congestion and notice that most of your senses are returning to normal.



7. After twelve months, your chance for heart disease is decreased to about half of that of a smoker. Lungs continue to heal and breathing becomes alot easier.



Now this is just the benefits after one year. Your health will continue to improve as your body naturally heals itself. Many people will gain weight during this time period, so they offset it with more exercise which of course is always good for you anyway.



Stay strong mentally and you should be able to give up the habit of smoking. Make your own list of ways in which your health has improved, and put it some place where you are constantly reminded of the benefits.
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The benefits of quitting smoking cigarettes are many and all good. From improved health, to feeling better, to more money in your pocket there are so many great benefits you will realize from quitting smoking. Realizing this pretty much makes it a no brainer to stop smoking.



But how will you do it? After all quitting is hard, right? It is nearly impossible to break the powerful addiction to nicotine, correct? No and no. The truth is that quitting can be easier than you ever imagined once you know just how to go about doing it. Once you learn the secret to no longer smoke you can start enjoying the benefits of quitting smoking cigarettes today.



So many smoking cessation products focus on helping you to get over the physical addiction to nicotine. They will have you believe that in order to stop smoking you have to beat the physical dependence on nicotine. Unfortunately people who use products like the patch or smoking cessation medications do not enjoy a very high success rate or it takes them several attempts to finally stop smoking. And in many cases the results do not last very long and they start smoking again.



The problem is that most smoking cessation aids do not focus on the strongest addiction that smoking causes. I am referring to the psychological addiction to smoking that develops in smokers who have smoked for any period of time.



You see smoking becomes a way of life; a habit that works itself into the subconscious of smokers. They relate smoking to just about anything they do or feel. This creates a psychological addiction that goes well beyond the physical addiction to nicotine. The mental addiction is what causes people to experience cravings to smoke long after they have gotten over their physical dependence to nicotine.



And so here is the secret to quit smoking: remove the psychological addiction to smoking and quitting smoking becomes easy. You see once your subconscious desire to smoke is gone then you no longer experience cravings to smoke. The good news is that it is actually easy to remove the subconscious desire to smoke.



There is a smoking cessation technique that focuses on removing the psychological addiction to smoking just by listening to an audio recording. The recording it uses is specially formatted with NLP hypnotherapy suggestions. NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming. It is a modern form of hypnotherapy that works wonders removing the cravings to smoke from the subconscious mind.



The benefits of quitting smoking cigarettes are gained by simply listening to this specially formatted NLP recording. It could not be easier to quit smoking than through this revolutionary new technique, and the key lies in the fact that it targets and removes the subconscious desire to smoke.
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There are many quit smoking benefits - and obviously health benefits are the main reason why most people want to quit smoking. Secondly, money plays a part in quitting smoking and the benefit to the average smoker is in excess of $1500 per year, so that is a good financial quit smoking benefit!



Thirdly, the way you and your clothes and your car and your house smell after you have stopped smoking are more good quit smoking benefit. For non- or ex-smokers, tobacco is a very pervasive and disagreeable odour.



Your appearance will also improve as your skin will have a better pallor to it and your teeth can be cleaned a little better without the incessant wash of smoke over them.



But lets get back to the health benefits. It will obviously vary from person to person, but every smoker can enjoy a several benefits from quitting smoking.



1) Within 20 minutes of a cigarette, blood pressure and heart rate decline to 'normal'.



2) Within 8 hours, or a nights sleep, nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in the blood are down by at least a half.



3) Within 2 days, carbon monoxide and nicotine will be virtually non-existent in the blood. Your lungs will start the process of cleaning themselves and your taste and smell will start to improve. However, whilst these are good quit smoking benefits, it is at around this time that the withdrawal symptoms will be at their worst.



It is not uncommon for a sore throat, coughing, irritability, constipation and sleeplessness to set in at this point of quitting tobacco. These are common side effects of quitting smoking.



4) Over the coming few months, breathing will become easier and energy levels will increase. The blood's oxygen carrying capacity is back to 100% and the circulation of the body will have already improved.



5) By the end of the first year, lung function can improve by up to 10%, and wheeziness could become a thing of the past.



6) Ten years after quitting smoking, the ex-smoker benefits from a halved risk of lung cancer and a normal risk of heart attack.



Other quit smoking benefits include confidence, fitness and energy levels being better along with a much improve complexion and more youthful skin. Fertility in both men and women improves and the chance of pregnancy complications is much reduced.



One of the biggest quit smoking benefits can be found in families; infants have a much higher chance of still birth, premature birth or even cot death (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS). Children of smokers have higher chances of asthma, pneumonia and chest and ear infections during childhood and are much more likely to become smokers themselves.



Quit smoking benefits are numerous, the disadvantages of quitting smoking are non-existent!
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