Quit Smoking Today and enjoy a healthy heart life

This World Heart Day, we bring you a series of articles with various activities to include in your daily life to enjoy healthy heart and a long life.

-          By Medicine Team

Pledging together for a healthy heart and life on the onset of World Heart Day 2017, the team of medical experts at Park Group of Hospitals brings you a series of activities and changes to your lifestyle to be incorporated.

Is quitting smoking tough for you?

We all know somewhere down the mind that smoking is harmful to our body, but we are not ready to quit it or we say are not able to quit it due to peer pressure or other reasons. Smoking not only affects our lungs but also increases the chances of heart attacks and strokes. We understand it is not easy mentally and behaviorally to quit smoking, however the team of Medicine Doctors at Park Hospital brings you best ways to quit smoking.

The main constitute of a cigarette is tobacco that contains nicotine. This tobaccos nicotine causes adrenaline to rush in bloodstream and also triggers neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are the brain’s happy chemical which stimulates the pleasure part of the brain and once our body gets used to it, quitting smoking becomes almost impossible.

Info graphic by World Heart Foundation

To quit smoking, it is inevitable to get rid of nicotine addiction:

• Chewing gums are considered to be best if you are willing to quit smoking. Whenever you feel like lighting a cigarette, chew a gum to divert yourself.
• It is rightly said, “Where there is will, there is a way.” Get yourself focus on quitting smoking and half the work is done. J
• Consume more fluids specially water for first week to flush out existing nicotine in your body.
• Exercise and working out is helps you overcome the craving for smoking.
• At times, when you feel the need to smoke initially look for distractions like walking.
• If you smoke to kill your time, switch to mobile games or internet surfing.
• If you are a chain smoker, reduce your number of cigarettes slowly and gradually calling it a quit.
• Maintain a record of positive effects of quitting smoking on your body and mind to be proud of yourself.

Post quitting, watch out for:

Health Benefits after you quit smoking

• Diet: When you quit smoking, you might notice an increase in your appetite as there is a substantial change in blood sugar level. There will be food cravings, however, your metabolism might have also reduced, and thus, you need to be careful with your diet.
• Cough: Quitting smoking might ignite cough but the same would reduce gradually.
• Uneasiness: Initially there will be some uneasiness due to sudden lack of nicotine intake and you might feel uncomfortable. Take control and charge of your body and try to distract yourself from the idea of smoking.