Tips for Quitting Smoking: Foods That Help and Foods to Avoid

2024-01-02 12:55:22

Foods that make cigarettes taste good are caffeine, alcohol, and meat…Foods that make cigarettes taste bad are fruits and vegetables, non-caffeinated drinks, and dairy products.

Entered 2024.01.02 21:55 Views 298 Entered 2024.01.02 21:55 Modified 2024.01.02 20:57 Views 298

When you decide to quit smoking, there are foods that are helpful and foods you should avoid. Foods that are helpful to eat while quitting smoking include milk, fruits and vegetables, and popcorn. [사진=게티이미지뱅크]One of the resolutions that many people make as they welcome the new year is to quit smoking. Every year I resolve to give up this harmful habit, but it never seems easy to stick to it as it appears on the list every time.

When trying to quit smoking, what you eat can also affect your success. Some foods increase your chances of successfully quitting smoking, but some foods actually make it more difficult to quit. Let’s find out what foods are helpful and foods to avoid when you decide to quit smoking, as introduced by Everydayhealth, an American health information media outlet.

Foods that help you quit smoking

△ Milk If you want to smoke while quitting smoking, try drinking a glass of milk instead of a cigarette. A study published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research surveyed 209 smokers to see which foods made cigarettes taste better or worse. As a result, dairy products ranked first on the list of foods that made cigarettes taste worse. However, this result only applied to cigarettes, not menthol.

△ Fruits and vegetables Another study published in the same journal found that smokers tended to eat less fruit and vegetables than non-smokers. A study analyzing 1,000 smokers found that the group that ate the most fruits and vegetables was three times more likely to have quit smoking for more than 30 days compared to the group that ate the least. In the aforementioned study, fruits and vegetables, along with dairy products, were also found to make cigarettes taste bad.

According to the Mayo Clinic, chewing a raw carrot or crunchy snack when you want to smoke can help. Likewise, the National Cancer Institute says chewing pickles, apples, and celery can help stop the psychological urge to smoke.

△ Popcorn and other snacks When I quit smoking, I always have a dry mouth. To prevent the urge to smoke, eat popcorn when you feel like putting something in your mouth. Low-calorie popcorn can replace cigarettes and satisfy your thirst for salty taste to some extent while keeping your hands and mouth busy. The Mayo Clinic says eating sunflower seeds, sugar-free gum, and hard candy can also help you quit smoking.

△ Legumes When you quit smoking, you often gain weight, so you need to pay attention to your diet. This is because instead of being unable to smoke, you keep putting something in your mouth. This may be because we have become accustomed to nicotine, which suppresses our appetite. For this reason, people often weigh slightly less when they smoke than when they quit smoking. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), quitting nicotine may cause withdrawal symptoms such as temporary increased appetite and weight gain.

If you’re worried regarding gaining weight, try adding fiber-rich beans to your diet. According to the results of a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, people who changed their diet by increasing their fiber intake lost nearly a pound (regarding 2.3 kg) over a month. This may be a diet that helps you maintain your weight following quitting smoking.

△ Eat your favorite food in moderation When you quit smoking, the taste and texture of food becomes much better. While quitting smoking, why not take the time to savor the foods you enjoyed before smoking? Enjoy your food and feel your senses come back to life. It can bring a little joy to the difficult journey of quitting smoking.

Among the resolutions that many people make as they welcome the new year, isn’t quitting smoking one of the most common resolutions every year? [사진=게티이미지뱅크]Foods to avoid when quitting smoking

△ Coffee Many people enjoy smoking while drinking coffee. This is related to the tendency to smoke when engaging in certain behaviors. In the aforementioned study, beverages containing caffeine were also cited as a factor in making cigarettes taste better. Therefore, when trying to quit smoking, it is a good idea to drink tea instead of coffee for 1 to 2 weeks to break the connection between the two behaviors.

△ Alcohol People usually smoke more when they drink alcohol. And the more this happens, the more the pattern becomes stronger, and lighting a cigarette when drinking becomes an almost automatic behavior. Alcohol was also cited as a factor that makes cigarettes taste better. Therefore, it is a good idea to try to quit drinking during the first month of quitting smoking. If you drink a lot of alcohol, your judgment becomes clouded and you are more likely to smoke.

△ Meat Like coffee and alcohol, meat was listed as a food that makes cigarettes taste better.

△ Spicy and sweet foods According to the American Cancer Society, it is best to avoid spicy and sweet foods when trying to quit smoking. This is because eating these foods tends to make the desire to smoke stronger.

Manage side effects by drinking water, taking warm showers, and exercising.

According to the British daily newspaper ‘The Mirror’, common side effects when quitting smoking include mood changes, coughing with phlegm, and sleep disorders. Understanding and preparing for these side effects can increase your chances of success.

The most common side effect is cough. Because it is usually accompanied by phlegm, the chest feels stuffy. In these cases, it is recommended to drink plenty of water, shower with warm water to loosen mucus in the respiratory tract, and reduce throat irritation with honey.

Additionally, if you are having trouble sleeping while quitting smoking, reduce caffeine, create a comfortable atmosphere by taking a bath or reading a calm book before going to bed, and stick to a certain bedtime so that your body can naturally enter rest mode at that time.

And if you suffer from shortness of breath, exercising to improve lung health can be helpful. Low-impact aerobic exercise such as brisk walking or swimming is also good, as is weight lifting and pilates that strengthen muscles. It is also beneficial to relieve anxiety symptoms through yoga, deep breathing, and mindfulness meditation.

Reporter Ji Hae-mi

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