Tips How to Quit Smoking
Smoking is one of the most common causes of different diseases these days and it is really of utmost importance for individuals and in fact, everyone to know the different harmful effects that it could bring to our body (CDC, 2011). As a quick overview about how quickly the health of a long-term smoking individual could deteriorate, here are some possible scenarios.
Harmful Effects of Smoking
First, your cardio pulmonary endurance will be greatly compromised and you will most likely get exhausted faster than a non-smoker. This is why if you are fond of playing sports, you really advised not to engage in smoking as a habit because it will really harm your performance. Also, according to past and recent studies conducted about smoking, it has been proven that smoking could be one of the possible causes of terminal illnesses such as lung cancers and cardiopulmonary disorders, especially the ones that target the heart and respiratory organs.
Now, how do you think this information could help motivate yourself to quit smoking? Simply, by internalizing the possible consequences of smoking such as the ones that were described above, you will be more motivated to quit smoking because normally, no one would want to suffer from the conditions that were just mentioned. Apart from the said conditions, there are still other disorders that are associated with smoking so if you want to avoid these things and take your health into consideration, you should be motivated to stop smoking as soon as possible.
Progress Gradually
This is rather a common advice for people who want to stop smoking. If you really want to avoid smoking, you should do it gradually. Quitting from any harmful habit will usually take months or even years if you r goal is to quit for good. Well, you can also smoke-deprive yourself overnight but this increases the likelihood that you will just go back to your old habits of smoking after a while.
You have to know that there is no easy and rocket-science way to quit smoking. You may discover that your perception about smoking changes from day to day but that shouldn’t inhibit an individual who really wants to quit. Bringing up the decision to quit actually has something to do with your attitude and lifestyle; changing these will most likely bring positive results (Quit, 2011).
A good start
As a start, you could do simple assessments about how you really want to change your life and quit smoking for good. Take into consideration your health before you smoke and your health now. You could also other types of assessments aside from these as long as you think they could help you make your way to quitting (Quit, 2011). It would really be a good idea to check out these things first before you devise out a more specific plan. Who knows? Perhaps you have to undergo certain medical procedures first before you can smoke-deprive your body.
What you could actually do is to start reducing the amount of sticks you consume per day. Say you currently smoke 20 cigarette sticks per day. All you have to do is to gradually decrease that amount. One important thing to know is that you should set personal goals here. So, from 20 sticks per day, you could reduce that to 19 or even 18 sticks per day until you reach a lower number. You are doing this because you want to avoid the so-called withdrawal syndrome wherein your body reacts once it gets deprived of the chemicals that you can find in a cigarette; one particular example is nicotine.
Withdrawal syndrome is the culprit behind unexplained trembling and other symptoms. This usually happens when you try to reduce your sticks consumed to zero all of a sudden without giving your body the chance to adjust to the changes. One last tip, you should try to seek help from your family members or even friends. Tell them to remind and guide you to reach your goal. Relying on others often proves to be more effective than relying solely on your strength. Yes, you know how the mechanism of smoking works in your body and how it hinders you from smoking, but you will still need a lot of emotional support along the process. Combine these two together and you will soon be able to see some improvements in your anti-smoking habits. You should also try not to make excuses in smoking because it will only bring you back to your cigarettes’ arms (Quit, 2011).
Importance of Vitamin D for Babies
According to a recent post in HSE (2011), a baby needs approximately 5 micrograms of Vitamin D per day. A lack of vitamin D will surely get the body’s daily Vitamin D requirement compromised and you really wouldn’t want that for a baby because most of their nutrition requirement is needed for their growth.
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin for the body simply because it works with the mineral called calcium in maintaining a healthy and strong set of bones and teeth. Calcium is the primary component of most bones in the body, especially the long bones of the arms and thighs, while Vitamin D mostly acts in the synthesis of Calcium. Without enough Vitamin D in the body, a baby’s body may suffer from poor bone development which could lead to weak and soft bones in the future. More complex disorders such as rickets and osteopenia may also come as a result of long-term Vitamin D Deficiency. Cases of Vitamin Deficiency in Ireland and other parts of Europe are not uncommon are treated using a lot of ways and alternatives.
Ways of Obtaining Vitamin D
In your baby’s case, you need Vitamin D to help him or her develop strong bones which he would need later when he grows up and is already ambulating. However, you have to take note that babies’ skin is sensitive to the sun and they could easily get rashes and worse, burned. We know for a fact that one of the best natural sources of Vitamin D is exposure to the sun and it usually takes a couple of minutes before your skin could absorb enough sunlight and convert it to Vitamin D. However, since babies’ skin is quite sensitive, it is really not recommended for you to put them under the sun for prolonged periods.
This is one of the primary reasons why taking Vitamin D aside from using the sun as the source is recommended. Besides, your baby is in a stage where he is required to develop stronger bones, thus, making the demand for substances such as Vitamin D much higher.
If you are kind of worried about the risks it may impose to your baby, don’t be because all you have to do is to follow the prescription of your baby’s pediatrician to ensure normal responses with no adverse effects. You really have to take this important reminder with you because Vitamin D, although useful for the body, could be harmful when given in very high dosages. Make sure that you only give around 5 micrograms to your baby.
If you are uncertain where you could find Vitamin D products for you or your baby, you could easily find a lot in the market because it is not really prohibited to take it. This vitamin is also present in different food supplements you could find in drugstores.
Taking food supplements would really be better because you tend not to forget about the fact that your baby’s body not only needs Vitamin D but other vitamins as well. Other substances such as Vitamin B complex, Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Vitamin E are also essential for your baby’s growth and development.
References
CDC. (2011). How To Quit Smoking. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed January 2011. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/quit_smoking/how_to_quit/index.htm.
Quit. (2011). Making Excuses to Smoke. Accessed January 2011. Available at http://www.quit.ie/en/inner/making_excuses_to_smoke.
HSE. (2011). Vitamin D and Your Baby. Public Information. Accesed January 2011. Available at http://hse.ie/eng/services/healthpromotion/Vitamin_D_and_your_baby/.
Quit. (2011). How do I quit. Quit. Accessed January 2011. Available at http://www.quit.ie/en/how_do_i_quit.
Quit. (2011). Help Me Quit Smoking. Accessed January 2011. Available at http://www.quit.ie/en/help_me_quit.
