Perhaps the biggest fear of those that quit smoking is that they might gain weight. But the hardest thing is the quitting process: it requires on average three to four attempts. But paying attention to what and when you eat could help you maintain the line. The withdrawal symptoms, including irritability, low moods, insomnia and weight gain, can be bypassed with the right alimentation. Irritability is most severe around mid-morning on the first few days after quitting, when a powerful craving for nicotine adds to reduced blood sugar. Many smokers usually skip breakfast, aggravating the low blood sugar, thats why the quitter must make an effort to eat small and regular snacks of slowly released sugars, like a small slice of multigrain bread or a bowl of whole-grain cereal. Every few hours during the first few days of quitting, the quitters should have some slowly digested, low-GI snacks at hand, to maintain blood sugar levels during the morning. Dried apricots, apples, pears, low-fat yoghurts, oatcakes are ideal in this case, as they also have a calming effect. Ideal sugary foods could slightly boost the feel-good brain transmitter serotonin, a crucial detail as about 50 % of all smokers are predisposed to depression. Foods like turkey, chicken, pork, pinto beans and red kidney beans, peanuts, mackerel and sardines are also efficient in these cases, as they are rich in tryptophan, an amino acid necessary for serotonin.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 13:51:01 +0000
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