I will not want to get into how hard it is to lessen or quit smoking, but I will talk about how I understand the world of pain you put yourself through. Your chest is tight, breathing compromised, legs and back are killing you, cold hands and feet, a lack of circulation all throughout, frequent eye and headaches, ear aches, shrunken and cramping muscles, over all poorer quality of health, lack of vitality and strength.
And also do not forget how it makes you stink, your hair oh man your hair and fingers, face especially the nostrils, mouth and mouth funnel. Besides tar build up in your only two lungs the digestive problems and eating issues will come up. You will get constipated often and experience loose stool every now and then. Your taste buds will change and you will want saltier, sweeter, greasier and more chemical food items. You dehydrate yourself very fast, and if you keep following up with liquids you will feel thirsty and then you suddenly have to burst. Basically it destroys every cell in your body and makes one more prone to depression. Your collagen and skin oils diminish and you will look more drab, grey, tired, dry and dull rather than glowing. Of course these processes of destruction speed up when paired with negative, depressing thoughts and an inactive lifestyle.
Whether you are planning to quit smoking or not please do consider to commit to better diet ideals. Food is medicine, the best medicine. All starts from your mindset and diet.
Raw fruits and vegetables mixed with fully and partially cooked ones and all of different varieties is the foundation of a really well-balanced diet. Eating healthier may be a little hard at first or after a while, but the more you do it the more detoxed you become and you and your body will realize that you like this! Healthy, fresh produce is delicious not boring, that is your narrow-minded smoker’s tongue talking.
Get more natural stuff in your diet, walk, run, stretch and lift a bit. You won’t have to spend so much money, tears and suffering on respiratory or cancer medication. The later you quit, the harder. Some long-time heavy, daily smokers get sick with emphysema 10-15 years after they quit!
You can make drinks or smoothies from powerful, high-antioxidant, antibacterial and nutritious produce such as citrus fruits, pineapple, ginger, spices, herbs and healthy oils. All very healthy with anti-inflammatory effects as well.
Here are some sweet and savory ideas!
Ginger and lemon spicy tea: get a big knob of ginger as much as your senses can handle, preferably older and more pungent. Peel ginger with a spoon and grate or simply slice, beat each slice lightly with a knife to open them up more. Lightly boil for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and add pure lemon juice with peel if you like. Add enough honey, cane sugar or stevia til it is balanced sweet enough, these healthy sugars will make a healthy kind of cough syrup. If the ginger is very spicy no need to add cayenne, but add half to 2 teaspoons if you like for more medicinal effects.
This next mix is savory, so that means you can gulp it down like a medicine or use it in medicinal cooking which is fun. But remember you need the benefit of the raw things in this concoction, so before you cook chicken with it…you must drink this marinade raw. It will clear your tar and reduce infection.
A 6-8” piece of ginger, add more if the ginger is not too spicy
5-7 tablespoons of turmeric, a superfood spice ideal for detox
A whole lot of finely chopped or grated raw garlic, like 10 heads worth. Not kidding. Surprise, it’s a garlic sauce kind of!
Adding a sugar is optional if you want a syrup, but with coconut oil is better!
Take 2 tablespoons of this rough marinade, the sting is good and worth it!
Now you can set aside some of the raw mixture as medicine and cook a healthy meal with the rest. Add salt, pepper and bay leaf.
