Most people are concerned about unwanted weight gain after they quit smoking, but certain modifications to your diet can help reduce nicotine cravings in addition to preventing weight gain. Your diet and other lifestyle factors can also help prevent you from relapsing and smoking again. Before you make any significant dietary changes, consult your doctor and a registered dietitian.
Function
Nicotine addiction occurs in both a physical and psychological sense, because the substance affects your brain chemicals, MayoClinic.com explains. Nicotine tends to stimulate the pleasure sensors in your brain, which in turn can cause the opposite effect when you stop smoking or using nicotine products. When you stop using tobacco products, you're depriving your body of nicotine, which can cause withdrawal symptoms like headaches, fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, insomnia and even depression, according to the University of Michigan Health System. Although these withdrawal symptoms are only temporary, you can make certain changes to your diet and lifestyle that can ease the symptoms and support the detoxification of nicotine from your body.
Diet
Following a healthy diet can not only prevent unwanted weight gain after you quit smoking, but it can also help to reverse some of the damage that smoking has caused to your body, explains the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Certain dietary changes like snacking on carrot sticks or other healthy snacks when you have a craving for a cigarette can help prevent you from giving in to the urge to smoke. Specific dietary changes, such as consuming a high-carbohydrate diet, could also help curb your cigarette cravings, notes the University of Michigan Health System. Eating regular meals that contain larger amounts of vegetables and fruits, as well as drinking more water can help ease your nicotine withdrawal symptoms as well, according to MayoClinic.com. Additionally, avoiding alcoholic beverages during the first few weeks can help sustain your cigarette abstinence, because for many smokers drinking alcohol is associated with smoking.
Key Nutrients and Supplements
Certain nutrient supplements like tryptophan and other natural supplements could help reduce your cigarette withdrawal symptoms and help with nicotine detoxification, according to the University of Michigan Health System. You might try herbal supplements like lobelia and oat straw to help support smoking cessation as well. Supplements of alfalfa, eucalyptus, melatonin, passionflower, licorice, hops, gotu kola and skullcap may also reduce your withdrawal symptoms and support smoking cessation, says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. No conclusive scientific evidence supports the use of any natural supplements for smoking cessation, however.
Considerations
In addition to diet, other lifestyle changes can help you quit smoking. For example, exercising regularly can prevent unwanted weight gain after you quit smoking and help deter you from smoking again, says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Learning tricks to curb or "wait out" nicotine cravings and avoiding situations that cause you to want to smoke can also help support nicotine detoxification, MayoClinic.com notes. Other lifestyle changes to cope with nicotine withdrawal include rewarding yourself for staying smoke-free, keeping your home, car and other environments smoke-free, and relying on social support systems to endure the smoking-cessation process.
Warning
Don't make any major dietary changes without first consulting your physician or a registered dietitian. Keep in mind that diet alone won't "detoxify" your body of nicotine and won't necessarily prevent you from craving cigarettes. Also, discuss any herbal or dietary supplements with your health care provider before taking them, so you understand the potential side effects and drug interactions, as well as the proper dosages.
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