Every time you smoke a cigarette, the chemicals in the tobacco produce free radicals in your body. Those free radicals cause oxidative stress and weaken your defense system. The best defense against oxidative stress is antioxidant vitamins. If you smoke, your diet might not have the right proportions or combinations of antioxidant vitamins that can protect your cells from developing into cancer and heart disease.
Free Radicals
Tobacco smoke is a toxin that produces free radicals in your body. Free radicals are unstable molecules that are missing a pair of electrons. Free radicals roam around freely in your body for a short time before other reactions occur. Oxidation reactions involve the loss or gain of electrons, which is a normal part of your cellular processes. Free radicals cause harmful oxidation reactions because they are trying to steal electrons from healthy molecules and cause damage. This is called oxidative stress or damage. Your living cells have special mechanisms to block or eliminate free radicals to prevent them from damaging or destroying your healthy cells and DNA. Cumulative damage in your cells caused by free radicals will trigger cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Antioxidant Defense
The best way to get rid of those free radicals is through oxidative defense. Antioxidants fight against free radicals to protect your cells and tissues from free radical damage. Your body produces some antioxidants to protect your cells and tissues from free radicals. Your antioxidants must also come from food. Antioxidants are always hunting and gathering free radicals before they steal electrons from your healthy molecules. If your body is not producing enough antioxidants or you are not getting enough through your diet, your oxidative defense will be too weak to fight and destroy those free radicals.
Antioxidant Levels in Smokers
The scientific community has extensively studied antioxidants in the blood of smokers and the amount of antioxidants they are consuming in their diets. One common conclusion resonates in research studies published in the "International Journal of Epidemiology," the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" and the "Singapore Medical Journal," and that is smokers have a weak antioxidant defense system because their diets are particularly low in the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene and phytochemicals.
Foods High in Antioxidants
Fruits and vegetables provide some of the highest amounts of the antioxidant vitamins, beta-carotene, vitamin E, vitamin C and phytochemicals. The antioxidants from fruits and vegetables donate electrons to stabilize or repair molecules that have been oxidized by those harmful free radicals caused from smoking. Some examples of phytochemicals are beta-carotene found in sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, squash, apricots and other dark orange fruits and vegetables; lutein in dark colored leafy green vegetables such as spinach and kale; and lycopene in tomatoes, watermelons and red colored fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables high in the antioxidants vitamin A are sweet potatoes and carrots; vitamin C are a variety of citrus fruits, berries and most other fruits; and vitamin E in broccoli, mangoes, and nuts.
References
- National Cancer Institute: Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention: Fact Sheet
- "International Journal of Epidemiology": Do dietary and supplementary intakes of antioxidants differ with smoking status?: Krina T. Zondervan: February 1996
- "Singapore Medical Journal": Antioxidant status and smoking habits: relationship with diet: Jain A, et al.: June 2009
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition": Antioxidant intakes and smoking status: data from the continuing survey of food intakes by individuals 1994-1996. Ma J, et al. March 2000
