Author
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Jacob, Robert |
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Submitted to: Book Foreward: The Smoker's Guide to Vitamins and Health
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 5/5/1995 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Recent research shows that smokers have lower blood levels of antioxidants compared to non-smokers, even when dietary intakes are equal. Smoking produces an increased oxidative stress on the body, and the body's antioxidants are used up faster in smokers than in non smokers. Thus, smokers, who have an increased risk of developing many degenerative diseases due to smoking itself, also have lower body levels of nutrients that are protective against disease. Alistair Moodie's book "The Smoker's Guide to Vitamins and Health" provides important information that smokers should know about antioxidants and health, and the changes that smokers can make in their diet to help protect their health if they continue to smoke. Besides quitting smoking, the most useful change that smokers can make is to increase their intake of fruits and vegetables, which contain abundant amounts of natural antioxidants. Supplementing the diet with antioxidants is a secondary choice because there are many antioxidants in plants which are not yet isolated and available in supplement form. Also, many components of fruits and vegetables may protect against disease through actions other than antioxidant protection. The book offers a practical understanding of the special nutritional perils that smokers face, and steps they can take to reduce their risks of developing disease. |
