miDIET drew inspiration from an article written by NICUS. The Nutrition Information Centre of the University of Stellenbosch (NICUS) was established to act as a reliable and independent source of nutrition information.
Article: Smoking and Vitamin C: Clarifying the concerns
https://www.sun.ac.za/english/faculty/healthsciences/nicus/Documents/Files/Files/Fact_sheets/)CIGARETTE SMOKING accounts for more than 25 000 deaths in South Africa per year and around 5 million deaths globally. It is primarily through heart attacks, strokes and lung disease.
In order to understand this risk better, it is necessary to refer to a process called oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a process during which the oxygen we breathe, trigger the formation of oxidant compounds and free radicals. These have the ability to cause destruction witch initiate early stages of disease. Not only does cigarette smoke contain an abundance of free radicals, it also triggers the inflammatory-immune response.
Antioxidants are found in vitamins and minerals and obstruct the process caused by oxidative stress and can prevent damage, thus acting to decrease some of the adverse effects of cigarette smoking. One of these antioxidants are Vitamin C. It is an essential Vitamin C. The human body can not produce it and must obtain it through their diet. Apart from this, vitamin C plays a role in the synthesis of collagen, wound healing, immunity, lung protection and absorption of certain nutrients. Research has shown that smoking lowers vitamin C levels, and the number of cigarettes smoked per day has a direct correlation to the levels of vitamin C in the blood.
SMOKERS NEED MORE VITAMIN C
In view of the relationship between smoking, vitamin C and chronic disease risk, The Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board in the USA formulated a Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) of an additional 35mg/day for individuals who choose to smoke.
According to the article:
“With prevention being an obvious better alternative than cure, it is clear that the focus and
emphasis should be on interventions to stop and discourage cigarette smoking and in doing so, to
promote a healthier lifestyle. However, since many people worldwide find it very difficult to stop
smoking, it would be prudent to recognize the important interaction between smoking and vitamin
C, and to act proactively according to current recommendations by increasing the dietary intake of
this vitamin.”
GOOD FOOD SOURCES OF VITAMIN C: strawberries, tomatoes, citrus fruit, broccoli, peppers, cabbage, guava, potato, paw-paw
