Smoking
Cigarettes contain more than 4,000 chemicals, including at least 40 that cause cancer. They also contain nicotine; although not one of the cancer-causing agents itself, it is the substance that gets you hooked on cigarettes. In fact, the nicotine in cigarettes is as addictive as heroin or cocaine. Cigarettes - whether they're light, lower-tar or regular - contain additional chemicals that deliver the nicotine to your brain faster, making cigarettes even more addictive.
Effects:
Your skin, hands, teeth and surroundings
As an adult smoker, eventually you'll find yourself with:
- Wrinkles around your eyes and mouth.
- Dry, unhealthy, older-looking, faster-aging skin, caused by poor circulation and low oxygen levels in the blood.
- Unattractive, tobacco-stained hands.
- Yellowish, brownish tobacco-stained teeth, gum disease and bad breath.
- A wardrobe, a house and a car that smell of tobacco smoke, all the time.
Diabetes
As a smoker, your risk of developing Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes is 2 to 3 times higher than a non-smoker's. And smoking significantly increases the risk of complications and death from Type 2 diabetes.
Your heart and circulatory system
If you smoke, you are 2 to 3 times more likely to have a heart attack than a non-smoker, and much more likely to die from heart disease. Smokers are also more likely to have strokes, blood clots, and angina.
Your lungs
Tobacco smoking is responsible for nearly all cases of a chronic breathing obstruction known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD includes diseases like emphysema and chronic bronchitis, and leaves sufferers breathless and unable to do many activities.
Lung cancer is the disease of the smoker, with 90% of primary lung cancers caused by smoking. Nearly one in four smokers who die prematurely will die of lung cancer. Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the UK.
Your lungs are damaged not only by the number of cigarettes you smoke a day, but more importantly by the number of years you have been a smoker. So, the sooner you can stop, the better.
Benefits of a non-smoker
- Your skin is already healthier because it's getting more oxygen and blood. Your skin is also ageing more slowly than when you smoked. Your hands have lost that yellowish tint, and your teeth are no longer being stained.
- Your risk of diabetes is lower. Plus, your healthier body makes physical activity easier, which further lowers your risk.
- 20 minutes after your last cigarette, your blood pressure and pulse have returned to normal.
- 24 hours later, your risk of heart attack is already lower. After just one year, your risk of heart disease has dropped to half that of a smoker.
- After three days as a non-smoker, you've noticed an improvement in your breathing. You might develop a bit of a cough as your lungs clear themselves of mucus - so your breathing doesn't always seem clear, your lungs are functioning better after two weeks. When you've stayed away from cigarettes for 10 years your risk of lung cancer is half that of a smoker, and the longer you don't smoke, the more your risk drops.
Alcohol
Alcohol, or ethyl alcohol (ethanol), (the intoxicating ingredient found in wine, beer and hard liquor). Alcohol arises naturally from carbohydrates when certain micro-organisms metabolize them in the absence of oxygen, called fermentation.
Beer, wine and other liquor contain different amounts of alcohol. The amount of alcohol in distilled liquor is known as “proof”. Proof refers to the amount of alcohol in the liquor; for example, 100 proof liquor contains 50% alcohol, 40 proof liquor contains 20% alcohol, and so on. Traditional wine has approximately 8-14% alcohol, while regular beer has 4-6% alcohol.
Recent studies show that moderate use of alcohol may have a beneficial effect on the coronary system. In general, for healthy people, one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men would be considered the maximum amount of alcohol consumption to be considered moderate use.
Nutrition
1,600 calories is about right for many sedentary women and some older adults.
2,200 calories is about right for most children, teenage girls, active women, and many sedentary men. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding may need somewhat more.
2,800 calories is about right for teenage boys, many active men, and some very active women.
Definition of a serving:
Vegetables:
- 1 cup of raw leafy vegetables
- 1/2 cup of other vegetables, cooked or chopped raw
- 3/4 cup of vegetable juice
Fruit:
- A medium apple, banana, or orange
- 1/2 cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit
-
3/4 cup of fruit juice
Bread, cereal, rice and pasta:
- 1 slice of bread
- 1 ounce of ready-to-eat cereal
-
1/2 cup cooked cereal, rice, or pasta
Meat, fish, dry beans eggs:
- Count 2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish as a serving. A 3-ounce piece of meat is about the size of an average hamburger, or the amount of meat on a medium chicken breast half.
-
For other foods in this group, count 1/2 cup of cooked dry beans or 1 egg as 1 ounce of lean meat. 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or 1/3 cup of nuts count as 1 ounce of meat (about 1/3 serving).
Milk, yoghurt and cheese:
- 1 cup of milk or yoghurt
- 1-1/2 ounces of natural cheese
- 2 ounces of process cheese
Recommendations
Fruit and veg
Fruit and veg should make up about a third of the food you eat each day. And it’s also important to eat a variety. Five-a-day is a good, achievable target. Try to avoid:
- Adding fat or rich sauces to vegetables (such as carrots glazed with butter)
- Adding sugar or syrupy dressings to fruit (such as stewed apple)
ONE portion = 80g
E.g.
- 3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables (raw, cooked, frozen or tinned)
- 1 apple, banana, pear, orange or other similar sized fruit
Starchy foods
We should be eating lots of starchy foods every day, foods such as rice, pasta, bread, cereals and potatoes. Try to choose wholegrain varieties whenever you can. Starchy foods should make up about a third of the food we eat. Starchy foods are a good source of energy and the main source of a range of nutrients in our diet. As well as starch, these foods contain fibre, calcium, iron and B vitamins. Most people don't eat enough fibre. Foods rich in fibre are a very healthy choice, so try to include a variety of fibre-rich foods in your diet. These are all rich in fibre: wholegrain bread, brown rice, pasta, oats, beans, peas, lentils, grains, seeds, fruit and vegetables
Fish and shellfish
White fish such as cod, haddock, plaice and whiting are very low in fat. Oily fish is rich in omega 3 fatty acids and a good source of vitamins A and D.
Fish such as whitebait, canned sardines, pilchards and salmon (where you also eat the bones) are also good sources of calcium and phosphorous, which help make our bones stronger.
Oily fish.
Oily fish such as sardines, herring, mackerel, trout and salmon are all rich sources of omega 3 fatty acids, which help prevent heart disease.
These fatty acids are also important for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding because they help a baby’s nervous system to develop
For this reason there are recommendations for the maximum number of portions of oily fish we should be eating each week (a portion is about 140g)
Pulses
Pulses count as one of the variety of at least five portions of fruit and vegetables we should be aiming to eat each day.
Three heaped tablespoons of pulses = one portion.
But pulses can only make up a maximum of one portion a day. This is because we need to eat a variety of fruit and vegetables to make sure we get all the important nutrients we need.
Meat
Meat is a good source of iron, zinc, B vitamins (particularly B12) and protein. But meat is also a major source of saturated fat, which we should be cutting down on.
Making meat more health:
Meat is generally high in saturated fat so it's best to:
- Choose lean cuts of meat
- Trim off any visible fat
- Don’t eat the skin of chicken because most of the fat is stored just under the skin
- Grill meat rather than frying
Milk and dairy
Milk and dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais are great sources of protein and vitamins A, B12, and D.
They're also an important source of calcium, which helps to keep our bones strong. The calcium in dairy foods are easy for the body to absorb.
The fat content of different dairy products varies a lot and much of this is saturated fat, which can raise cholesterol and is linked to heart disease.
You could try to choose lower-fat versions whenever you can. This means having semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, low fat (0.1% fat) yoghurts or fromage frais. Lower-fat cheeses include Edam, cottage cheese and reduced-fat hard cheeses.
Cream and butter are high in fat and should be eaten in small amounts. You can use natural yoghurt and fromage frais instead of cream, soured cream or crème fraîche. Low-fat spreads can be used instead of butter. All these lower-fat products contain at least the same amount of protein, B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc as full-fat versions. They just contain less fat.
Fats
Having to many saturated fats increase cholesterol levels in the blood and can lead to heart disease
Examples of saturated fats:
- Meat products, meat pies, sausages
- Hard cheese
- Butter and lard
Trans fats have a similar effect on blood cholesterol as saturated fats, they raise the type of cholesterol in the blood that increases the risk of heart disease. Trans fats can be formed when liquid vegetable oils are turned into solid fats
Examples where trans fats can be found:
- Biscuits and cakes
- Fast food
- Pastry
- Some margarines
Unsaturated fats can be a healthy choice. They don't raise cholesterol in the same way as saturated fats. These types of fats provide us with the essential fatty acids that the body needs.
Some unsaturated fats can reduce risk of heart disease
These are all high in unsaturated fat:
- Oily fish
- Avocados
- Nuts and seeds
- Sunflower, rapeseed and olive oil and spreads
- Vegetable oils
Sugar
Sugars occur naturally in food such as fruit and milk, but we don't need to cut down on these types of sugars. It is food containing added sugars that we should be cutting down on.
Sugar is added to many types of food such as:
- Fizzy drinks and juice drinks
- Sweets and biscuits
- Jam
- Cakes, pastries and puddings
- Ice cream
Salt
Adults should have no more than 6 grams of salt a day, which is about a teaspoonful. On average people are actually having about 9.5g of salt a day. This means we are eating nearly 60% more salt than we should. Most salt is added into processed food so although you may not be shaking salt over your food it doesn’t always mean it’s healthy.
Sports Drinks
These types of drinks can be very useful when you're doing endurance sports and need energy boost.
But they are no different to any other sugary soft drinks, which means they contribute to tooth decay and are very high in calories. So unless you're taking part in endurance sports, water is probably the best way for you to re-hydrate.
Water
To stay healthy, you need to replace the fluids you lose. If the weather is hot or you are exercising, you will be losing even more water. In climates such as the UK, we should drink approximately 1.2 litres (6 to 8 glasses) of fluid every day to stop us getting dehydrated. In hotter climates the body needs more than this.