How to Cleanse the Body When Quitting Smoking

According to the National Cancer Institute, over 4,000 chemicals are found in cigarette smoke, including 43 carcinogenic compounds and dangerous toxins that can do damage to your system. Cigarette smoke contains toxins such as arsenic, cyanide, nicotine, tar, and DDT. Although quitting smoking is the first step back to your health, cleansing your body of these dangerous chemicals is a process that won't happen overnight. If you hope to detox your body from smoking, you will need to give your body the proper nutrition and dietary aids to help rid yourself of these poisons.

Things You'll Need

• Healthy foods
• Juices
• Water
• Cayenne pepper
• Psyllium husks
• Antioxidants

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Instructions

• 1

  Eat healthy foods that can aid in eliminating toxins from your body, avoiding foods high in fat other than seeds and nuts. Add an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins such as chicken and fish, and healthy legumes. Drink plenty of water daily, a minimum of eight to 10 glasses per day to help flush toxins from your body.

• 2

  Add fresh-squeezed juice such as carrot, grapefruit, and lemon with every meal. Beta carotene found in carrots is rich in Vitamin A, which aids in cleansing the lungs. Lemon and grapefruit juice help flush toxins from the body and aid it in ridding it of accumulated poisons. Add a dash of cayenne and fresh water to your lemon juice to help speed up the process.

• 3

  Avoid mucous-promoting foods such as dairy products to help clear your lungs and promote healing. Foods that aid in the reduction of mucous build-up are cayenne pepper, fresh ginger, garlic, onion, horse radish, and freshly-ground black pepper.

• 4

  Cleanse your bowels, as cigarette toxins accumulate in the lower bowels and pushing them through quickly will help relieve your excretory system of years of toxic buildup. High fiber foods such as whole grains, vegetables, nuts, and beans are helpful and will heighten bowel function. You may wish to purchase a commercial bowel cleanser or add psyllium husks or other eliminatory aids to your diet.

• 5

  Incorporate plenty of antioxidants into your daily diet, which fight free radicals and help promote healing. Smoking depletes antioxidants and you will need to rebuild your nutritional stores. Vitamin E, found in leafy green vegetables such as kale and spinach and Vitamin C found in many fresh fruits and vegetables should be restored along with adding a good B-complex supplement--rich in cellular antioxidants.

• 6

  Add exercise into your daily routine, along with deep breathing exercises to help strengthen and repair your damaged lungs. Walking in areas free from pollution and breathing deeply will greatly aid your respiratory system and accelerate healing.