Side
Effects - Smoking and Your Skin
One of the most obvious side effects smoking has, is its ageing
of the skin, which makes many people look considerably older
than their years, something which none of us wants, especially
in these days when youth is considered desirable.
Although we know
that anyone who lives long enough becomes old, the media have
done a good job of convincing us of the need to look young,
or at least younger than we are. However, smokers, will find
that they have more lines, particularly around the mouth,
than their non-smoking peers.
This is due to
the action of free radicals which are unstable atoms or molecules.
Some free radicals occur as a result of metabolism and are
dealt with by antioxidants, but they can also be formed as
a consequence of environmental factors and these include smoking.
And since we experience
more free radical damage as we get older anyway, smoking will
just speed this process up. Wrinkles cause some smokers to
look as much as twenty years older than non-smokers of the
same age.
To increase your intake
of antioxidants you need more vitamins A, C and E, which you
can do by eating more fresh fruit and vegetables. Of course,
smoking also destroys vitamin C. So you're getting a double
negative in terms of free radicals if you continue to smoke.
Try to have 5 servings of vegetables per day and focus on the
green leafy ones. In addition, have a couple of helpings of
fruit - actual fruit, not juice, which doesn't contain fibre,
also an essential part of a healthy diet.
Antioxidants are
also important tools in the prevention of disease. So it makes
sense to replenish your supply on a daily basis, especially
if you smoke.
Smoking also has
an effect on the blood vessels, causing them to constrict,
thus reducing blood flow and if less blood is flowing to your
skin, it won't be getting all the nutrients it needs for a
healthy glow and more recent research suggests that smoking
may damage collagen.
The articles
on this site are for information only. Please consult
your doctor before beginning any form of treatment.
Images
by stock.xhange
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