Fruits and vegetables Help Quit Smoking: Study

There have been various proposed treatments for people who want to quit smoking.  A recent study done from a university at Buffalo claims that, including more fruits and vegetables in diet helps smokers quit smoking and stay tobacco free for long. 

This study that was published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research, had conducted a survey on 1000 smokers with the age group 25 and above. The subjects were made to respond to queries based on their smoking habits and the intake of fruits and vegetables. The researchers kept a track on their subjects for a period of 14 months. And after which the researchers questioned the subjects on the intake of their tobacco.

The researchers came up some association between the amount of fruits and vegetables the study participants ate, and the likelihood that they quit and stayed off tobacco. In fact, people who ate the most produce in the study were three times more likely to report that they'd been tobacco free in the previous month. The results remained consistent even after taking into account different factors such as age, education, gender and health.

According to sources, Joseph McClernon, Ph.D the researcher of that study said  in a statement, "With a few modifications to their diet consuming items that make cigarettes taste bad, such as a cold glass of milk, and avoiding items that make cigarettes taste good, like a pint of beer smokers can make quitting a bit easier. It is also possible that fruits and vegetables give make them feel full so that they feel less of a need to smoke, since smokers sometimes confuse hunger with an urge to smoke. "

Fruits and vegetables do not enhance the taste of tobacco unlike some food like caffeinated beverages and alcohol.

The researchers believe that more research is needed to determine if these findings replicate and if they do, to identify the mechanisms that explain how fruit and vegetable consumption may help smokers quit. They emphasize on the need for another research on other dietary components and smoking tendency.