Many people wonder whether there are vitamins for smokers that could help fight this free radical damage. This article discusses how smoking depletes vitamins in the body and whether taking vitamins might help repair this damage.
Smoking and Free Radicals
Cigarette smoking speeds up the production of free radicals in your body. These free radicals cause damage to cells that can eventually lead to cancer and other diseases. Even without smoking, your body is exposed to free radicals every day. These free radicals are generated by toxins in the environment and the normal metabolic processes used to digest the food you eat. Free radicals travel around the body looking for an electron to grab from other molecules so that they can stabilize their energy. Depending on where they find the electron they need, they can wreak havoc on healthy tissue. When they interfere with collagen, they cause the notorious “smoker’s wrinkles.” When they encounter blood vessels, they can damage the blood vessel lining, setting the stage for a heart attack. And when the source becomes DNA in the cells of our bodies, damage (gene mutations) may occur. It is this accumulation of gene mutations that is responsible for the formation of a cancer cell.
How Antioxidants Fight Free Radicals
Put together, the combination of increased free radicals caused by smoking and a reduced supply of vitamins also due to smoking packs a double wallop. Free radicals damage the body, while smoking depletes essential vitamins that help combat free radicals. This combination leaves your body vulnerable to damage. The body’s defense system uses antioxidants to combat the damage caused by free radicals. Antioxidants are molecules that are able to donate electrons to free radicals without losing their own molecular integrity. In this way, they are able to slow the destructive impact that free radicals have on the body. Science has identified upwards of 4,000 antioxidants, some of which are produced in the human body naturally. Others come from the foods we eat. Vitamins also act as a defense against free radicals. They help to neutralize free radicals to prevent or minimize damage. Smoking depletes these shields, making it easier for free radicals to damage the body. When there are too many free radicals and not enough antioxidants in the body, a condition known as oxidative stress occurs. This is thought to play a part in the development of a whole host of diseases, including cancer and heart disease.
Essential Vitamins for Smokers
It is important to recognize that vitamins are not enough to prevent or reverse the damage from free radicals and the other harmful effects of smoking. However, making sure you are getting certain important vitamins may have some beneficial effects.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. Unlike fat-soluble vitamins, the body is unable to store water-soluble vitamins and must get them daily from the foods we eat. Vitamin C is needed to make collagen, a protein responsible for growing and repairing cells that produce everything from skin to muscle and from ligaments to blood vessels. It helps keep the immune system strong and reduces blood sugar. It also has the unique quality of being able to help with the regeneration of other antioxidants such as vitamin E. Unfortunately, simply taking a supplement isn’t the answer, at least with regard to heart disease. People who took a vitamin C supplement still experienced damage to blood vessels. A 2017 study found that a diet high in vitamin C reduced lung cancer risk in female smokers by 26%.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is fat-soluble and is stored in the liver and fat deposits in the body. This means that you do not necessarily need to get vitamin E in your diet every day, but dietary intake is important to maintain your body’s supply. Vitamin E is an important nutrient that helps build red blood cells and bolsters the immune system to fight off viruses and bacteria.
CantaloupeWatermelonCitrus fruitsBlueberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberriesCranberriesStrawberriesRaspberriesTomatoesBroccoliBrussels sproutsPotatoes (both sweet and white)
Like vitamin C, smoking appears to increase vitamin E requirements. Unfortunately, research has not confirmed that vitamin E supplements actually help to prevent cancer, heart disease, or symptoms of aging. In fact, taking more than 400 IU per day of vitamin E may increase certain kinds of heart disease, and increase overall mortality. There are arguments that the particular type of vitamin E is important, but at the current time, it’s best to obtain your vitamin E by eating a sensible diet. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin E is 15mg per day for anyone over the age of 14.
Other Antioxidants
Some research also suggests that other antioxidants, such as fish oil and Concord grape juice, might have some benefits for people who smoke. One study found that fish oil supplementation might help protect against DNA damage caused by cigarette smoking. Another study found that the flavonoids found in Concord grape juice may reduce smoking-induced inflammation. A 2018 study found that high-dose omega-3 fatty acid supplementation could potentially help reduce cigarette cravings and oxidative stress.
Summary
Cigarette smoking increases the generation of free radicals in the body, which can predispose to tissue damage resulting in conditions from heart disease to cancer. Antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E are part of our body’s defense system, acting to neutralize free radicals before they can do their damage. Sadly, these vitamins are also depleted in people who smoke, resulting in a bad combination—more free radicals with fewer antioxidants to fight them. It appears that dietary sources are preferred over supplements, with some studies on supplements of both vitamins showing little effect.
A Word From Verywell
If you smoke, it’s never too late to quit, and your body can begin to repair itself beginning immediately. While the risk of lung cancer and some other cancers remains elevated for life (though it decreases substantially by 10 years after quitting), your risk of other smoking-related diseases such as heart disease drops quite rapidly.
