If you’re struggling to put down the cigarettes, there’s a new tool that may be able to help you quit – and it’s probably not what you think.

Rather than the usual pill, patch or support system, researchers recently found that kicking the habit may be as simple as reaching for some apples and broccoli. This according to a new study published last month in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research that showed eating fruits and vegetables may help some people quit smoking.

Turns out fruits and veggies are the answer to being healthy once again.

This is especially exciting for the health community as researchers backing the study feel confident enough in the results to report that they may have identified a new tool to help people put an end to their smoking addictions. 
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We all know smoking is terrible for our health, yet so many of us still decide to light up despite the many risks it involves, including heart disease and lung cancer. But for those who are addicted to smoking, there’s hope, and it comes in the form of exercise.

A new study based in Taiwan has shown that exercise can help make quitting smoking easier, and even sliding back into the habit far less likely.

The study monitored the health status and daily habits of 434,190 people in Taiwan between 1996 and 2008, and found that smokers who exercised even 15 minutes a day were 55 percent more likely to quit smoking than people who weren’t active in the slightest. And that for those were were able to quit, researchers found that they were 43 percent less likely to take smoking back up in the future.
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Women may now have a better understanding on why it is so hard to quit smoking.

A recent study shows that a woman’s brain reacts differently to nicotine than for men.

It was once thought that once you start smoking, the number of nicotine receptors increased in the brain. While this still holds true, it is only accurate for men. During the study the researchers saw something completely different with the female smokers.

The research showed that women smokers didn’t have anymore nicotine receptors than the non-smoker participants.

“When you look at it by gender, you see this big difference,” study researcher Kelly Cosgrove, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine told Rachael Rettner from MyHealthNewsDaily.

This finding is important for a few reasons. For one, it has been believed by some that nicotine has been the primary reason behind people being addicted to smoking. This study shows that this belief is truer for men than for women. The other reason this study is important is because it shows that women will not benefit as much using quitting aids as men. The popular nicotine patch and gum will still be helpful to men, but women finding it harder to quit smoking may need to try other methods.
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After undergoing surgery to repair damaged vocal cords, the young and talented Grammy winner Adele was threatened by a minor health scare that prompted her motivation to start up an exercise program and quit smoking. Bound to take better care of her health, Adele decided to try Pilates.

In keeping with her down to earth and realistic view of the world and herself, Adele wants us all to know that her yearning to drop two dress sizes is not born out of pressure from her critics, but rather is sparked by a genuine desire to be a little healthier and feel better too. So far, as a result of her hard work, sources claim the famed artist has had more energy and even plans to take up jogging.

I love it. As someone who plays a lot of Adele in Pilates classeses that I teach, I am more than tickled to know that she too is out there somewhere working hard at her best double leg stretch, criss cross and teaser. But, what is even more attractive about this idea is that her intention is to feel better, shed a few pounds and be a little healthier, rather than shrink down to an unmanageable size and weight.
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If you quit smoking for your New Year’s Resolution, good for you, Quitter! This is one of the single greatest things you can do to improve your health. Dropping a nasty nicotine habit can be tough work, and most people end up replacing the oral fixation of smoking with something else oral- chewing and swallowing junk food.

On an average, people tend to gain 5 pounds during their quitting process. The action of lighting up, bringing the cig to and from your mouth and inhaling and exhaling the smoke is one that many people become addicted to just as much as the chemical addiction to harmful nicotine. In addition, when you smoke a cigarette, a chemical reaction occurs in the body and sugars are released into the blood stream. This is why many people consider cigarettes as an appetite suppressant. When cigarettes are removed, a former smoker may fiercely crave sweets.

The oral and chemical addiction can make quitting smoking a tough process, but there are things you can do to keep the cigarettes away and weight gain at bay.

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