What else should we be doing?
VP
The shelves groan with books on health, most with the same basic advice that's been proven over time -- stop smoking, exercise in an easy non-competitive way, maintain a good diet and appropriate weight. But what we e-smokers want to do is focus on mitigating the most deadly consequence of nicotine:
Circulatory and heart problems.
With every jolt of nicotine, your arteries narrow, your blood pressure rises, your heart beats faster. Nicotine is thus a vasoconstrictor. Keep narrowing your arteries over a period of time and they "harden" in that narrowed position, restricting blood flow. You get hearing loss, eye problems, impotence and cold feet and hands. Clots form easier. Nicotine clobbers your good cholesterol, as well. All of this makes you more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke earlier than a non-nicotine person.
So in addition to the normal good health practices, work to shore up your circulation, to prevent plaque buildup. Every test the late pioneer Dr. Roy Walford did on animals fed a restricted-calorie diet (1/3rd normal intake!) led to longer life for those animals. Watch your diet. Watch your fat intake. Lose weight if you need to. Then add some "heart healthy" practices, like the daily baby aspirin to keep blood thin and flowing freely, a daily chunk of 70% or better cacao dark chocolate, a single shot of alcohol in another beverage, a handful of almonds (go easy on other, fatty nuts), and spicy foods that bulge your eyes and pop beads of sweat. The best heart-friendly almonds, BTW, are Blue Diamond BOLD Almonds with jalapeno powder on them.
Take a tablet of concentrated pomegranate daily. This is the newest darling among health freaks, a kind of Roto-Rooter for your arteries. It's the only thing said to reverse plaque buildup in arteries.
Make sure you get enough vitamins and minerals. On a restricted-calorie diet, that can be difficult. Walford (remember him as a kind of Capt. Kirk of the Biosphere project) took a daily multi-vitamin for insurance. You don't have to go overboard with special antioxidants, etc. Just balance things out and don't come up short on important ones like C and the B complex.
The first step toward making healthy changes is researching the downside of our favorite drug as it impacts your circulation, brain, liver and pancreas. Then ask a doctor or health authority what practices will keep what you have in top shape.
Okay, I'm been serious long enough. Hope the info helps.
NEXT WEEK:
The Pinky Fingers: Do We Really Need Them?
No preaching to the choir.
...and after all,almost everything enjoyable has its downside when not taken in moderation-drinking,smoking,sex,chocolate,grass,fastfood,gambling,vaping etc...i think the vast majority of folks with addictive personalities,or more commonly those of us who are just plain old addicted to one thing,rely on denial to get them through life...until they get a wake up call...
