2 replies to this topic

[bacopa]

I stupidly smoked for some years and I was wondering if a vitamin regimen and excercise will help stave off lung cancer? If so can you recommend some? I take lots.

[4eva]

I take a food-base beta carotene supplement. Synthetic beta carotene is supposed to increase your chance of lung cancer. I was never a smoker but just think this form is better. You might consider a natural beta carotene supplement.

Smokers can be low in vitamin C. Many people take an arbitrary dose of C but you can find your optimum dose by increasing the amount until you reach bowel tolerence.

There are other nutrients that smokers need I just can't think of those right now.

But minerals may be important also because you were exposed to some heavy metals like cadmium and aresenic I think.

[stephen_b]

I would recommend not neglecting vitamin D. From the April vitamin D council newsletter:

Dr. Cannell: Is it true I can smoke if I keep my vitamin D levels up? Bill Boca Raton, Florida

No, that is not true. What you may be referring to is the most amazing study on vitamin D recently released. Using NHANES III data, Dr's. Black and Scragg discovered that vitamin D levels were strongly associated with pulmonary function (how well your lungs work). Who would have thought? They found that people with the highest vitamin D levels who had smoked had better pulmonary function than those with the lowest levels who had never smoked! That is, of two things that hurt your lungs (vitamin D deficiency and smoking) vitamin D deficiency may cause more damage than smoking! However, the study said nothing about lung cancer—so stop smoking.

You stopped smoking, which is good. I target vitamin D levels in the 60-80 ng/mL range for myself.

Stephen