Kicking the habit is hard, but the rewards are great.
Most former smokers quit on their own -- by cutting back slowly, without prescriptions, nicotine aids or smoking-cessation classes. In fact, more than 90 percent have quit this way, according to a 2003 American Cancer Society study. If you've also decided to do it on your own, you may be surprised to learn that a drink you've enjoyed since childhood can help rid your body of nicotine. Tang fruit-flavored drinks get their tartness from citric acid, which makes urine more acidic and gives it a lower pH. The lower the urinary pH, the more nicotine is excreted, according to a study in the medical journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
Instructions
1. Purchase your favorite flavor of Tang to help flush nicotine from your body. Orange, strawberry, grape, mango and wild berry are a few Tang flavors. You'll want to flush out the nicotine as quickly as possible because you'll experience the strongest withdrawal symptoms during the first few days, though Notre Dame University's Office of Drug and Alcohol Education says some physical withdrawal symptoms may continue for several weeks. To get things going, choose the day you want to stop smoking. The night before you quit, dispose of leftover cigarettes and put smoking-related articles such as ashtrays, matches and lighters out of sight.
2. Drink an 8-ounce glass or two of Tang with every meal, beginning on your quit day. High acidity drinks during the first three days speed the removal of nicotine from your bloodstream to help shorten the intense physical withdrawal period, according to cold-turkey advocate and author John R. Polito. Smoking-cessation guides by organizations such as New York University's Langone Medical Center recommend drinking plenty of water, too.
3. Continue to drink a smaller amount of Tang daily to help your body rid itself of residual nicotine even as physical withdrawal symptoms subside. Some of the symptoms that may persist for weeks are tiredness, hunger, constipation and a lack of concentration, according to Notre Dame's Resolve Program to Quit Smoking. When the nicotine is out of your system and you've gotten through the withdrawal period, your physical cravings for nicotine will diminish and you will have accomplished an important step in quitting smoking for good.
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