detoxing nicotine and heavy metals when quitting smoking
VITAMINS, MINERALS AND SUPERFOODS FOR DETOXING
skip to: metabolism | red blood cells | gut flora | dopamine | thyroid | detox | vitamin + mineral deficiencies
In my first 3-5 days of quitting smoking, I help my body detox nicotine (and heavy metals such as cadmium and lead) accumulated from smoking. In this phase, I take only the supplements I list below and eat foods which help to detox the body of nicotine and heavy metals such as cilantro.
The idea of my regimen is to detox nicotine, reduce heavy metals, restore deficiencies and start to the fight against free radicals.
To help lower or neutralize elevated copper and possibly elevated iron levels caused by smoking, I also take zinc and turmeric. I do not take iron or copper in this phase at all.
Vitamins and Minerals to Detox Nicotine
Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) helps with nicotine detox as a powerful antioxidant (product I take)
Activated Charcoal may help to remove heavy metals like cadmium and lead (which are high in smokers) from the body, although research is limited (product I use)
Chlorophyll helps to cleanse red blood cells and boost oxygen within the blood (product I use)
Cilantro proven in mice to detox and remove heavy metals from body
Coconut Oil can be used in oil pulling to neutralize bacteria in the mouth which affects the gut microbiome, also a good way to avert a craving (type I use also easy to get at the grocery store)
CoQ10 helps with nicotine detox as a powerful antioxidant for heart and lungs (type I use); for me it immediately increases my stamina and decreases shortness of breath when doing lite exercise.
Iodine detoxifies and may help relieve constipation (type I use)
L-Theanine detoxifies and also boosts serotonin and dopamine (here’s the one I take) Inositol is also good - it is a literal “chill pill” for my anxiety - I generally this one in the afternoon if for feeling anxious or agitated.
L-Glutamine helps with leaky gut, may assist with cravings, helps body to produce glutathione, the body’s master antioxidant (type I use)
NAC liver and lung detoxifier, great for nicotine detox, and helps your body to produce glutathione, cysteine tablets can be sucked on to reduce nicotine and carcinogens in the mouth immediately (read more about that here); note that amazon stopped selling NAC in 2021 - so now I get mine straight from Thorne, side note that NAC also reduces viral replication.
Polyphenols powerful antioxidants that help cleanse the blood and support an environment for good bacteria in the gut (see product I use, CodeAge also makes a good one); great for energy too.
Probiotic I start my probiotic within two hours of my last cigarette (see probiotic I take) Probiotics are so important for my quits and to prevent weight gain, I can’t even tell you. Read more about the gut flora in cessation on my site - as it’s pretty complicated and not all probiotics will work the same for everyone, but this one is a winner for me.
Selenium mineral antioxidant that smokers are deficient in, by boosting selenium in cessation it can help level out elevated minerals (here’s the one I take)
Turmeric helps with nicotine detox by chelating iron from the body (here’s the kind I use)
Vitamin A powerful antioxidant also helps with detox by restoring deficiency (here’s the one I use)
Vitamin C powerful antioxidant also helps with nicotine detox by restoring deficiency
Vitamin E powerful antioxidant also helps with detox by restoring deficiency
Zinc mineral that can help to balance elevated copper levels
To view when I take all of my supplements - check my daily supplement schedule
detoxing with food (the fun part)
To view some of the foods I make and eat during nicotine detox - check out my food gallery page
detox diet
While I don’t go overboard with restricting my diet in my detox phase of cessation because the point here, is to quit smoking without gaining weight, without having to limit every single thing you eat and calorie count.
So I try to eat and enjoy healthy foods I like and while including many from the list below which assist in detox and reducing bad buccal bacteria in the oral and gut biome. Above are some photos of meals I make in nicotine detox phase. (I buy frozen mahi mahi from publix for the fish, the red grapefruit, cilantro, jalapeno salsa needs a little olive oil and would prob go with chicken if you don’t eat fish).
These are some of the foods I have prepared to eat for my first few days of quitting, and if I need to give into a food craving (like ice cream) to avoid a cigarette craving so be it.
Activated Charcoal (add to a vanilla milkshake)
Turmeric lowers iron levels
Cilantro lowers iron and heavy metals
Bone broth
Kale & Spinach
Citrus fruits (Vitamin C)
Jalapeno (High in Vitamin C & B6, aids weight loss, great for gut)
Onion
Garlic
NAC
Green Apples
Kiwi
Kombucha (ginger kind)
Green juices
Chlorophyll
Iced Green Tea (Leave the teabags in and make it strong, it is much stronger than hot green tea, and I swear it works)
Pickled Ginger (this is a pre-biotic “food” for your probiotic if you take together)
Dried Apricots & Cranberries
Sundried Tomatoes
Sesame Seed Breadsticks (sesame seeds are PACKED with vitamins & minerals)
Fontina Cheese (just because I love it)
Canned Hearts of Palms
Green bananas. Well not completely green, but greenish yellow. Unripe bananas are super good for the gut because they are high in resistant starch which aids in digestion. They also help to absorb vitamins and minerals and so they are great to take with supplements or add to cereal. Green bananas also fight bacterial infection in the gut which can’t be bad for smokers in cessation. Lastly they are high in Vitamin B6 which helps to produce red blood cells, aids in metabolism and helps to balance sugar levels.
Dark Chocolate (at least 80%)