People who have made the decision to quit smoking already know the health benefits that come along with it. Some of the short-term benefits former smokers notice include the reduction of blood pressure, improvements in circulation and lung functions. Former smokers can also look forward to long-term health benefits that include a lower risk of heart disease by 50 percent and a decrease in the risk of stroke. New findings in a study show that vitamin E can further decrease the risk of heart disease by another 19 percent.
Former smokers are also less likely to suffer from diseases related to smoking by more than half. Cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus and bladder are less likely among former smokers, in comparison to people who habitually smoke.
For the study, 30 participating smokers who smoked a minimum of half a pack of cigarettes daily for a year were asked to quit smoking for a total of seven days. Researchers measured inflammation and blood vessel function before and after the one-week trial. Within one week of not smoking, the vascular function of the participants increased by an average of 2.8 percent. An additional 1.5 percent improvement in vascular function was noted among participants who quit smoking and took 500mg a day of a supplement form of Vitamin E.
"The underlying rationale is that we know it takes many years before the risk for cardiovascular disease of a former smoker matches that of a nonsmoker. We hope to develop a therapy to combine with smoking cessation that could accelerate the restoration of vascular function and reduce cardiovascular risk," associate professor of human nutrition at The Ohio State University Richard Bruno said. Bruno is also the senior author of the study presented Tuesday at the annual Experimental Biology meeting in Boston.
The supplement form of vitamin E used in the study is known as gamma-tocopherol and differs from the form generally available in stores. Based on its chemical structure, there are eight different forms of vitamin E and the most common form for dietary requirements is alpha-toccopherol. Bruno noted that more participants would be needed for longer term studies to test effects related to the dietary form of vitamin E and that the gamma-tocopherol form is safe. The gamma-tocopherol form of vitamin E lowers inflammation, which results in improved and restored vascular function. Gamma-tocopherol-rich vitamin E supplements can be found in specialty stores and in foods such as soybean, canola, pistachios, pecans, cashews and peanuts.
