Dr Lalitha Badul
Cigarette smoke is a toxic blend of poisons and cancer-causing chemicals that put virtually every internal organ at risk when one smokes.

It creates an abundance of free radicals that can cause cellular damage and deplete essential vitamins and minerals in our bodies. Free radicals are atoms or molecules that have an odd number of electrons. This makes them unstable, and they travel around the body looking for an electron to grab from other molecules so that they can stabilise. This causes a chain reaction of damage, and can wreak havoc on healthy tissue and even DNA.

The body’s defence system uses antioxidants to combat the damage caused by free radicals. Antioxidants are molecules that are able to donate electrons to free radicals without losing their own molecular integrity. In this way, they are able to slow the destructive impact that free radicals have on the body.

Two important ones are Vitamin C and Vitamin E, they help fight off inflammation and toxins in the body and are critical for a healthy immune system.