Good Herbal Health

Another little publicized effect of smoking is the accumulation of carbon monoxide in the blood. Carbon monoxide is one of the lethal gases emitted in automobile exhaust. It is also produced by burning plant materials such as tobacco. It is a dangerous gas because of its strong affinity for the hemoglobin of red blood cells.

Unlike oxygen and carbon dioxide, which become temporarily attached, then released, from the hemoglobin molecules, carbon monoxide becomes permanently locked into the red blood cell chemistry so that the cells are no longer effective for their normal function of transporting oxygen to the body tissues. With the oxygen-carrying capacity of part of the red blood cells wiped out, brain cells and other tissues suffer a mild oxygen starvation and the results are a form of intoxication.

A strong whiff of carbon monoxide can be fatal, Smokers, of course, do not get that much of the substance into their blood, but they do pick up enough carbon monoxide to render up to eight percent of their red blood cells ineffective.

Experiments at Indiana University show that pack-a-day smokers have the same level of carbon monoxide in their blood as subjects who inhale an atmosphere of one-fourth of one percent carbon monoxide. That level of carbon monoxide increases the shortness of breath during exercise by approximately 15 percent, and, the study shows, about three weeks of abstinence from smoking are required to permit the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood to return to normal. It is the carbon monoxide of burning plant materials that produces most of the “high” associated with the smoking of many substances.

Another danger of smoking is the effect of tobacco on the carbohydrate metabolism of smokers. This is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and can lead to condition called habitual abortion. Among some women, spontaneous abortion occurs repeatedly. Habitual abortion usually threatens at the same stage of each pregnancy, and the measures needed to prevent a repetition of the miscarriage should be started as soon as the expectant mother knows she is pregnant.

The usual prenatal care should be followed conscientiously, including the rules of nutrition and exercise. Cigarette smoking should also be curtailed or eliminated to keep the carbohydrate levels in check and pregnant women are particularly sensitive to changes in carbohydrate balance.

The cells that form the placenta and fetal membranes require large amounts of carbohydrates that can be assimilated easily. Even before the fertilized egg cell becomes implanted on the lining of the uterus, the cells of the endometrium demand unusually large quantities of glycogen, or body starch, that has been converted to simple sugar molecules. Other nutrients are also needed, of course, but the demand for them is not as critical as that of carbohydrates. Smoking was found out to rob the pregnant women of this much needed nutrient.