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Capsule comments

SMOKING CESSATION TIMELINE:

We’ve all seen those charts depicting the changes the body undergoes when it doesn’t have to deal with tobacco smoke anymore.  It starts with benefits beginning 20 minutes after the last puff when blood pressure starts to return to normal and those little cilia in the bronchial tubes start to move again without being bombarded by smoke.  After 3 days, breathing becomes a bit easier due to bronchial relaxation and results in easier air exchange between carbon dioxide and oxygen.  Lung capacity starts to increase.  All this in the first three days!  And as we know, the longer one can resist smoking again, the easier it will become to remain a non-smoker.  The timeline says that one year after smoking cessation, the lungs are functioning dramatically better.  After three years, the heart attack risk has dropped to half that of a non-smoker and after five years, death from lung cancer has dropped by half compared to smokers.  After 25 years, heart attack and stroke risk has decreased to equal that of a person who’s never smoked before.  And one huge side effect of all this?  The thousands of dollars saved by not smoking.

HEMORRHOIDS:

Most of this advice is valid with those with hemorrhoids that are more external than those high up in the colon.  Certainly product like Tucks and hydrocortisone creams will bring some relief.  Sitz baths are available for convenient treatments more than once daily but even soaking in a nice warm bath will bring some relief. 

POSTBIOTICS:

It may be true in this case than one organism’s trash is another’s treasure.  These waste products are excreted into our digestive tracts and may be responsible for some of the beneficial effects of probiotics.  I looked up postbiotics on the Internet and found  a company called “Happy Mammoth”  already selling postbiotics on-line saying their products like Fermented Happy Fibre “nourishes the billions of good bacteria that make up your gut microbiome and acts as a natural appetite suppressant”. Only $119 for a two month supply.  I feel the research into postbiotics is not fully formed yet but I guess it doesn’t stop on-line companies from making claims on their benefits and selling them.