1 year after quitting smoking your risk of dying of heart disease is halved

Quitting smoking halves your risk of dying of heart disease

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    The benefits of quitting smoking have been widely disseminated in public health campaigns of recent decades - a far cry from the advertising campaigns that featured doctors as ambassadors of smoking in the early 1900s. Nevertheless, the benefits of quitting smoking are now clear and smoking as a cultural norm is quickly becoming a fact of history. For those who have not yet kicked the habit, the immediate benefits of doing so might be enough to encourage you to put the cigarettes down:

    • After 12 hours, almost all nicotine will be out of your system.
    • After 24 hours, the level of carbon monoxide in your blood will drop dramatically and you will have more oxygen in your bloodstream.
    • Within 1 month, your blood pressure returns to its normal level and your immune system begins to show signs of recovery.
    • After 2 months, your lungs will no longer be producing extra phlegm caused by smoking.
    • After 1 year, your risk of dying of heart disease is half of what it would have been if you kept smoking

    Source:
    The Lung Foundation of Australia

    https://lungfoundation.com.au/lung-health/protecting-your-lungs/quitting-smoking/

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    What It Actually Does

    Ashwagandha is classified as an adaptogen - a substance that helps the body adapt to physical and psychological stress. But that description undersells the specificity of the evidence.

    In peer-reviewed clinical trials, ashwagandha root extract has been shown to:

    01

    Reduce serum cortisol levels significantly in adults under chronic stress

    02

    Support testosterone levels and muscle recovery in resistance-trained adults

    03

    Improve subjective measures of stress, anxiety, and wellbeing

    04

    Improve subjective measures of stress, anxiety, and wellbeing

    05

    Improve sleep quality and reduce time to sleep onset

    Why The Form Matters

    Here is where most supplement labels become misleading.
    The clinical trials that produced the evidence above didn't use generic ashwagandha root powder. They used standardised, patented extracts - specifically KSM-66® and Sensoril®, both of which are produced from roots using proprietary extraction methods that concentrate the active withanolides to a consistent, clinically meaningful level.
    Generic ashwagandha powder can contain anywhere from 1% to 8% withanolides. KSM-66® is standardised to a minimum of 5% withanolides with a full-spectrum root extract, which means it retains the natural balance of the plant's compounds rather than isolating one component.
    When you buy a supplement that says "ashwagandha" without specifying the extract form, you have no way of knowing whether it contains enough active compounds to do anything at all.
    At Arise, we use KSM-66® in every formula that contains ashwagandha. It's more expensive. It's worth it.

    Third-party Testing

    Supplements are not regulated the same way pharmaceuticals are. In most markets, a supplement company can put almost anything in a capsule and make almost any claim about it, as long as they don't claim to treat a specific disease.
    This is why third-party testing matters. It means an independent laboratory - one with no financial relationship to the supplement company - has tested the product to verify that:

    1. The ingredients listed are actually present
    2. They're present at the stated concentrations
    3. The product doesn't contain contaminants, heavy metals, or undisclosed substances

    Look for: NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Sport, or USP Verified certification on any supplement you take. These are the most rigorous third-party standards available.
    Every Arise formula is third-party tested before it reaches you. The results are available on request.

    The Honest Bottom Line

    Ashwagandha works. The evidence is genuinely strong. But the quality of the extract determines the quality of the outcome — and most of what's available on the market doesn't use the forms that the clinical research actually studied.
    Read the label. Ask for the extract form. Expect a specific answer.