Diet for Improving Respiratory Health

Breathing is just something the majority of us do without even thinking about it. But, for people with respiratory issues, just taking nice deep breath is a struggle; they consciously have to focus on something that is purely automatic for the rest of us. The foods we eat impact our health greater than we know, and expanding research into the link between our diet and the genesis and management of disease is finally starting to see this. If you have asthma, COPD or any other condition that affects your breathing, making some changes to your diet may help alleviate symptoms.

1.Follow an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Normally, inflammation provides a positive purpose—it alerts the body that something is amiss and it facilitates the healing process. But, when it becomes excessive and chronic, it can trigger and exacerbate numerous health problems, including respiratory illnesses. While inflammation is a complex process and results from numerous things, eating a diet rich in substances that ease inflammation and reducing foods that promote it can be a powerful tool.

Foods that promote inflammation include sugar, refined carbohydrates, saturated animal fats, trans fats and fats high in omega-6 fatty acids, such as soybean oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil and corn oil. Omega-6 fatty acids serve positive functions in the body, but when eaten in large amounts, trigger inflammation.

Ease inflammation by including more healthy fats in your diet, such as omega-3 fatty acids found in cold water fish, walnuts and flaxseeds and monounsaturated fats found in nuts, seeds, olives and avocados.

2.Up Your Intake of Antioxidants

Antioxidants help fight off the cell damage that lies at the root of many illnesses; they also serve many other important functions. These substances are found in a variety of foods, with fruits and vegetables being the best sources and eating a diet rich in plant foods may help respiratory problems specifically. The University of Maryland Medical Center reports on its website that one study found asthma sufferers experienced better management of their symptoms when following the Mediterranean diet, which on average provides about 9 servings of plant foods daily.

To maximize your intake of antioxidants in their natural form, eat fruits and vegetables of all colors; antioxidants are usually responsible for giving plant foods their particular hue and including all of them in your diet will give you the full range. Researchers from Tufts University compiled a top 10 list of the most antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables. The best fruits include prunes, raisins, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums, oranges, red grapes and cherries. The winners in the vegetable category include kale, spinach, Brussels sprouts, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli flowers, beets, red bell peppers, onions, corn and eggplant.

3.Considerations for Supplements

It can be hard sometimes to follow the best diet possible; if you have certain respiratory illnesses, like COPD, you may experience a loss of appetite or have difficulty eating. Supplements may help in these cases; also, certain substances may only be available as a supplement and not as a food, or it would be difficult to achieve therapeutic effects through diet alone.

Alte
ative medicine expert, Dr. Andrew Weil, says the following supplements may help promote respiratory health: a daily multivitamin with at least 15,000 IU of carotenoids, vitami
C, coenzyme Q10 cordycepts and reishi mushrooms, B vitamins, vitami
D, mullein and zhu ling, a type of Chinese mushroom.

When it comes to maximizing benefits from supplements, it is a good idea to talk to a healthcare professional knowledgeable about using herbs and other supplements for treating disease. They can point you to quality supplements and suggest the most effective regimen. Also, herbs, vitamins and minerals can affect the body in the same way a prescription drug can and, like prescription drugs, using a particular supplement may be ill-advised if you take certain medications or suffer from certain health conditions.

Closing Thoughts

Changing the way we eat may be difficult or inconvenient, but doing so will not only make you feel better overall, it may provide specific benefits for your condition. Taking an active role in managing your health is empowering and given that we have total control over what we put into our bodies, not making an effort to eat better at the expense of our health just does not make sense.