Keep Your Lungs Healthy
One of the most important organs of our body and probably one of the most ignored ones too are our lungs! A part of the respiratory system of the body, lungs make oxygen available to all organs of the body and remove gases like carbon dioxide. Usually, we do not realise the importance of lung health unless a problem occurs and once the lung health is affected, it significantly impacts the quality of the life of the person and may even result in reducing the lifespan.
Over the years, especially during the COVID period, health of the lungs came in to focus. Some of the common disorders and conditions of the lungs are :
Looking out for symptoms like breathing difficulties , Wheezing, coughing , chest pain, chronic cough , swelling of extremities etc as an alarm that one may have a lung condition.
Awareness has now been created that exercises can help improve the lung capacity and keep lung diseases at bay. So how do you keep these two buddies healthy? –
- Avoid smoking – active or passive
- Minimise exposure to outdoor pollution
- Equally important to protect yourself from indoor pollutants – like fragrances, dust, moisture, unclean humidifiers etc.
- Protect yourself from infections
- Regular check ups
- Exercise! Exercise! Exercise!!
We can also include some these foods which are good for your respiratory health, in our daily diet :
- Beetroots and beet greens – rich in nitrates which have been shown to benefit lung function by relaxing blood vessels, reduce blood pressure, and optimize oxygen uptake.
- Vitamin C rich fruits and veggies – rich in anti-oxidants, this category of fruits and veggies like bell peppers, tomatoes, citric fruits , guava etc benefits lung function and infection prevention, especially for active and passive smokers.
- Apples – loaded with anti-oxidants, they help slow down the lunch function decline.
- Curcumin – the main active component in turmeric, may be especially beneficial for supporting lung function.
- Green tea – Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a catechin concentrated in green tea. It boasts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and has been shown to inhibit fibrosis or scarring of tissues.
- Olive oil – Olive oil is a concentrated source of anti-inflammatory antioxidants, including polyphenols and vitamin E which protect against conditions like asthma.
