Lung Health

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text woodmart_inline=”no” text_larger=”no”]lung, in air-breathing vertebrates, either of the two large organs of respiration located in the chest cavity and responsible for adding oxygen to and removing carbon dioxide from the blood. In humans each lung is encased in a thin membranous sac called the pleura, and each is connected with the trachea (windpipe) by its main bronchus (large air passageway) and with the heart by the pulmonary arteries. The lungs are soft, light, spongy, elastic organs that normally, after birth, always contain some air. If healthy, they will float in water and crackle when squeezed; diseased lungs sink.

Lungs Parts

In the inner side of each lung, about two-thirds of the distance from its base to its apex, is the hilum, the point at which the bronchi, pulmonary arteries and veins, lymphatic vessels, and nerves enter the lung. The main bronchus subdivides many times after entering the lung; the resulting system of tubules resembles an inverted tree. The diameters of the bronchi diminish eventually to less than 1 mm (0.04 inch). The branches 3 mm and less in diameter are known as bronchioles, which lead to minute air sacs called alveoli (see pulmonary alveolus), where the actual gas molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged between the respiratory spaces and the blood capillaries.

Each lung is divided into lobes separated from one another by a tissue fissure. The right lung has three major lobes; the left lung, which is slightly smaller because of the asymmetrical placement of the heart, has two lobes. Internally, each lobe further subdivides into hundreds of lobules. Each lobule contains a bronchiole and affiliated branches, a thin wall, and clusters of alveoli.

Functions

In addition to respiratory activities, the lungs perform other bodily functions. Through them, water, alcohol, and pharmacologic agents can be absorbed and excreted. Normally, almost a quart of water is exhaled daily; anesthetic gases such as ether and nitrous oxide can be absorbed and removed by the lungs. The lung is also a true metabolic organ. It is involved in the synthesis, storage, transformation, and degradation of a variety of substances, including pulmonary surfactant, fibrin, and other functionally diverse molecules (i.e., histamine, angiotensin, and prostaglandins).

The lungs are frequently involved in infections and injuries. Some infections can destroy vast areas of a lung, rendering it useless. Inflammation from toxic substances, such as tobacco smoke, asbestos, and environmental dusts, can also produce significant damage to the lung. Healed lung tissue becomes a fibrous scar unable to perform respiratory duties. There is no functional evidence that lung tissue, once destroyed, can be regenerated.

Lung Diseases

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): Damage to the lungs results in difficulty blowing air out, causing shortness of breath. Smoking is by far the most common cause of COPD.
  • Emphysema: A form of COPD usually caused by smoking. The fragile walls between the lungs’ air sacs (alveoli) are damaged, trapping air in the lungs and making breathing difficult.
  • Chronic bronchitis: Repeated, frequent episodes of productive cough, usually caused by smoking. Breathing also becomes difficult in this form of COPD.
• Pneumonia: Infection in one or both lungs. Bacteria, especially Streptococcus pneumoniae, are the most common cause, but pneumonia may also be caused by a virus.
• Asthma: The lungs’ airways (bronchi) become inflamed and can spasm, causing shortness of breath and wheezing. Allergies, viral infections, or air pollution often trigger asthma symptoms.
• Acute bronchitis: An infection of the lungs’ large airways (bronchi), usually caused by a virus. Cough is the main symptom of acute bronchitis.
• Pulmonary fibrosis: A form of interstitial lung disease. The interstitium (walls between air sacs) become scarred, making the lungs stiff and causing shortness of breath.
• Sarcoidosis: Tiny areas of inflammation can affect all organs in the body, with the lungs involved most of the time. The symptoms are usually mild; sarcoidosis is usually found when X-rays are done for other reasons.
• Obesity hypoventilation syndrome: Extra weight makes it difficult to expand the chest when breathing. This can lead to long-term breathing problems.
• Pleural effusion: Fluid builds up in the normally tiny space between the lung and the inside of the chest wall (the pleural space). If large, pleural effusions can cause problems with breathing.
• Pleurisy: Inflammation of the lining of the lung (pleura), which often causes pain when breathing in. Autoimmune conditions, infections, or a pulmonary embolism may cause pleurisy.
• Bronchiectasis: The airways (bronchi) become inflamed and expand abnormally, usually after repeated infections. Coughing, with large amounts of mucus, is the main symptom of bronchiectasis.
• Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM): A rare condition in which cysts form throughout the lungs, causing breathing problems similar to emphysema. LAM occurs almost exclusively in women of childbearing age.
• Cystic fibrosis: A genetic condition in which mucus does not clear easily from the airways. The excess mucus causes repeated episodes of bronchitis and pneumonia throughout life.
• Interstitial lung disease: A collection of conditions in which the interstitium (lining between the air sacs) becomes diseased. Fibrosis (scarring) of the interstitium eventually results, if the process can’t be stopped.
• Lung cancer: Cancer may affect almost any part of the lung. Most lung cancer is caused by smoking.
• Tuberculosis: A slowly progressive pneumonia caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Chronic cough, fever, weight loss, and night sweats are common symptoms of tuberculosis.
• Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS): Severe, sudden injury to the lungs caused by a serious illness. Life support with mechanical ventilation is usually needed to survive until the lungs recover.
• Coccidioidomycosis: A pneumonia caused by Coccidioides, a fungus found in the soil in the southwestern U.S. Most people experience no symptoms, or a flu-like illness with complete recovery.
• Histoplasmosis: An infection caused by inhaling Histoplasma capsulatum, a fungus found in the soil in the eastern and central U.S. Most Histoplasma pneumonias are mild, causing only a short-lived cough and flu-like symptoms.
• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (allergic alveolitis): Inhaled dust and other substances cause an allergic reaction in the lungs. Usually this occurs in farmers or others who work with dried, dusty plant material.
• Influenza (flu): An infection by one or more flu viruses causes fever, body aches, and coughing lasting a week or more. Influenza can progress to life-threatening pneumonia, especially in older people with medical problems.
• Mesothelioma: A rare form of cancer that forms from the cells lining various organs of the body with the lungs being the most common. Mesothelioma tends to emerge several decades after asbestos exposure.
• Pertussis (whooping cough): A highly contagious infection of the airways (bronchi) by Bordetella pertussis, causing persistent cough. A booster vaccine (Tdap) is recommended for adolescents and adults to prevent pertussis.
• Pulmonary hypertension: Many conditions can lead to high blood pressure in the arteries leading from the heart to the lungs. If no cause can be identified, the condition is called idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension.
• Pulmonary embolism: A blood clot (usually from a vein in the leg) may break off and travel to the heart, which pumps the clot (embolus) into the lungs. Sudden shortness of breath is the most common symptom of a pulmonary embolism.
• Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS): A severe pneumonia caused by a specific virus first discovered in Asia in 2002. Worldwide prevention measures seem to have controlled SARS, which has caused no deaths in the U.S.
• SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19: The coronavirus that led to a worldwide pandemic beginning in 2019 can lead to pneumonia that affects both lungs, filling them with fluid and making it difficult to breathe. COVID-19 can lead to long-term lung damage and other respiratory conditions such as acute respiratory distress syndrome.
• Pneumothorax: Air in the chest; it occurs when air enters the area around the lung (the pleural space) abnormally. Pneumothorax can be caused by an injury or may happen spontaneously.

Most people want to get healthier. Rarely, though, do they think about protecting and maintaining the health of their lungs.

It’s time to change that. According to the National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute, chronic lower respiratory diseases  including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma were the third leading cause of death in 2010. Lung diseases, excluding lung cancer, caused an estimated 235,000 deaths that year.

Include lung cancer, and the numbers go up. The American Lung Association (ALA) states that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women. An estimated 158,080 Americans were expected to die from it in 2016.

The truth is that your lungs, just like your heart, joints, and other parts of your body, age with time. They can become less flexible and lose their strength, which can make it more difficult to breathe. But by adopting certain healthy habits, you can better maintain the health of your lungs, and keep them working optimally even into your senior years.

Tips to Improve Lung health

Quit Smoking

You probably already know that smoking increases your risk of lung cancer. But that’s not the only disease it can cause. In fact, smoking is linked to most lung diseases, including COPD, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and asthma. It also makes those diseases more severe. Smokers are  more likely to die from COPD than nonsmokers, for example.

Every time you smoke a cigarette, you inhale thousands of chemicals into your lungs, including nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar. These toxins damage your lungs. They increase mucus, make it more difficult for your lungs to clean themselves, and irritate and inflame tissues. Gradually, your airways narrow, making it more difficult to breathe.

Smoking also causes lungs to age more rapidly. Eventually, the chemicals can change lung cells from normal to cancerous.

According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), more than 10 times as many U.S. citizens have died prematurely from cigarette smoking than have died in all the wars fought by the U.S. during its history. In addition, smoking causes about 90 percent of all lung cancer deaths in men and women. More women die from lung cancer each year than from breast cancer.

No matter how old you are or how long you’ve been a smoker, quitting can help. The ALA states that within just 12 hours of quitting, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. Within a few months, your lung function begins to improve. Within a year, your risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s. And it only gets better the longer you stay smoke-free.

Quitting usually takes several attempts. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it. Combining counseling and medication may be the best way to succeed, according to a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Stay safe from infections

Infections can be particularly dangerous for your lungs, especially as you age. Those who already have lung diseases like COPD are particularly at risk for infections. Even healthy seniors, though, can easily develop pneumonia if they’re not careful.

The best way to avoid lung infections is to keep your hands clean. Wash regularly with warm water and soap, and avoid touching your face as much as possible.

Drink plenty of water and eat lots of fruits and vegetables — they contain nutrients that help boost your immune system.

Stay up-to-date with your vaccinations. Get a flu shot each year, and if you’re 65 or older, get a pneumonia vaccination as well.

Try to breathe harder

Besides avoiding cigarettes, getting regular exercise is probably the most important thing you can do for the health of your lungs. Just as exercise keeps your body in shape, it keeps your lungs in shape too.

When you exercise, your heart beats faster and your lungs work harder. Your body needs more oxygen to fuel your muscles. Your lungs step up their activity to deliver that oxygen while expelling additional carbon dioxide.

According to a recent article, during exercise, your breathing increases from about 15 times a minute to about 40 to 60 times a minute. That’s why it’s important to regularly do aerobic exercise that gets you breathing hard.

This type of exercise provides the best workout for your lungs. The muscles between your ribs expand and contract, and the air sacs inside your lungs work quickly to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. The more you exercise, the more efficient your lungs become.

Creating strong, healthy lungs through exercise helps you to better resist aging and disease. Even if you do develop lung disease down the road, exercise helps to slow the progression and keeps you active longer.

Try to save from pollutants

Exposure to pollutants in the air can damage your lungs and accelerate aging. When they’re young and strong, your lungs can easily resist these toxins. As you get older, though, they lose some of that resistance and become more vulnerable to infections and disease.

Give your lungs a break. Reduce your exposure as much as you can:

• Avoid secondhand smoke, and try not to go outside during peak air pollution times.
• Avoid exercising near heavy traffic, as you can inhale the exhaust.
• If you’re exposed to pollutants at work, be sure to take all possible safety precautions. Certain jobs in construction, mining, and waste management can increase risk of exposure to airborne pollutants.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that indoor pollution is typically worse than outdoor. That, plus the fact that many spend most of their time indoors these days, increases exposure to indoor pollutants.

Here are some tips for decreasing indoor pollutants:

• Make your home a smoke-free zone.
• Dust the furniture and vacuum at least once a week.
• Open a window frequently to increase indoor air ventilation.
• Avoid synthetic air fresheners and candles that can expose you to additional chemicals like formaldehyde and benzene. Instead, use an aromatherapy diffuser and essential oils to more naturally scent the air.
• Keep your home as clean as you can. Mold, dust, and pet dander can all get into your lungs and cause irritation.
• Use natural cleaning products when possible, and open a window when using products that create fumes.
• Make sure you have adequate fans, exhaust hoods, and other ventilation methods throughout your home.

Try to Breathe deeply

If you’re like many people, you take shallow breaths from your chest area, using only a small portion of your lungs. Deep breathing helps clear the lungs and creates a full oxygen exchange.

In a small study published in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, researchers had a group of 12 volunteers perform deep breathing exercises for 2, 5, and 10 minutes. They tested the volunteers’ lung function both before and after the exercises.

They found that there was a significant increase in vital capacity after 2 and 5 minutes of deep breathing exercise. Vital capacity is the maximum amount of air the volunteers could exhale from their lungs. The researchers concluded that deep breathing, even for just a few minutes, was beneficial for lung function.

The ALA agrees that breathing exercises can make your lungs more efficient. To try it yourself, sit somewhere quietly, and slowly breathe in through your nose alone. Then breathe out at least twice as long through your mouth. It may help to count your breaths. For example, as you inhale count 1-2-3-4. Then as you exhale, count 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8.

Shallow breaths come from the chest, and deeper breaths come from the belly, where your diaphragm sits. Be aware of your belly rising and falling as you practice. When you do these exercises, you may also find you feel less stressed and more relaxed.

Foods to improve Lung Health

Beets

The vibrantly colored root and greens of the beetroot plant contain compounds that optimize lung function. Beetroot and beet greens are rich in nitrates, which have been shown to benefit lung function. Nitrates help relax blood vessels, reduce blood pressure, and optimize oxygen uptake Beetroot supplements have been shown to improve physical performance and lung function in people with lung conditions, including COPD and pulmonary hypertension, a disease that causes high blood pressure in the lungs Additionally, beet greens are packed with magnesium, potassium, vitamin C, and carotenoid antioxidants all of which are essential to lung health

Peppers

Peppers are amongst the richest sources of vitamin C, a water-soluble nutrient that acts as a powerful antioxidant in your body. Getting enough vitamin C is especially important for those who smoke. In fact, due to the damaging effects of cigarette smoke on your body’s antioxidant stores, it’s recommended that people who smoke consume an extra 35 mg of vitamin C per day However, many studies show that smokers may benefit from higher doses of vitamin C and that smokers with high vitamin C intake have better lung function than those with lower vitamin C intake. Consuming just one medium-sized (119-gram) sweet red pepper delivers 169% of the recommended intake for vitamin C

Tomato

Tomatoes and tomato products are among the richest dietary sources of lycopene, a carotenoid antioxidant that has been associated with improved lung health. Consuming tomato products has been shown to reduce airway inflammation in people with asthma and improve lung function in people with COPD

A 2019 study in 105 people with asthma demonstrated that a diet rich in tomatoes was associated with a lower prevalence of poorly controlled asthma. Plus, tomato intake is also associated with a slower decline in lung function in ex-smokers

Blueberries

Blueberries are loaded with nutrients, and their consumption has been associated with a number of health benefits, including protecting and preserving lung function . Blueberries are a rich source of anthocyanins, including malvidin, cyanidin, peonidin, delphinidin, and petunidin. Anthocyanins are powerful pigments that have been shown to protect lung tissue from oxidative damage

A study in 839 veterans found that blueberry intake was associated with the slowest rate of decline in lung function and that consuming 2 or more servings of blueberries per week slowed lung function decline by up to 38%, compared with low or no blueberry intake

Apples

Research has shown that regularly eating apples may help promote lung function. For example, studies show that apple intake is associated with a slower decline in lung function in ex-smokers. Additionally, consuming five or more apples per week is associated with greater lung function and a reduced risk of developing COPD

Apple intake has also been linked to a lower risk of asthma and lung cancer. This may be due to the high concentration of antioxidants in apples, including flavonoids and vitamin C (

Pumpkin

The brightly colored flesh of pumpkins contains a variety of lung-health-promoting plant compounds. They’re especially rich in carotenoids, including beta carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin — all of which have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties

Studies show that having higher blood levels of carotenoids is associated with better lung function in both older and younger populations. People who smoke may significantly benefit from consuming more carotenoid-rich foods like pumpkin.

Evidence suggests that smokers may have 25% lower concentrations of carotenoid antioxidants than nonsmokers, which can harm lung health

Green tea

Green tea is a beverage that has impressive effects on health. 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. Pulmonary fibrosis is a disease characterized by progressive, lung-function-compromising scarring of lung tissue. Some research shows that EGCG may help treat this disease. A small 2020 study in 20 people with pulmonary fibrosis found that treatment with EGCG extract for 2 weeks reduced markers of fibrosis, compared with a control group

Edamame

Edamame beans contain compounds called isoflavones. Diets rich in isoflavones have been associated with a reduced risk of numerous diseases, including COPD. A study in 618 Japanese adults found that people with COPD had much lower intakes of dietary isoflavones, compared with healthy control groups. What’s more, isoflavone intake was significantly associated with better lung function and reduced shortness of breath[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]