Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Healthful Lung Fruits

Recent research found that eating apples and tomatoes can repair lung damage in former smokers.

The study revealed that adults who consumed 2 tomatoes and more than 3 apples a day showed a decrease in lung function is smaller than those who rarely eat apples or tomatoes.

However, these benefits can only be obtained when eating fresh apples or tomatoes. This means processed foods have no similar benefits.

Studies from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health assessed the diet and lung function of more than 650 adults in 2002, and then repeated the same test in the same group of participants 10 years later.

The research participants came from Germany, Norway and the UK. They were asked to fill out a questionnaire about diet and overall nutritional intake, as well as undergoing spirometry - a procedure that measures the capacity of the lungs to take in oxygen.

The study also considered factors such as age, height, sex, body mass index, socioeconomic status, physical activity, and total energy intake.

Interestingly, the findings appearing in the December issue of the Journal of the Respiratory, found a link between lung function and fruit intake seen more clearly in former smokers.

Former smokers who consume tomatoes and fruits, especially apples, have decreased lung function more slowly over a 10-year period.

This shows that the nutrients found in these foods help to repair the damage caused by cigarettes.

"Pulmonary function begins to decline at age 30 with varying speed depending on the general and specific health of the individual," said Dr. Vanessa Garcia-Larsen, the lead researcher.

"Our research shows that eating more fruits regularly can help slow the decline in lung function with age, and may even help repair the damage caused by smoking," he added.

Vanessa Garcia says that diet can be one way to overcome chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD that has symptoms of cough not go away.

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